Alice Cling, Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration, 1988, fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch, 9 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2 in. (24.1 x 21.6 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock, 1997.124.147
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration
- Artist
- Date
- 1988
- Location
- Dimensions
- 9 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2 in. (24.1 x 21.6 cm) diam.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch
- Classifications
- Object Number
- 1997.124.147
Artwork Description
Navajo potter Alice Cling uses clay dug from Black Mesa near her home in Arizona to make her highly polished pieces. She doesn't use a wheel to make her work, but instead follows the Navajo tradition of coiling strips of clay, then smoothing them together (Rosenak, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, 1994). The piece is fired in an open pit using cedar for fuel. Where the smoke comes into contact with the hot clay, discolorations or "fire clouds" form on the surface of the pot.