Native American Jemez pottery artist Brenda Tafoya created this melon-bowl pot with her signature bear paw presented in sqraffito. Beautiful work. Signed “Brenda Tafoya Jemez.

Sqraffito is a made by scratching through a surface to reveal a lower layer of a contrasting color, typically done in slip on ceramics before firing.

Brenda Tafoya, daughter of Vangie Tafoya, is an expert at this technique, as evidenced in the finesse of this bearpaw pot. Brenda also is a top-tier pottery maker using other techniques that form her vessels with particular grace.

"I will always be grateful to my mother, Vangie Tafoya, for teaching and encouraging me to create pottery. I hope that one day I will be just like her." (Brenda Tafoya, Potter)

As a child, Brenda Tafoya of Jemez Pueblo watched in awe as her mother, famed potter Vangie Tafoya, created delicate sgraffito vessels in the family home. At 10 years old, she began creating her own simple bowls and since then has become an expert potter herself.

She calls her distinctive style of work “melon cut” pottery and uses three different colors of slip to create brilliant patterns in her pieces. Her work comes to life with complex sgraffito designs that represent serpents, hummingbirds, butterflies and owls. Her trademark kiva steps can be found both in her pottery designs and in her signature.

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2 1/2" x 2 3/4" #PE57