Harrison Begay
(Navajo)
Santa Clara Pottery
Wild Horses
We're pleased to present another
series of Santa Clara pottery by Harrison Begay. We were fortunate
enough to have received this piece directly from Harrison at
the Heard Museum Indian Market 2005.
Harrison was raised near Keams
Canyon, Arizona, in the small Navajo community of Jeddito. In
college, he trained as a painter in a fine arts curriculum. He
turned to pottery and began to enter his pieces in numerous awards,
winning major awards from the '80s until the present. While married
at Santa Clara, he learned the New Mexico pueblo style of pottery
from his mother-in-law.
He is regarded as one of today's
major artists. His work is featured in important galleries, museums,
and private collections around the world. He has certainly taken
the traditional Santa Clara style and improvised upon it in a
unique and innovative fashion. His work is unmistakable.
Harrison's lines are clean
and his cuts are deep. He is certainly one of the most accomplished
potters in this style. His high polish finish contrasts strikingly
against the deliberate matte finish of the rest of the pot.
Add a piece by Harrison Begay
to your collection and see why so many have been impressed with
this talented and humble artist.
Especially impressive are
the technical aspects of the pottery, which Harrison has mastered
over the years - and of course the rich, chocolate brown finish
that can only be achieved through the careful process of oxygen
reduction techniques - halting somewhere between redware and
blackware.
