Dolores Curran #062516

$450.00

Dolores is one of the finest miniaturists working today. She has been at this for a long time, and her techniques and styles continue to change. In the 1980’s she was known for her miniature work with exquisite cream colored painted images. One of Dolores’ favorite parts of the creative process is painting her designs on the traditional white slip applied to the red pottery. “I love to paint. It’s very relaxing. Each stroke takes about four or five layers. I find it gives my mind time to wander. Sometimes when I finish, I can’t believe I painted the whole piece. It looks different with each step.” Her pots are fired in the traditional way using cedar and pin and an outdoor firebox made of tin. I have received several amazing pieces of hers from that period. You can see why she won major awards and accolades for this timeless work. Some of her favorite designs are: Avanyu (serpent believed to protect Pueblo people), feathers, clouds and bears.

This miniature plate is phenomenal. It is almost impossible to understand how she could completely fill the surface with such tiny, detailed imagery. Feathers, clouds, and avanyu all on one small plate. It is signed “Dolores Curran Santa Clara Pueblo)

½” high by 2 ¾” wide

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Dolores Curran

Santa Clara

Dolores Curran was born in 1954 into the Santa Clara Pueblo. Around 1977, she married Alvin Curran (deceased) and moved to San Juan. She made her first piece of pottery at age nine! Using the traditional methods of pottery making she learned from her grandmother, Dolores went on to develop her own style of contemporary hand polished, painted, and carved pottery. Known for her miniatures, she is one of the most precise etchers and painters we know. Dolores is a traditionalist. She breaks down the clumps of clay to form a fine powder form and hand mixes water with volcanic ash. Once the clay is mixed to a fine medium she then builds her pottery by using the coiling method. When the pots are dried, she then sands down the rough edges for a smooth finish. Then the painting process begins. Using paint from natural vegetation, she intricately designs her pots with numerous Pueblo symbols. Often, she uses the themes of avanyu clouds, feathers, bears, trees, rain, and mountains. She signs her work: Dolores Curran SCP. Her daughter, Ursula, and her sister, Geri Naranjo, are also talented potters, also specializing in miniatures.

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