Preston hand coiled this beautiful wide shoulder bowl, adding the shifting sands pattern. It is made from a “yellowish” Hopi clay found on Third Mesa at Hopi. When it is fired, it turns buff color. Depending on the clay vein found, it can fire a salmon or more orange color. This color tone is gorgeous.

Preston gave me this informative explanation of this design. “My name is Preston Duwyenie, and I come from the Hopi village of Hotevilla, Arizona. The village I was born into is inundated in and around sand, and the land serves as a means of expression. The textural quality of the land is represented by the rippling lines on the surfaces of the clay vessels. And both the land and the water develop the same texture when the breath of God blows across them” Hopi people believe all waters emanate from Heaven.”

The flowing curved lines on the bowl blend in beautifully with the similar flowing shifting sands impressions on the silver ingots. They are impressed by the bones of a cuddle fish. Nine pieces of silver have been cut and shaped to appear as if they are pottery shards. On his walks out in Hopi, he at times encounters broken shards. Many of these have painted designs of moisture, i.e., clouds, rain, water, waves; the broken shards led him to create his new work. The polished areas of the bowl – the round neck, and the bottom quadrant are shiny and smooth. The shifting sands designs are textured and matte- like the sand itself. What a beautiful new creation from Preston!

The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay with Preston’s hallmark, which means “carried in beauty”.

4 ¾” high by 9” wide