Russell Sanchez #101801

$7,800.00

This new plate by Russell is gorgeous. The center medallion is polished white. An avanyu is featured in the middle which has been highlighted by both red and black clay slips. It is so curved and flowing, one gets the sense of movement on this piece. As Russell says – “You have to let the serpent move how it wants to go.” With painstaking time and precision, Russell has embedded tiny turquoise stones on the entire body of the serpent. The triangular Lone Mountain turquoise eye and horn blends in with this light blue color scheme. The arrow is slipped in a red/tan tone, and this polychrome element continues on the clouds and sun face. The clouds are full of rain – ready to burst. It has a micaceous back and black rim. That rim is bordered by another row of Sleeping Beauty turquoise stones, adding to the overall cohesive feel of the blue tones. Next is a band of checkerboard designs in the red and tan shades. Again, each tan square is embedded with a Sleeping Beauty turquoise dot.

Russell completes all of his incising, and painted slip work before he begins the traditional outdoor firing process. Russell explained to me that these polychromes color combinations of black, red, and white were all used in the pottery made in San Ildefonso from the 1880’s to 1920. Using historic designs as his inspiration, he creates his own interpretations to them, and moves forward with his new design work. Plates are especially challenging to make and fire outdoors, as they tend to crack. So, it is exciting to see when the piece emerges as such a complete, fine piece of art.

We were thrilled that Russell just won BEST OF SHOW at the SWAIA sponsored Santa Fe Indian Market. It was the 100th anniversary of the show, so it was particularly special.

8” wide

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Russell Sanchez

San Ildefonso

Russell Sanchez was born at the San Ildefonso Pueblo. He has continued to live there all his life. Russell started making pottery at a very young age. If you could see his pots from when he was thirteen or so – you would be able to tell that a great talent was emerging! Russell was greatly influenced by his aunt, Rose Gonzales, and was futher encouraged by Dora Tse Pe. Like Russell, Dora is also a perfectionist. But Russell is really a self-taught potter. His incising, carving, and polishing techniques are all his own – developed and evolving over many years of hard work.

His work is widely accepted by serious collectors of some of the finest Native American pottery made today. He often introduces different materials into the clay while styaing within the traditional construction and firing techniques of pueblo pottery. Russell has won numerous awards and honors in juried shows every year since 1978. He has works in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute, the Millicent Rogers Museum, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (Santa Fe) and the Museum of Natural History (Los Angeles). It is an honor to work closely with Russell, and represent him in our gallery.

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