Susan & Jody Folwell
No. 17
Large Jar with Asymmetric Rim and Mosquito Man Design, hand-coiled clay, leather, watercolor, 13 x 9 1/2 in. Signed on bottom “Susan Folwell and Jody”
This large jar was made and polished by Jody Folwell and designed by Susan Folwell, her daughter.
Jody Folwell is one of the essential innovators in Pueblo pottery. She is the daughter of Rose Naranjo and the mother of potters Polly Rose Folwell and Susan Folwell. Her pottery is displayed in museums around the country, and her work is featured in numerous books, including The Art of Clay and Legacy of Generations. Her revolutionary work of the 1970s changed the surface of Santa Clara pottery with distinctive firings, various clay slips, creative patinas, and non-traditional design elements. Her designs follow elements of traditional Pueblo subjects and reach out to current events of the world. Jody continues to evolve her art, and each piece brings together different aspects of her long history of making pottery.
Descended from a long line of revolutionary artists, some of Susan Folwell’s earliest memories are of working in clay with her mother and grandmother. She initially resisted ceramics: “For a long time, I wondered why someone would want to do chores for a living.” Her mindset changed in high school, and Susan is now known for works addressing contemporary issues, bridging humor, history, and popular culture. Susan emphasizes the importance of tradition, which she asserts, “is living history, and I am a part of that.” In addition to drawing from pop culture and Santa Clara tradition, Susan has studied the Taos Society of Artists and created a series of works that respond to paintings by TSA members.
This jar is traditionally fired with striking color variations from dark black to light brown, with a high, round shoulder and an asymmetric rim with a “kiva step” form. Jody wrote of this style: “For the asymmetrical shape, I early on thought about how everything was so symmetrical in the Indian world. How far can I go to make a change? It was a little tiny change of not having everything so symmetrical. Once that became a part of Pueblo tradition, I went on to something else. With the half-polished areas, again, being very observant of other cultures and their artwork. I had seen a bamboo pottery show where only part of the vessel was polished. I called these the Japanese Volcanic pieces.”
The jar is stone polished from the rim to the top of the shoulder and the remainder is matte. After the firing, Susan etched the design with her stylized “Mosquito Man” imagery. As the jar is turned, there are tightly etched feather, corn, cloud, and rain designs and small areas with the Folwell family signature X’s.