Navajo rugs, blankets and weavings
Native American Art Navajo pottery history - page 5 of 6

Navajo pottery does not have the refinement of the pottery of some other tribes of the Southwest, but it plays an important role in Navajo culture, and the processes used to make it are common to the hand building techniques used by potters all over the world.

Clay is a natural material. It is found all over the world on river and lake banks and, in fact, anywhere that the ancient action of wind, water, ice and the movement of earth's surface have crushed rock and mixed it with silica and alumina along with a variety of minerals and organic materials. Long ago people found that soft damp clay could be shaped by hand into a variety of useful forms that became permanent when placed in a fire for a period of time. This process of turning clay into a permanent ceramic object is called firing. Clays found in different locations may have very different characteristics. They may be different colors, have more or less sand or other gritty material in them, which makes them smoother or rougher textured and can affect the temperature at which they fire. Some clay is sticky and some barely holds together as it is shaped.

Today ceramic supply companies make clay from raw chemical materials. These clays are mixed to provide predictable temperatures for firing and predictable colors and textures. Contemporary potters buy their clay from companies that specialize in mixing clays of different kinds for specific purposes.

Clay often has trapped air bubbles. The air in these bubbles will expand when the clay is exposed to heat, and cause the pot to explode. Additionally, there may be wetter or dryer spots in the clay. These must be mixed to develop a uniform consistency throughout the clay.

Clay is kneaded on a hard smooth surface like a tabletop covered with a piece of canvas to prevent the clay from sticking to the table. The process resembles kneading bread or cookie dough, until the clay feels uniform in texture and wetness and forms a smooth ball.

From the kneaded clay, a piece the size of a baseball is twisted off, and patted into a smooth sphere. The thumb is pushed into the center of the ball, and the clay is gently pinched between the thumb and forefinger as the ball is rotated in the palm of the hand, and slowly stretched into the desired shape. To prevent cracking, the surface of the clay pot is kept moist by dipping fingers into a container of water and smoothing the surface. Too much water, however, will cause the clay to get too soft and the pot to lose shape. The pot is continually turned and shaped until the walls of the pot are even in thickness, about 1/4 inch thick, and the desired shape is achieved.

To make a coil pot, several coils of clay must be prepared by gently rolling clay back and forth on a canvas covered surface, stretching it outward, until a coil of 1 to 1 1/2 inches and uniform thickness is achieved. The length of the coils need not be uniform.

Arizona Native American art Navajo pottery history - page 6

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