Ceramic pot by Najavo potter Lorraine Williams c.1980
Brown ceramic pot made by Lorraine ‘Yazzie’ Williams with traditional Najavo symbols.
Hairline fracture at the rim.
Signed ‘LW’ on the base.
Circa 80s
10cm x 10cm
Lorraine Williams is a distinguished Navajo potter celebrated for her work that blends traditional Navajo pottery techniques with innovative designs. Her artistry reflects the deep cultural heritage of the Navajo people while exploring contemporary aesthetics. Williams often uses hand-coiled methods to craft her pottery, emphasizing the natural beauty of the clay and maintaining the connection to ancestral practices.
Lorraine was given the name Tsi (daughter) by her father, a Navajo medicine man, and her mother, an herbalist. She didn't begin working in clay until her marriage to George Williams, son of the famous Navajo ceramist, Rose Williams. Lorraine was inspired by her mother-in-law and would watch her make pottery, while "pretending that I wasn't," and then go home and try it herself. For good luck, Williams used to travel fifty miles to her hometown in Navajo Nation, Arizona, to fire her pots in an open pit; today, she burns cedar bark in a neighbor's fireplace to create the same effects (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, 1994).
Brown ceramic pot made by Lorraine ‘Yazzie’ Williams with traditional Najavo symbols.
Hairline fracture at the rim.
Signed ‘LW’ on the base.
Circa 80s
10cm x 10cm
Lorraine Williams is a distinguished Navajo potter celebrated for her work that blends traditional Navajo pottery techniques with innovative designs. Her artistry reflects the deep cultural heritage of the Navajo people while exploring contemporary aesthetics. Williams often uses hand-coiled methods to craft her pottery, emphasizing the natural beauty of the clay and maintaining the connection to ancestral practices.
Lorraine was given the name Tsi (daughter) by her father, a Navajo medicine man, and her mother, an herbalist. She didn't begin working in clay until her marriage to George Williams, son of the famous Navajo ceramist, Rose Williams. Lorraine was inspired by her mother-in-law and would watch her make pottery, while "pretending that I wasn't," and then go home and try it herself. For good luck, Williams used to travel fifty miles to her hometown in Navajo Nation, Arizona, to fire her pots in an open pit; today, she burns cedar bark in a neighbor's fireplace to create the same effects (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, 1994).
Brown ceramic pot made by Lorraine ‘Yazzie’ Williams with traditional Najavo symbols.
Hairline fracture at the rim.
Signed ‘LW’ on the base.
Circa 80s
10cm x 10cm
Lorraine Williams is a distinguished Navajo potter celebrated for her work that blends traditional Navajo pottery techniques with innovative designs. Her artistry reflects the deep cultural heritage of the Navajo people while exploring contemporary aesthetics. Williams often uses hand-coiled methods to craft her pottery, emphasizing the natural beauty of the clay and maintaining the connection to ancestral practices.
Lorraine was given the name Tsi (daughter) by her father, a Navajo medicine man, and her mother, an herbalist. She didn't begin working in clay until her marriage to George Williams, son of the famous Navajo ceramist, Rose Williams. Lorraine was inspired by her mother-in-law and would watch her make pottery, while "pretending that I wasn't," and then go home and try it herself. For good luck, Williams used to travel fifty miles to her hometown in Navajo Nation, Arizona, to fire her pots in an open pit; today, she burns cedar bark in a neighbor's fireplace to create the same effects (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, 1994).