Lot 48: A large Tammy Garcia blackware vase

Tammy Garcia
Santa Clara, (b. 1969), 1995, a large ovoid blackware pottery vase deeply carved with abstract parrots and geometric accents, with a micaceous undulating band about the neck.height 17in, diameter 14in

Tammy Garcia comes from a long line of highly respected Santa Clara Pueblo potters, including her great-great grandmother Sara Fina Tafoya (1891-1980), and her grandmother Christina Naranjo (1891-1980). Her mother, Linda Cain, also a potter, taught Tammy to dig clay and create pots. In Charles S. King's Spoken Through Clay: Native Pottery of the Southwest, Tammy describes her influences: "My mom and grandma would sell their work at the museum gift shops. While they were in the gift shop conducting business I got to wander around the museum. It was so inspiring to see in the museum's permanent collection a piece made by my great-great-grandmother Sara Fina and those by her daughter, Margaret Tafoya. I had never seen pots of that size. I can remember thinking, 'Someday I want to be a part of this.'... It's important for me to make these big pieces because they challenge my skills and knowledge of the clay. Large vessels are impressive, and they set you apart" (p. 223).