The village I was born into is inundated in and around with sand, and the land serves as a means of expression. The textural quality of the land, water and silver are represented by the rippling lines on the surfaces of the clay vessels. In the desert region, water is a scarce commodity, the silver inlay represents this precious life blood. The inlay is a prayer that water will always be in the Earth for us to exist on. Both the land and water develop the same texture when the breath of God blows across them. I use two different native clays from my Hopi reservation; a gray clay that fires white and a yellow clay that fires orange. I also gather micaceous clay from northern New Mexico that can fire in its natural brownish/orange color or in a reduction for black. I use two methods to build: pinch and coil. Cuttlefish silver castings are inlayed into the pots or fabricated lids. I also collaborate with my wife, Debra Duwyenie, by making the silver lids for her sgraffito pots.
