Joyce Ann Ortiz Lewis Frog Storyteller Figurine [SOLD]

From Joyce Ann Ortiz Lewis comes a whimsical frog storyteller figurine featuring a large mother/parent frog with wide-open mouth, surrounded by four small froglets clinging to her arms and feet. In Southwestern Pueblo pottery traditions, the frog is a sacred water symbol associated with rain, fertility, and abundance.

It was painted with traditional dark wild spinach (guaco) plant pigment over a cream-colored slip, and features classic Cochiti rain/cloud geometric symbols painted on the back and torso. It was hand-coiled using native Cochiti clay and polished with slip. The pigments are natural plant and mineral sources, and it was fired in traditional outdoor firing. 

It is signed J. Ortiz within a cloud motif on the underside, designating it made by Joyce Ann Ortiz Lewis (born 1958) is an acclaimed potter from Cochiti Pueblo. She comes from a distinguished lineage of traditional Pueblo artists, as the daughter of Guadalupe and Seferina Ortiz, and the sister of prominent potters Mary Janice Ortiz, Inez Ortiz, and Virgil Ortiz.

Joyce began her artistic journey around high school, creating her first figurine-a unique mermaid piece. Over her career, she has specialized in handcrafted Cochiti storytellers, traditional pottery, and expressive figurative art. Her work was featured in the milestone Pueblo pottery exhibition "Clay People: Contemporary Pueblo Figurative Clay" at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Joyce Ann Ortiz Lewis Frog Storyteller Figurine is from the collection of a client from California

Recommended Reading: Clay Mirror - From Monos to Storytellers: Reflections from Cochiti Pueblo. The Tom & Charlotte Mittler Collection

TAGS: Cochiti Pueblo, Seferina Ortiz, Inez Ortiz, Virgil Ortiz, Pottery Figurine, Janice Ortiz, Joyce Ann Ortiz Lewis