Primitive Pot #5

Description

From raw earth to fire hardened ceramic, This ceramic vessel is make 100% by hand. Jeff first gathers a local wild clay that was also used 950 years ago by the prehistoric people in Prescott, Arizona. The clay is then crushed and processed by hand, sifted, and slurried by adding water. Once the clay begins to become firm again, it is placed into a bucket and ages for 4 months. Jeff then builds each pot and carefully shapes it into the form you are seeing in the photos using a paddle and anvil. This traditional method is exactly how prehistoric people in Arizona constructed their vessels–a wheel is not used in this construction method. After the pot is fully dry, it is fired in nature using juniper wood.

This large sized vessel is a native wingfield clay body and is fired in oxidation where the rich iron deposits in the clay turn the vessel orange with gray and black fire clouds. We find this exact size and shape in the archaeological record in Prescott, Camp Verde/Cottonwood, and Phoenix.