Natchitoches (Place of the Pawpaws)

Jeri Redcorn's clay work features geometric patterns that weave and intersect to form spiraling and polka-dotted scrollwork that meanders across the surface of the vessel. The crosshatch lines hint at mathematical and philosophical principles behind Caddo pottery. Curved lobes containing serrated veins emanate from the opening, radiating outward like the fleshy fruit, leaves, and tendrils of the Pawpaw tree. The placement of shapes and forms evokes the influence that heritage Caddo patterns have had as they travel from one community to another, one generation to the next. The work's generative design is a meditation on both the individual and collective significance of Caddo pottery.

Courtesy of the Pipestem Family Collection.