Cherokee Olla by Bernadine George (Cherokee)

Bernadine George used traditional, hand-carved wooden paddles to incise the Cherokee friendship design on the sides of this lovely olla-shape pot with beautiful fire clouds. This design resembles a woven basket to show how the lives of friends are interwoven.

Bernadine makes her pots in the traditional way, digging and preparing her clay, coiling the pots, incising designs and firing outdoors. Archeologists believe that pottery has been made in the southern Appalachia mountains for at least three thousand years, longer even than in the Southwest. Bernadine, who is president of the Cherokee Potters Guild in North Carolina that was formed in 2003 to promote and preserve traditional pottery, often gives workshops to teach others this craft.

Height 4 1/2", width 4 1/2"