In the realm of contemporary American Indian pottery, Elizabeth Manygoats is certainly an artist to watch.
From a remote area of the Navajo reservation, Elizabeth Manygoats is a folk potter who creates the most whimsical pieces of pottery.
Elizabeth is the daughter of well-known potter Betty Manygoats, but Elizabeth has quickly gained her own acclaim and won awards in her own right.
Elizabeth's pottery beautifully reflects the traditional Navajo culture on which it has grown.
Oftentimes, Elizabeth Manygoats creates pictorial scenes of Navajo life by depicting herders on foot and horseback with livestock against a backdrop of desert mesas, log homes, and Hogan.
As she's one of NINE sisters, Manygoats most often creates female figures.
Elizabeth either appliques her figures onto her bowls and jars, or she allows them to be freestanding pieces.
Her ability to take a piece of clay and in that clay colorfully capture the Navajo life around her is, perhaps, unmatched.
Once she has given life to the clay, Elizabeth Manygoats fires it in sheep dung or wood at a low temperature.
She then coats her pieces with the pitch (or sap) of pinon trees to give them a glossy finish.
This method of coating pieces with pinon pitch is common in Navajo pottery and was originally to help waterproof vessels.
The work of Elizabeth Manygoats can be purchased through select American Indian art dealers, or directly from Elizabeth at the few American Indian art shows that Elizabeth participates in like Santa Fe Indian Market.
Her pieces range in price from under $100 to over $1000.