A young member of the Taos Pueblo community with the talent and skill of a long-living artist, Brandon Ortiz is among the finest contemporary potters in the United States. He sees the clay as “ a teacher of patience, loss, and communication - it has changed the way in which I view the world and the way I live in it.” Formally trained as an architect, his Micaceous pots come from the very earth where he lives. They sparkle from unimaginably smooth and paper thin walls. “The micaceous clay bowl serves as an acknowledgment of an incomprehensible past, a product of relational experiences in time, and a physical interface in which past and future are tangible. I am a product of my ancestors’ relations and of separation caused by curated narratives. This history, worn down in response to social, cultural, and interpersonal relationships, rests in a pile of forgotten memories. Like the dirt resting below the walls of my grandpa’s shed, my family narrative exists both as a remnant of the past and as an opportunity for the future. The forces of the environment are in its erosion and can be employed in its resurrection. These reflections are put into each pot and I hope that they bring as much joy into their future homes as they have into mine.”