Night Sky Petroglyph Garden

Night Sky Petroglyph Garden is a large sculpture about contrast. From the middle, dripping clay burnished color carries the exciting garden work — butterflies, flowers, and hummingbirds shaved and etched through. In the collar at the top of the vessel, a tightly etched native night sky is brilliantly painted in modern color.

At the bottom of the sculpture is the native clay petroglyph garden, where ancient symbols from the exotic island of Zapatera are presented as native clay work — a contrast running from native clay to the exciting garden to the brilliant night sky of the cultural design. A full panorama from clay to contemporary color on this piece.

Kick-wheel thrown, burnished, and sgraffito-carved in my San Juan de Oriente studio.

My Process

Every Atlantis sculpture begins with the same Gran Nicoya materials that have been worked in San Juan de Oriente for more than a thousand years: local dug clay, sourced slip clay, burnished slip color, and etching and carving back down through those layers to the clay beneath.

Enhanced slip colors and my own application techniques bring innovation to that palette while the traditional methods stay exactly as they were.

And here is the irony: it is the native no-glaze method that opens the door to the contemporary layer. Because nothing seals the surface, I can come back after the firing and hand-paint modern color directly into the exposed clay.

Specifications

• Made by Paul Devoti and the Atlantis Studio team
• Origin: Atlantis Studio, San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua
• Tradition: Gran Nicoya clay technique
• Glaze: none — all fired color is clay slip
• Edition: unique, one of one
• Signed: Atlantis — PHD
• Height: 18 in
• Width: 14 in
• Depth: 14 in
• Weight: TO BE ADDED

Frequently Asked:

Are designs repeated? Every sculpture is a one-of-a-kind expression within a design collection. Nothing is cast, duplicated or reproduced — each one meticulously handcrafted.

How is it packed and shipped? Made in Nicaragua, ships from North Carolina — no international transit, no customs, no duty for US buyers. Boxed by hand, fully insured. Typically delivered within 5 business days.

Can I return a piece? Fourteen days from delivery, in original packaging and original condition.

How do I care for it? Dust with a dry soft cloth. No water, no oils, no polish. Not for outdoor use.