Arizona Highways 1986 - The New Individualists

VOLUME 62, NO. 5

ARIZON~

HIGHWAYS

THE EVOLITTION of this issue of Arizona Highways can jerry and Loisjacka
be traced back more than a year to a conversation
that took place during the magazine's Sixtieth Anni- what is now a highly eclectic body of work At least two
versary Open House in April, 1985. On that occasion Clara special influences, however, should be mentioned. One is
Lee Tanner, distinguished scholar and a contributor to this the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, New
publication over a span of fifty-five of its sixty-one years, Mexico, where many outstanding contemporary artists,
and her husband, John Tanner, enthusiastically discussed and sculptors in particular, have been students. Another is
with Don Dedera an intriguing topic: the emergence of the tutelage of Pierre Touraine, a native of France and
American Indian arts and crafts into the realm of fine art. It famed designer-jeweler who settled in Scottsdale in 1960
was time, she said, for Arizona Highways to focus on this and subsequently took as students at least five of the
development. artists represented in this issue.

Over the years, some of the most popular issues of the If anyone has the impression that Native American art is
magazine have been devoted to an appreciation of the in decline, this magazine provides convincing evidence to
traditional arts and crafts of Native Americans, especially the contrary. The ages of these artists are significant. Many
those of the Southwest. But now, the Tanners pointed out, of them are still in their twenties or early thirties, with
we have the accumulated evidence of an ever increasing many productive years ahead.
sophistication and individuality, of fascinating departures
by artists from their tribal traditions in order to try new One regret has been inevitable in producing this issue:
materials and methods. And with success: the work of the necessity of omitting many splendid objects of art
these innovators has had a marked impact in the demand- because of our limitations of space. Nevertheless, art
ing and highly competitive field of fine art. director Gary Bennett has managed to accommodate a
remarkable collection. With much satisfaction, and with
Dedera, then editor of the magazine and himself a fre- thanks to the Tanners, the Jackas, and everyone else
quent writer on Indian arts, agreed. Seeking out Jerry and involved, we unveil it for our readers.
Lois Jacka, a husband-and-wife photographer-writer team
with much experience and knowledge in this specialized - Merrill Windsor
area, he asked them to research, photograph, and report
on the current state of Native American activity in art
forms ranging from weaving to sculpture.

Over the ensuing months the Jackas, already far more
knowledgeable than most of us, were astonished and
delighted at the quality and variety of what they discov-
ered. A selection representing sixty-seven artists is dis-
played in this issue. Yet Jacka photographed articles by
nearly twice that many individuals, and would still be at it
if our publishing deadlines had not finally brought him to
a reluctant halt.

It is impossible to identify all of the mentors, practicing
artists, institutions, and trends that have contributed to

(FRONT COVER) Finely sculptured art of the Hopi
exemplifies today's new trends in ancient Native
American art forms. Left, carved and painted pottery
vessel, eight inches high, by Tom Polacca. Center, Snow
Maiden Kachina, twelve and one-quarter inches high, by
Wilmer Kaye. Right, Kau -a-Kachin Mana Kachina,
nineteen and one-quarter inches, also by Wilmer Kaye.
(INSIDE FRONT COVER) Hopi potter Al Qoyawayma, with a
vase inspired by Hopi and Mesoamerican styles. Noted
for his exceptionally fine thin-walled pottery with
sculptured design, he executes perfectly symmetrical
vessels without the aid of a potter's wheel.

BOTH BY JERRYJACKA

Arizona Highways (ISSN 0004 -1521) is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Trans- 258-1000. Second class postage paid at Phoenix, Arizona . Postmaster: Send address changes to
portation. Subscription price $15 a year in U.S. and possessions. $18 elsewhere; single copies Arizona Highways, 2039 West Lewis Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009. "Copyright 1986 by the Arizona
$1.75 each. $2 each outside U.S. Please send subscription correspondence and change of Department of Transportation. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
address information to Arizona Highways, 2039 West Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009 or call (602) The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials provided for edilorial consideration .

Arizona Highways/1

•+ • • +•• • • ••

Traditional skills,
new materials,

innovative ideas:
Native American crafts have
become fine art in the hands of

THE NEW

~\\\)IJJ, Introduction by CLARA LEE TANNER
Entire Issue Photographed by JERRY JACKA
INDIVIDUALISTS~~­~~D-'
That development has talent, energy, and willingness to try new ground will set the icked the latter, producing painterly representations in their
- N ative Amcdcan a.-t today is as exhilarating as a newly example for others. Outstanding among Native American creations on the loom.
form ed rainbow - reaching out of the past, arching into the taken place within the leaders in the transition from tribal craft to fine art have been
Charles Loloma and Allan Houser. Breaking away from cen- On the pages that follow, you will see in amazing variety the
future. O ld colors blend with new themes; new colors trans- last thirty-five years. It turies-old tradition and from tribal controls, these men have works of sixty-seven Native Americans who have achieved
led the way into intercultural and international paths of artistic recognition in the realm of fine art.
form familiar motifs. Highly individualistic styles augment or has resulted from super- expression.
( OPPOSITE PAGE, TO P) Clara Lee Tanner, renowned
replace traditional tribal ones. Skills have been refined and ior materials, improved In the realm of fine art, distinction of style is a principal anthropologist, author, and professor emerita at the
criterion. And surely style is distinctive in the beautifully con- University of Arizona, first contributed to Ariz ona Highways
perfected; new materials have been invoked: diamond rain - technologies, imagina- ceived, designed, and executed works of exquisite sgraffito by in 1931. In a career spanning more than five decades, she has
the artists of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. Following or published ten books and more than 150 articles on
drops sparkle in the rays of a golden sun. The results can be tive designs and styles abandoning tradition as may suit them, they move freely Southwestern anthropology and Native American arts and
between precedent and innovation; pattern may follow native crafts. Today, at eighty, she continues to research, write,
dramatic indeed, startling in their fresh, new beauty. - and a new and de- paths, even venture back into prehistoric Mimbres, or shift into lecture, and judge Indian art shows. In 1985 she received the
totally new and creative design areas, all enhanced by precise Shariat Hall Award in recognition of her "valuable
Over the centuries, American Indian arts and crafts reflected manding clientele. Many cutting into successive, contrasting color layers. contribution to the understanding of Arizona and its history. "
(OPPOSITE PAGE) Allan Ho user, Chiricahua Apache, with his
a distinctive cultural base - Anasazi, Hohokam, Mogollon. of the utilitarian require- In ceramics, the style of the innovators has followed many sculpture Earth Mother, at his studio near Santa Fe. Lead
directions. Basic, centuries-old forms remain, but often they Singer, twenty-eight inches high, is one of the artist's
That phased into tribal tradition - Navajo, Apache, Puebloan. ments of earlier years become fine art when adapted to more slender outlines of bronzes. Houser, who also paints, introduced the art of
Hopi jars, or to bowls delicately curved from rim to almost
And now the evolution has reached a new peak of innovative, have been cast aside, cone-shaped base. Equally esthetic are some of the new, non - sculpture to the Native An1erican scene.
utilitarian forms. A few Santa Clara artists have veered off to ( LEFf) Charles Loloma, Hopi, a pioneer among Indian artists,
individualistic achievement that qualifies unreservedly as freeing the artist to pastel colors and quite different shapes. Decorative line work is best known for his contempora1y jewelty (ABOVE) . Loloma
of some Acoma jars is unbelievably complex and perfect. and Houser were among the first instructors at the Institute
fine art. move in new directions.
Sculpture, too, is unpredictable. It may follow austere, elon- of American Indian Art at Santa Fe, a program originally
Marble, diamonds, la- gate lines in an Apache warrior figure or represent the rounded conceived at the University of Arizona as a result of a
bundle of a mother cradling her infant. In other pieces, the
pis lazuli; gold, bronze; new, different clays: these materials artist may move completely away from realism to pure abstrac- +Rockefeller grant. The institute continues to exert a singular
tion. So, too, in painting. And some Navajo weavers have mim - influence on Native American artists.
among others have opened bright new vistas to the Indian

artist. Sculpturing and bronze casting have been conquered by

a number of Native Americans. Advances in working silver

have set the stage for more involved and finer execution in

gold. Simple bezel treatment of turquoise gives way to more

elaborate cast settings, or exquisite pave mounting of dia-

monds. Ever expanding abilities have created strikingly artistic

combinations of smooth and textured metals, flat or low-relief

figures in gold against a silver ground, gracefully sculptured

ears of corn on a dull white ceramic base, all meticulously

executed.

New inspiration came to kachina carving with the dynamic

rendering of figures in action, culminating in finely detailed,

realistic sculptures, first in wood and now in bronze. Com-

mercially produced wool that accurately imitates the twist and

color tones of the native Navajo weaver has allowed great

advancement in another traditional craft.

Aided by finer materials and more sophisticated technology,

encouraged by the advances of their peers, Native American

artists have demonstrated an astonishingly creative response.

Some few have studied under famous designers or at art insti-

tutes; many have advanced, self-taught, along paths of their

own making.

Within historic times, style in Indian art has passed through

three phases: first, that in which tribal traits dominate; second,

that in which the identity of the individual appears, but within

definite tribal bounds; and third, that phase in which the artist,

the individualist, emerges - independent of any tribal con-

nection - on a universal stage.

For that third phase to be possible, as in any culture, there

must be certain pioneers: creative individuals whose high

2/Arizona Highways Ariz ona Highways/ 3

•• • • ••

\\t//111'4.<. In cated descendant in the time of tradi-
tional tribal art; and so does the Native
~'! ~~\\\111//11 ~

~~ ~

~~

0'P.is basic to the traditional wodd
view of Native Americans, regardless of

tribal affiliation, that mankind should Harmony American artist of today, using such
attempt to live in harmony with nature. motifs with perhaps more abandon and
Respect for the earth and for the Power enthusiasm than ever before.

that governs it undergirded every na- As the examples on these and fol-

tive religion. Prayers were offered - with lowing pages c·onfirm, Indian artists of
and are now, wherever the faith and every discipline and medium borrow
practices of the ancient ones are still freely from the themes of nature. Paint-

observed - for needed rain, for vigor- ing and sculpture frequently reflect

ous crops, for success in the hunt. An Nature literaJ or symbolic representations.
offering was made in return for any- New-style kachina dolls, full of action,
thing taken from the earth, whether often still incorporate features of owls

clay for pottery, an animal for food, or by LOIS ESSARY JACKA or eagles, deer or mountain sheep.
plants for food or shelter. And there Jewelry is embellished with such

should be no waste; nothing was to be taken, no animal killed, designs as lightning bolts and corn plants. Contemporary pot-

unless it was required for the sustenance and protection of life tery designs include a wide variety of natural forms, from

and health. There was reverence for all nature, for life in any soaring birds to flower blossoms, painted on or carved in

form. As life itself is a cycle, the products of the earth were vessels. The strong, forceful pottery of Tom Polacca, with its

recycled in gratitude for their use. symbols of storm clouds and sturdy cornstalks, contrasts with
And there was awe - for the beauty and bounty of the earth, the light, airy designs of Grace Medicine Flower's butterflies
and blossoms carved or painted on delicate vases and seed
the majesty of the sky, the seasons: bowls. Jody Folwell's bold images of birds and animals cover
Across the mesas her pottery, sometimes with one figure superimposed over
Over the saged hills another.
Disappearing over the distant mountains
The shadow of winter has passed. Corn was always an important part of the early Native Amer-
The bluebirds bring the new essence ican culture, not only as a primary food source but also for
0 f the young spring rain. ceremonial purposes. It still has great significance. In some
Life, once again, is awakened by distant thunder. tribes, each. new baby is presented with its Mother Ear of Corn;
Screeches of the young eagles cornmeal is ground for special ceremonies; corn pollen is
Tear the hushed breeze of winter sprinkled as prayers are chanted. As both a handsome and a
In the rainbow ofyouth. symbolic motif, corn appears often in contemporary Native
Mother Earth sings her spring songs. American art-in paintings and sculpture, in kachinas, in
ceramics, and in metalwork and jewelry. Some jewelers fashion
Those lines were written by Tomas Dougi, Jr., a contempo-
rary Navajo sculptor. They suggest why motifs from nature -

lightning, the shapes of clouds, the forms of birds and animals delicate ears of corn with gold or silver husks, and intricately

- decorated ancient pottery, were carved into fetishes and inlaid kernels of turquoise and coral that contrast with those of

body ornaments, and were pecked into the patterns of petro- white shell, representing in precise miniature the multihued

glyphs. Doubtless more sensitive and observant than his fel - kernels of traditional Indian corn. Sculptor Charles Pratt's ele-

lows, the primitive artist responded both to the esthetics and gant ears of corn are of turquoise, accented with coral and

+to the significance of natural forms. So did his more sophisti- lapis lazuli, enclosed in husks of polished brass.

(ABOVE) Crow Man Kachina, by Dennis Tewa, Hopi.
Capturing lifelike action and wind effects is a hallmark of

Tewa's carved works.

4/ Arizona Highways

•• • + •• • •• • + • ••

(BELOW) One-of-a-kind pottery The Rivals,
plate, an example of the sgraffito
technique, is by Joseph (LEFT) by Hopi carver Loren
Lonewolf. Joseph's figures are Phillips, took first prize at the
often stronger and more Museum of Northern Arizona
masculine than those of his Hopi Show in 1985. Carved from
sister, Grace Medicine the customary cottonwood root,
Flower; he uses deer, the kachina piece represents the
elk, and pheasants in natural rivalry between the eagle
his naturalistic designs. and the red-tailed hawk Phillips
(RIGHT) Continuing the uses stains in combination with
traditions of a family of paint on his figures, allowing the
potters, Lois Gutierrez de wood grain to show through.
la Cruz of Santa Clara Pueblo (RIGHT) Employing the lost-wax
has combined old and new designs in her process, Navajo artist James Little
cast this fourteen-karat gold ear of
+polychrome pottery. Stylized nature motifs, non- corn adorning a tufa cast silver
bracelet. (BELOW) Hopi potter Al
traditional colors, and matte finish distinguish her work Qoyawayma, who learned the art
of pottery making as a teenager by
watching his aunt, Elizabeth
White, experimented with various
techniques and developed shapes
and design elements derived from
ancient Hopi pottery. Designs on

+the thin-walled pottery are
carved in the clay.

6/Arizo.na Highways Arizona Highways/7



Okla~B orn in Concho, • •• • + • •

homa, Charles Pratt (ABOVE) is best known today for G old necklace with handmade chain
his welded brass sculptures (see Corn Maiden,
inside back cover, and Rainbow God, page 11). ( BELOW, LEFT) is by Charles Supplee, twenty-six, Hopi. Shalako pendant of cast
Working first as a traditionalist painter, he later eighteen-karat gold is set with lapis lazuli, lavulite, red and white coral, and turquoise.
shifted to metal sculpture in the early 1960s after
admiring the work of Allan Houser. He felt he Pendant is also seen in reflection, as is an ear of corn fashioned in fourteen-karat
"wanted to do bronzes" and found he enjoyed gold. A relative newcomer to the fine art scene, Supplee held his first" show
metalworking. He is self-taught. Pratt's multiple in January, 1986.
( BELOW, RIGHT) Charles Pratt's sculptured brass Rainbow God. The kernels of
talents extend to playing the Indian flute, carving in
stone, and creating bronze castings. corn are individually shaped and inlaid pieces of turquoise accented with coral and
lapis. Earrings are set with turquoise and coral. ( BOTTOM) Bracelets by Lee Yazzie,
( RIGHT) Eagle Flight, alabaster sculpture, twenty-
seven inches high, by Victor Vigil. Born in San +Navajo: gold with turquoise, coral, lapis, and shell. Yazzie is known for his lapidary
Francisco in 1957, Vigil, of]emez Pueblo, New work and dimensional inlay technique.
Mexico, began his sculpturing career in 1978. In
August, 1985, he won three best-of-show awards at Arizona Highways/ 11

+the annual Indian Market in Santa Fe.

JO/ Arizona Highways

+ • ••

H arvest ofPlenty(LEFf). bmnze casUng from a stone
sculpture, is by Tex Wounded Face, thirty, Mandan-Hidatsa. A prolific

artist, he works in bronze, stone, and English porcelain.

(RIGHT) Dorothy Torivio, Acoma ,., ' .,
Pueblo, has won numerous prizes for
J'~' ' '[lK~'.' ~ .·,<ii·
her elaborately detailed pottery
'· '' ', . ' 1

(OPPOSITE PAGE) . She uses the stems of .'

the yucca plant for brushes.

(BELOW) jams, jellies, and Syrups, forty-

eight by forty-eight inches, a painting

by Virginia Stroud, Cherokee-Creek.

Stroud records the happenings of an

+earlier time, reflecting the daily lives
of Indian people.

12/Arizona Highways

•• • + •

s rnlptmed
jewelry (RIGITT) is the work of Charles Supplee, Hopi. Bracelet
with its corn motif is cast fourteen -karat gold. Corn pendant is

carved coral inlaid with gold, turquoise, and lavulit~.
(BELOW) Pictorial rug, fifty-four by sixty-four inches, by Linda Nez,

Navajo. A self-taught weaver, Nez incorporates rounded forms in
her work rather than the traditional geometric patterns, giving figures a

more realistic appearance. Both her mother and aunt are pictorial weavers.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) Sculptured silver vase, eight and three-quarter inches high, by White

Buffalo, Comanche. Intricate patterns derived from nature and Native American
symbols were chiseled and engraved into the form and accented with silver overlay and

inlay of turquoise and coral. A golden kernel of corn is cast into the interior

+bottom of the piece.

Arizona Highways / 15

• •• • + • •

...

~·
! day's Native Amecican anists ruce Ancient studied the clays and designs of ancient
builders of bridges. In their memories Hopi pottery to produce magnificent
lie the traditions of their ancestors; in pottery art with simple stylistic designs.
their visions rise the horizons of the
Legends of the past have stimulated

future. Many start with time-honored ventures in elegant gold and silver
art forms , and on these they impose work set with diamonds, opals, black
jade, and other exotic gems, as well as
Traditions,their own interpretations. Others have
become so innovative that their work the traditional semiprecious stones.
may seem to have nothing "Indian" New The result is stunning contemporary
about it at all. Yet no matter how con- jewelry with subtle overtones of an-
temporary their designs or revolution - Horizons cient cultures.
ary their colors, the influence of cultur-
al her itage is never far below the Employing centuries-old methods,
surface. today's weavers create imaginative
designs while introducing startling
Kachina do lls, traditionally static new colors. Some work with an amaz-

figures carved of cottonwood root, ing range of natural dyes, resulting in

have evolved into intricate wood sculptures in lifelike detail, subtleties of color not previously seen in Native American

depicting both action and grace. Taken one step further, weaving.Vegetal dyes are derived from flowers and other plant

the wood carving becomes a gleaming stat- parts, lichens, cactus, potato skins, beets, red onion skins, and

uette cast in bronze. coffee grounds. An unusual young Hopi woman (traditionally,

Pottery, among the older crafts, still Hopi weavers are men) experiments with bold, vivid dyes
reflects its ancient roots in the hands of con- extracted from insects (cochineal and lac) as well as plants
temporary artists. Most potters (madder root, indigo, chamisa, yellow daisy).
have been taught by mothers, In short, American Indian artists expressing themselves in
aunts, or grandmothers. Gen- their own innovative, contemporary styles continue to value
eration followed generation, their heritage and draw heavily upon its strengths. Oreland
with each individual adding a
personal touch to vessels made the Joe, a Navajo sculptor, recounts a dream: " It took place in a
old way- hand-formed without a lodgehouse near the mountains. Outside, there were people
potter's wheel, and fired with sheep all the way 'round the lodge, dressed in the old way with
dung or other traditional fuel. Now buckskin, beads, feathers, ornaments, other fine things. · As

modern artists explore new shapes, they started to sing, they painted three colors running north to
colors, and styles of decoration, yet south. The colors were black, yellow, and white. As they sang
look to the ancient past for inspiration. and the drums became louder, I felt as though my spirit was
Richard Zane Smith has revived a escorted toward the doorway to the south. As I went through

technique of the Anasazi and Mogol- the doorway, I remember listening to and noticing the blend-

lon cultures: corrugated ing of the old songs into the new music of today. They

ware in the form of beauti- sounded very beautiful together. The old songs faded away

ful large, thin -walled ves- and the new ones prevailed.... "

sels. Al Qoyawayma has - Lois EssaryJacka

(LEFr) Bronze sculpture of the Longhair Kachina, by Hopi
Neil David, Sr. The sculpture was cast from a traditionally

carved kachina doll.

16/ Arizona Highways



•• • ••

s teding silve< pendant ('HT) was cceated by two

Hopi artists: Phillip Sekaquaptewa, whose silver overlay depicts the Longhair Kachina Maiden, and Neil

David, Sr., who carved the lower half, Longhair Kachina, in cocobolo wood. Pendant is inset with

turquoise, coral, and mother of pearl.

(BELOW AND OPPOSITE PAGE) Carving kachina dolls from the root of the cottonwood tree is a traditional

Hopi art form. Now several Hopi innovators, such as Ronald Honyouti, have taken this art a step

farther, turning carvings into bronze masterpieces. First stage in the production of a bronze

~~ kachina is creating a rubber mold of the original wood ~arving, then pouring hot wax into it to
:'\II 7
~ ~/ form a replica. The wax casting then is used to fashion a ceramic mold into which molten

~V bronze is poured to make the final piece.

(BELOW) Original carved wood pieces of a kachina lie beside a wax casting in its rubber mold. In the

next stages ( OPPOSITE PAGE, INSET PHOTOGRAPHS), Honyouti puts the finishing touches on a wax casting. This,

in turn, is used to create the ceram ic mold for the molten bronze (CENTER INSET) . In the last stage of the

+process, a casting is formed (BOTTOM INSET) and removed from the mold. At its left stands a casting only

partially removed.

· 20/Arizona Highways

•• • + • ••

TheA>-ikara-Pkucis 3'tist C.J Wells wa b min

Santa Fe in 1952. A pai nter for twenty years, she studied the Old Masters and, more re ntly,
Japanese classical artists, whose glaze techniques she now uses to add depth to her work.

( BELOW) Big Eagle, o il on canvas, thirty-eight by forty in hes,
by C. ]. We lls.
( OPPOSITE A\GE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP) The Young Celome, green Ahskan
soapstone, nineteen inches high, and The Long Wait, r d alabast r,
twenty-one and one-half inches high, both by Navajo sculpto r To mas
Dougi,Jr. Fourteen-karat gold miniature pipe to mahawk et with

+sugilite and Australian opal, by Ray Tracey, Navajo. Gold ne klaces with

settings of white, pink, and red coral, and turquo ise, by Al ez, avajo.

22/ Arizona Highways Arizona Highways/23

•• •+ • •

M ade Shidey, Navajo, (IEFO a ve<Satile A Wide Ruins and Pine (RIGHT) Hand-dyed wool yarns by
and innovative weaver, was one of the first to break traditional bonds. + Spring style in a flat Ramona Sakiestewa.
tapestry weave by
Moki (Moqui) style (BELOW) Banded Hopi style rug by
blanket, four by six Marie Watson frames a Ramona Sakiestewa. Ramona's work is
feet, by Sadie Curtis Burntwater design
and Alice Belone. An woven in a raised unusual among the Hopi as men
exceptionally fine outline style, five by traditionally are the weavers. She re-
revival of a nineteenth seven feet. +
creates old styles, using insect
century classic. + (cochineal and lac) and vegetal dyes.

Burntwater style with Burntwater design, six
Yei figures, thirty-four by nine feet, by Sadie
by forty-six inches, by
Victoria Keoni, twenty- Curtis and Alice
four. A combination of Belone. This fine art
old and new in color
weaving contains
and design. + twenty-five subtly
blended vegetal colors
furnished by six other

weavers. +

•• • + •• •

I sleta Pueblo jewele< Ted Clwveze mates
works of art to wear. He not only designs jewelry,
such as the necklace nearing complet ion (OPPOSITE
PAGE), but is a master goldsmith who does all his
own casting, inlay, gemstone, finishing, and lapidary
work - as demonstrated in the completed fourteen -
karat gold choker ( INSET) with diamonds and black
jade. (LEIT) This set, also by Charveze, contains
Australian opals and six carats of diamonds and
represents partial fulfillm ent of an exclusive com-
mission from the prestigious firm of Percy Marks
of Australia.
(BELOW) R. C. Gorman 's Trading Woman lithograph
displays examples of ancient Southwest Indian

jewelry. Gorman has focused the
whole body of his work -
drawings, paintings, and

sculpture - toward
depiction of Navajo
women going placidly
about the ir chores. The
po lychrome jar (RIGHT) is

+the work of Hopi potter
Rondina Huma.

Arizona Higbways / 27

•• •+• •• H ruvey

c eramk srnlptu'e Begay, Navajo, began
silversmithing as a youth,
titled Moccasins, fourteen and one-half inches encouraged by his father,
high , is by Karita Coffey, Comanche. Reed Clan Kenneth Begay. Later, under
the guidance of the late Pierre
(BOITOM, RIGHT) is a life-size group Touraine, he studied the
sculpture in Indiana limestone by Doug jeweler's art intensively. A keen
observer, Begay today draws
Hyde, Nez Perce-Chippewa- his ideas from a variety of
Assiniboine. Hyde studied under Allan sources, including traditional

Houser and attended the Art Institute Navajo designs.
of Los Angeles. The pottery vessel (LEFf AND BEWW) Hand-wrought
silver goblets, by Harvey Begay.
(BOITOM, LEFT) was created by Dextra
Quotskuyva, Hopi. Striped Blanket, a (BOITOM) His necklace with
Utah alabaster sculpture twenty-one traditional Indian designs is
fourteen-karat gold, silver, and
inches high, is by Cliff Fragua, turquoise, set with a single
diamond. Bracelet is silver with
Jemez Pueblo. +
coral, turquoise, arid

ironwood. +

28/Arizona Highways

•• • + • • •

R equi<ing exceptional
control of the clay, the ancient Anasazi technique of corrugating pottery

vessels (OPPOSITE PAGE) has been revived by Richard Zane Smith,
Wyandot. After the initial coiling process, the moist clay is scraped to a
nearly smooth finish . The potter's skilled fingers then pinch the walls,
and with his thumbnail he creates the corrugated texture. The extremely

large, thin-walled pots are later embellished with paint. Navajo artist
Elizabeth Abeyta's native clay sculpture (BELOW, LEFr) won first prize at
the Museum of Northern Arizona Navajo Show in 1985. Abeyta, whose
father, Narciso Abeyta, is a noted artist, adapts a contemporary approach
to traditional ideas. (RIGHT) Navajo jeweler James Little gets much of his
inspiration for his jewelry motifs by watching his mother, Dorothy, weave
rugs at his family's home. His elegant gold cast bracelet with 117 diamonds (BELOW) and the gold

+earrings and pendant necklace set with charoite (BOTIOM) carry distinctive, traditional Navajo
rug designs.

Arizona Highways/ 31

• + • •• •• • + • •

L ane Mountain tutquoise, coral , and lapis larnli
inlay on gold form this necklace ( LEFT) by Lee Yazzie, Navajo. (BELOW) Nancy
Youngblood Cutler, a venturesome Santa Clara Pueblo potter, descends from

a long line of distinguished artists in clay. Here she has incorporated her
own designs onto traditionally shaped vessels four and one-half to six
inches in diameter. (OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP) Three Navajo rugs in the distinctive
Burntwater style are all made from handspun, vegetal-dyed wool. From left
to right, the rugs were woven by Cora Baldwin, Helen Keoni, and Virginia
Yazzie. The sizes vary from twenty-four and one-half by thirty-three inches to
thirty-six by sixty inches; all three show exceptional color and design qualities.
( OPPOSITE, BOTTOM) Noted for her raised outline rugs, Navajo Marie Watson has in the last five

+years begun to incorporate new colors into her weaving, which employs handspun, vegetal-

dyed yarns. Both sides of a Teec Nos Pos style rug with raised outline are shown here.

32/ Arizona Highways

•• •+ • ••

(BOlTOM) The Butterfly Maiden,
wood sculpture, thirty-eight ·
inches high, by Delbridge

Honanie, Hopi. (OPPOSITE PAGE)
Remembrance of Many Cattle's

Children and Songs, acrylic,
twenty-two by thirty inches, by
W B. Franklin. This work won first
prize at the Museum of Northern
Arizona Navajo Show in 1985.

ll~g_A
~1'.~ne golden day long ago, an eady
Native American stood in silence gazing at Secrets of the most innovative examples resem-
the world around him. Across the valley ble traditional kachinas in mask features,
coloration, and use of religious symbols,

an eagle soared, stirring emotions within but otherwise diverge remarkably from

the quiet observer that he yearned to of convention. The body may become, in-
reveal. Means of artistic expression were stead of stocky and cylindrical, more
few, but patiently he inscribed a simple elongated, curvilinear, flowing with the

petroglyph of a bird in flight- and the the Soul natural shape of the human body and tak-
voice of his soul was released through his ing on an ethereal quality. And it may be
primitive art. further embellished with dreamlike
images of pueblo or tribal symbols, ex-
It is the privilege and province of the

artist to search for ways to convey the pressing far more of the artist's individual

thoughts that cannot be uttered. When he creativity than does a traditional kachina.

or she is successful, silent poetry is created, and secrets of the Similar trends are visible in other media. Jewelers feel free

soul are shared. to develop sleek, classic designs in gold enhanced by dia-

Yet not so long ago such expression by American Indian monds, black jade, charoite, opals, and other exotic stones

artists and craftsmen tended to flow within the rather strict from around the world. Native American painters, no longer

confines of traditional forms. Artisans carved dramatic, but locked to literal portrayals, create exciting impressionistic

predictable, static kachinas; potters shaped vessels nearly canvases with vivid splashes of color and light as abstract as

identical to those made by their predecessors; jewelers pri- any produced in New York or Paris.

marily worked with the familiar qualities of silver and tur- Just as all artists to some degree reflect their own cultures,

quoise; painters limited themselves to a stylized realism using environments, and experiences, so Native American artists

"Indian" themes and colors; and the warp and woof of woven tend to show the influence of Indian life and memory. Handed

art was readily identifiable by its colors and designs. down through generations, stories of creation, of deities, of

As this issue of Arizona Highways dramatically demon- clan migrations are given new expression in contemporary art.

strates, all that is changing. Today much Native American art But now, as increasingly the artists assert the freedom to inno-

celebrates the individual. Scores of vastly talented vate, their work becomes highly individualistic.

artists are producing work that expresses In this excerpt from "Lorenzo's Song,"

personal emotions, thoughts, dreams, Santo Domingo - Laguna potter Harold

and yearnings. It has become art cre- Littlebird provides an insight into the

ated by individuals who are Indian, ongoing inspiration of "the new

rather than traditional tribal individualists":

"Indian art." .. .It is from legends and stories

Nowhere, perhaps, is this indi- and songs listened to

viduality more apparent than in and lived by

Native American sculpture. The That messengers in the night will

intensity of the artist's feelings tell you in your dreaming. t

often seems to permeate the You will cany, learn, and share.

piece itself. And it is from this and more that

Meanwhile, contemporary you are growing,

wood-carvers have carried the More than I can say with words.

craft of kachina making into the It is the likeness of breaths on

realm of fine art. Born of the corn pollen

secret religious ceremonies of And silent prayer to holy things

the Hopi, the kachina doll has on the fourth morning.... *

evolved into what in many cases -Lois Essaryjacka

is finely wrought sculpture. Some

34/An'zona Highways *From On Mountain 's Breath, :1
by Harold Littlebird
I
©J982 by Tooth of T ime Book5

•• • + • ••

H ol ow, free-fo<m buffed clay

figurines (BELOW, LEFT): Mother and Daughter, thirteen inches
high, and Cradled in the Sun, nine-

teen inches, both by Luke Simon,
Micmac. (RIGHT) Purple Clouds and
Dancing Ribbons, pastel, thirty-nine

by thirty and one-half inches, by
Clifford Beck, Navajo.

(BOTTOM) Kachina Poetry, acrylic on

+canvas, twenty by thirty-one inches,
by Michael Kabotie, Hopi.

Arizona Highways/ 37



•• • + • • •

R eminiscent of eady incised pottery from the Rio Grande
area, this smoked clay vessel by Jacquie Stevens, Winnebago, was coiled and handshaped. Stevens strives for a "richness of
pure form using the clay's natural colors and subtle natural earth-tone stains adding to the smokey cloud effects caused by

pit firing." (BELOW) Inspired by old ledger drawings, Randy Lee White, Brule Sioux-French, created this painting, Saying

+Goodbye, mixed media on canvas, forty-two by forty-eight inches.

..;. ··.' ;

__ .(;'' ·.
. .. .... .,.. . •. ~
. : .. · ·.: ' t : . . ~· ; ..... ... : . •. .
.... .-· ·"·;·
_J>-,:. ',i,

__· ·..:U1 ...' •·_-~..~.."":.~.,.,~,!~·1~ ··:
,.

40/Arizona Highways

( RIGHT) Portrait of a Navaj o, •• • + •
pastel, twenty- five and one- half
inches by nineteen and one- half N cklace of gold rnd lavulite;
inches, by David Johns, Navajo. choker set of gold with charoite and one diamond ( RIGHT). Both are by
The painter and printmaker excels
Larry Golsh, Pala Mission-Cherokee. "Much of Golsh's jewelry has an
in abstracts. Also shown is an architectural flavor," says one writer, "an element he feels is part of
untitled monotype that won first all art. " ( BELOW, CENTER) Farewell to Father, alabaster sculpture, thirty
prize at the Museum of Northern inches high, by Alvin Marshall, twenty-six, Navajo. ( BELOW, FAR LEFT)

+Arizona Navajo Show in 1985. +Sending Blessings, alabaster sculpture, thirteen inches high, by
Richard Tsosie, Navajo.
42/ Arizona Highways
( LEFT) Oreland
Joe, twenty-seven,
Navajo-Ute
sculptor, has
inspired several
young Navajo
artists, including
Alvin Marshall,
whose work
appears on this
page. 'Joe's style,"
says writer April Quick, "is traditional Native
American imagery flowing into abstract
forms.... A perfect marriage of impeccable
workmanship and lyric designs."
( LEFT) Eagle Medicine, by Oreland Joe, Utah
alabaster, nineteen and one-half inches

+high. ( BELOW) Intricate inlay and channel

lapidary work by Carolyn Bobelu, Zuni.

Arizona Highways / 43

• •• + • • •• •+• ••

C akec necklace (LEFT) in gold and lapis lazuli, A Legacy
of Talent
and necklace and earrings (BOTIOM, LEIT) in coral and fourteen -karat gold, are all by Navajo and Tenacity
jeweler Harvey Begay. The coral and gold pieces, fashioned by the lost-wax process and hand-
textured, won first prize and the best-of-division award in 1985 at the prestigious Santa Fe by LOIS ESSARY JACKA
Indian Market. (BELOW) Harold Littlebird, Santo Domingo - Laguna, crafted this unusual
ceramic mask (twelve inches high) and jar (fifteen inches) using slab pinch pot the heart of our improve upon what he or
techniques. The mask shows strong African influence. Texturing is achieved with clay
stamps. (BOTIOM, RIGHT) Inspired by Art Deco architecture of the 1920s, Larry Golsh spent a continent's history are the she has done before. Mate-
year designing and crafting this ring and bracelet of white gold, onyx,
fifteen carats of pave-set diamonds, and a pearl. native people of the past - rials, techniques, individual

+Golsh 's necklace is of lapis lazuli and turquoise the ancient ones who, while styles are reexamined in

beads, gold, and charoite. enduring the trials and dan- each artist's self-critique;

44/Arizona Highways gers of a primitive world, yet each continually experi-

saw and celebrated the beau- ments and explores as the

ty around them. In their art- search for betterment goes

work and ornaments they on. It is partly because of

transmitted their apprecia- that relentless search, be-

tion, and from that timeless cause of the desire to be free

heritage have emerged the of all limitations, that the old

Native American artists of rules and constraints are

today. They come from all being abandoned. Tradition-

tribes, men and women of al tribal lines are crossed,

all sizes and shapes, temper- cultural elements assimila-

aments and life-styles; quiet, ted, taboos ignored. A few

effusive, reticent, humorous, Navajo men have become

shy, gregarious; some from exceptional weavers; many

reservation homelands with Hopi men now rank among

strongly traditional upbring- the best potters; female paint-

ing, others reared amid the ers have reached the fore -

diverse influences of the cit- front of an art form hereto-

ies. But regardless of back- fore dominated by men.

ground, they share a fervent Contemporary artists blend

pride of ancestry, and even styles freely, leaving no

in th e most contemporary label of tribal affiliation.Tribe,

work they seldom resist gender, region, cultural back-

including some hint of ground all become second-

heritage. ary to the distinctive quali-

From their roots, from parents and grandparents and tribal ties and intrinsic merit of the artistic product. ·

elders, they have received not only talent and instruction but Thus the dream becomes reality, through the interaction of

+inspiration, clarity of vision, and the courage to make the creative mind, critical eye, skilled and disciplined hand, and

dream come true. Perhaps most important of all is the trait of personal style. It is truly the age of the new individualists.

perseverance, a seemingly unflagging tenacity. None of these

men and women have known overnight success; they have

experienced years of hard work, repeated disappointment,· (ABOVE) Coming of Crow Mother, watercolor sixteen b

and the continued growth demanded by life's struggles. twenty inches, by Neil David, Sr., Hopi. David's work

There is about them an intensity, an inner determination chronicles the cycles of the Hopi ceremonies and the

that keeps them pressing on. Each strives constantly to kachina culture.

• • + • •• •
Arizona Highways/ 45

Preparing a list of those who helped and it began to roll down a rocky Galeria Capistrano, San Juan Capis- A partial listing of Arizona 's Indian Coconino Center for the Arts, North Ned A. Hatathli Center Museum, Na-
Lois and me with this special project slope. Fortunately Richard's swift, giant trano, Californ ia art museums, exhibits, and special U.S. Route 180 (Fort Valley Road) , Flag- vajo Community College at Tsaile,
brought to mind not only the people strides overtook it in time. events scheduled throughout the year: staff. During the Festiva l of Nat ive north of Window Rock on State Route
who gave so much of their time and Gallery Wall, Scottsdale American Arts and Invitational in late 12. Gallery of silver and turquo ise Nava-
knowledge but also the often-memor- Forrest and Peggy Fenn were our Will Graven, Flagstaff The Heard Museum of Anthropol- June through early August, the Coco-
able circumstances we shared. hosts in Santa Fe. Their spacious gar- Mary Hamilton, Scottsdale ogy and Primitive Art, 22 East Monte nino Center for the Arts fills its gallery •jo jewelry. Telephone 871-2230.
den became a studio fo r photograph- Hopi Arts & Crafts Cooperative Gui ld, Vista Road , Phoenix. Perhaps the fin est with paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and Hubbell Trading Post National His-
Photographing weavers on the Nav- ing Doug Hyde's life-size sculpture - museum of its kind in the world, the weaving of emerging Nat ive American toric Site, on State Route 264, west of
ajo Indian Reservat ion began to seem an ideal place to work o nce we got Second Mesa Heard features permanent displays of art ists from the Four Corners states. Ganado. A huge assortment of baskets,
like a hopeless task Advance schedul - used to th e alligators in the Fenn Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale more than 75 ,000 Nat ive American arti- The festival also includes workshops, rugs, jewe lry, and pottery- all for sale.
ing of photo sessions in remote areas is lagoon. Byron Hunter, Scottsdale facts , including blankets, baskets, pot- demonstrations, and Indian performing
almost impossible, and our luck was Ind ian Arts and Crafts Association tery, kachinas, and jewelry. The muse- arts. Chosen as part of the Arizona •Telephone 755 -3254.
running bad: weavers were not at The cooperat io n o f gall eries was Indian Cu ltural Center, Tuba City um 's annual Indian Fair is scheduled Commission on the Arts traveling ex- Arizona State Museum, on the Uni -
home, or there were no rugs on their unbelievable. Art worth many thou- Keams Canyon Arts & Crafts, Keams for the first weekend every March, and hibition program, the works from this versity of Arizona campus, Tucson. A
looms, and the weather was worsen - sands of dollars was loaned without an Indian Fine Arts Invitational is held exhibit will be shown nationally and variety of permanent exhibits on the
ing. But Steve Getzwiller, my adviser quest ion - and without any promise of Canyon in the fall in odd-numbered years. Ex - prehistoric and historic Indians of the
and "wagon master," insisted we hang inclusion in Arizona Highways. Art Sculpture Services, Sedona cellent gift shop and bookstore. Tele- •internationally. Telephone 779-5944. Southwest. Don 't miss th e Hubbe ll
in there, and we d id. Later Steve and objects were delivered to my stud io; at Squash Blossom Galleiy, Palm Des- O'odam Tash, Casa Grande. Each Trading Post Navajo rug show there
his wife, Gail, let us photograph rugs other times, gall er ies themselves were •phone 252 -8840. February more than 100,000 Indians each December and the museum's
from .their collection at their ranch near turned into instant studiOs, despite the ert, California Museum of Northern Arizona, off from nearly every North American tribe open house each April. Te lep ho ne
Benson. disruption of business. Upon entering Joy Tash Gallery, Scottsdale U.S. Route 180 about two miles north gather for the world 's largest all-Indian 621-6302.
the Lavena Oh l Gall ery, Ga ll ery 10, Toh-at in Gallery, Durango, Colorado of downtown Flagstaff. This excellent rodeo and a weekend of arts and crafts
Charles Pratt accommodated us by Art istic Gallery, or the Heard Museum Turquoise Tortoise, Sedona museum interprets the cultural and exhibits, dances, costumes, food , and ARIZON~
flying from Oklahoma to pose with his Gift Shop, I began to imagine whis- Wadle Galleries, Santa Fe natural history of the Colorado Plateau, HIGHWAYS
li fe-size brass scu lpture, Corn Maiden. pers - " Lock up the cases, Jacka is Gene Waddell , Tempe and hosts Indian arts and crafts exhibi - •more. Telephone 836 -2125.
For the picture, the owners, Dan and back" - for invariab ly I would see new Special thanks must go to the Heard tions second to none. The annual Hopi Navajo Tribal Fairs, Window Rock MAY 1986 VOL. 62, NO. 5
Janet Hidding, helped wrestle all sixty- p ieces that I cou ldn 't res ist p hoto- Museum , Phoe nix , the Muse um of Craftsman Exhib ition offers the best in (September) and Tuba City (October).
nin e inches and eighty pounds of the graphing. Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, and th e contemporary Hopi arts and crafts, with Attracting a great number of artists and Publisher-Hugh Harelson
maiden up a steep gran ite slope north of Institute of Amer ican Indian Art, Santa ongoing demonstrations by the artists. artisans, these fairs also include rodeos, Editor- Merrill Windsor
Scottsdale. Among others who so willingly assis- Fe, for ass istance in contacting artists Th e annual Navajo Craftsman Exhibi- dances, food, rides, and agr icultural
ted were: and for allowing me to photograph tion follows the same format. Both are Managing Editor-Richard G. Stahl
At Keams Canyon, Bruce McGee pro- objects from the ir collections and gift •displays. Telephone 871-4941. Art Director- Gary Bennett
cured pottery and helped in many ways, ATLATI, Phoenix shops. •he ld in Ju ly. Telephone 774-5211. Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 East
but excused himself from one session Battle Horne Gall er ies, Santa Fe, And finally, we thank the art ists them- Hopi Cultural Center Museum, on Washington Street, Phoenix. This mu - Picture Editor- Peter Ensenberger
and thus missed a heart-stopping mo- se lves, who gave so generous ly of State Route 264, five mil es west of the seum, adm inistered by the City of Associate Art Director-Lorna Holmes
ment. As I prepared to shoot one of New Mexico themselves and their time with no as- junct ion with State Route 87. Exquisite Phoenix, is built on the site of a Hoho-
Richard Zane Smith's large corrugated Suzanne Brown Gallery, Scottsdale surance that th ey or their work wou ld pottery and si lver work of Hopi artists. kam dig and features artifacts of that Associate Editor-Robert J. Farrell
vessels (BELOW), a breeze toppled it, Marilyn Butler Gallery, Scottsdale be pictured or mentioned. prehistoric culture. Pueblo Grande also
Desert Crucible, Inc. , Tucson •Telephone 734 -2401. sponsors an Indian market every De- Senior Contributing Editors-
Fenn Galleries, Santa Fe Navajo Tribal Museum, in the Navajo cember featuring objects ranging from George Collins. Esther Henderson.
Arts and Crafts Enterprise build ing on kachinas to basketiy to painting- all at Ray Manley, Josef Muench, Earl Petroff.
State Route 264, Window Rock Impres- bargain prices- p lus Indian dan ces
sive display of Navajo weaving and and food. Telephone 275 -3452 . Clara Lee Tanner.
jewelry. Telephone 871-6673. Contributing Editors- Bill Ahrendt, John Anner-
ino. Jo Baeza. Joe Beeler. Bob Bradshaw,
Sunday at the Heard with Arizona Highways Duane Bryers. Don Campbell, Willard Clay, Ed
Cooper. Paul Dean. Don Dedera, Dick Dietrich,
Meet some of the artists featured in this issue and see examples of their Jack Dykinga, Ca rlos Elmer. Bernard L. Fontana.
work firsthand at the Heard Museum, 22 East Monte Vista Road, Phoenix, Jett Gnass. Barry Goldwater. Pam Hait, Jerry
Sunday, May 4, from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. This special event will bring together Jacka. Gill Kenny, Peter Kresan. Gary Ladd. Alan
some of today's finest Native American painters and potters, weavers, Manley. Herb and Dorothy Mclaughlin, J. Peter
jewelers, and sculptors. Sunday's affair will kick off Arizona Highways week Mort imer. David Muenc h, Cha rles Niehuis.
at the Heard Museum, an observance that will run through Saturday, May 10, Marguerite Noble. Lawrence Clark Powell, Allen
and showcase outstanding art objects. Admission for Sunday at the Heard C. Reed. Budge Ruffner, Jerry Sieve. Joe Stocker.
with Arizona Highways is three dollars for'adults, two dollars and fifty cents Jim Tallon. Larry Toschik, Marshall Trimble. Lee
for senior citizens, one dollar for children, and free for Native Americans. Wells. Maggie Wilson.
For more information, call 252 -8840.
Business Director- Jim Delzell
Operations Director- Palle Josefsen
Circulation and Marketing Director-

Sharon Vogelsang
Managing Editor, Related Products-

Wesley Holden
Production Manager- Diana Pollock

Governor of Arizona- Bruce Babbitt

Director,
Department of Transportation-

Charles L. Miller
Arizona Transportation Board
Chairman: Arthur C. Alanna. Douglas; Members:
Hal F. Butler, Show Low; Andrew M. Federhar,
Tucson; Ted Valdez. Sr , Phoenix; Sondra Eisberg,
Prescott; James Patterson, Chandler; Harold
Gietz. Safford.

46/Arizona Highways Arizona Highways/ 47