Hair and art

A new Navajo-run art gallery is making it easier for Native artists to get their work out before the public.

But behind the Navajo art pieces on display in front, there's a hair salon - an unorthodox pairing that is the brainchild of Vern "Vee" Newton, 'Áshiihí (Salt Clan) born for Bit'ahnii (Folded Arms Clan).

Newton, a hairstylist, wanted his shop to have a unique flair.

"I have incorporated Navajo and Tibetan cultures together," Newton said of the décor. "The salon in the back helps support the gallery in the front."

He calls his gallery/salon Hair Nirvana.

Dozens of handmade items like rugs, dolls, jewelry and even a wedding basket are set inside a glass display case. Native flute and drum music plays in the background.

In part, his choices are governed by the principles of feng shui, a Chinese philosophy that uses spatial arrangements to guide the flow of energy. A golden Buddha is perched in the front window and bamboo plants are placed at particular points around the shop.

"My vision of the store is to have a place in the Scottsdale-Phoenix area where Native American people can come and show their work for zero to minimal cost," Newton said.

He wants Native artists to get fair prices for their art.

Newton said another major reason he decided to open up his shop was to give those artists the opportunity to take back control of their art.

Newton believes he's giving Navajo artists an opportunity they may not have had otherwise. He thanks a man named Niles Gorman for pushing him to open a place that would provide such an opportunity.

"I met him (Niles) at the bottom of Canyon de Chelly," Newton said. "We saw him painting on these rocks and it motivated me to go forward with what my vision was."

His dream of giving Native artists an outlet for exposure in the big city has come true.

"There are about 10 artists whose work is in display," Newton said. "Some are family, some are friends, and some are friends of friends."

But he's in the process of getting more artwork. Newton hopes that one day his store will be a steppingstone for all Native artists looking for a way to break into the Scottsdale art market.

Carl and Irene Clark took first in the shell and stone mosaic-style jewelry division, and Byron Yellowhorse took second in that division. The Clarks also won a judge's choice award for another entry titled "Recession Masterpiece."

Overall, Navajo artists won eight of 21 Judge's Choice Awards given, plus the Conrad House Award, given anonymously.

Michael Roanhorse took second in the contemporary jewelry division. Fritz C. Casuse took second in the personal adornment-rings division, while Wes Willie took second in the matched set division and honorable mention in the personal adornment-bolo division. Jake Livingston earned an honorable mention in the matched sets division.

Shane Hendren and Jacob Morgan took second and honorable mention, respectively, in the metal items division.

Basketry comeback

Woven baskets have been making a comeback in recent years and the big winner at the Heard was Carol Emarthle- Douglas, Northern Arapaho-Seminole, who took first in the non-traditional category. Her design featured Native ladies around the sides of the basket, each holding out a tiny basket. The piece also took best of class in basketry.

Zuni artists swept the fetish category, with Gibbs Othole taking first with a carving that featured eagles roosting on a tree-branch of coral. Claudia Peina took second with one of her large corn maidens carved from elk antler and inlaid with coral and turquoise. Veronica Poblano took third with "Lapis Birds of Elegance."

Pottery was well represented, as usual. Harlan Reano and Lisa Holt, Santo Domingo/Cochiti, have been taking home the ribbons for several years now with their modern take on the traditional Cochiti wares, especially the figurative pieces.

They won best in class, a blue ribbon in traditionally made and painted pottery, and second place in figurative pieces. In non-traditional pottery, Hopi Preston Duwyenie offered some large, unpainted pots that resembled giant sand dollars. They were good for a blue ribbon.

The Nahohai family of Zuni is carrying on the tradition of matriarch Josephine Nahohai, who became a living treasure. Her sons Milford and Randy have kept the ceramic revival vital and now there is a third generation with Maynard and Randy's son Jaycee. At the Heard Jaycee had some delightful owl figures. The basic form is traditional Zuni, but the painting is very contemporary.

Gloria Kahe, a Navajo married to a First Mesa Hopi, had some remarkable Sikyatki revival pieces of the sort that Nampeyo made famous. She learned to work clay from her mother-in-law and thus does Tewa style pieces, elaborately painted and finely executed.

Navajos dominate textiles

Navajos dominated the textiles classification, sweeping the regional/19th Century revival, non-regional/contemporary, and miniature weaving divisions.

D. Y. Begay piled up the ribbons for her contemporary blanket "Transformation 2010," which was awarded best of class and a first in non-traditional weaving. The abstract landscape design also earned her not one but two special Judge's Choice Awards.

Another Navajo took first place in the miniature weaving category. Barbara Teller Ornelas won the category with a set of tiny chief's blankets. The other award in that category went to Michael Teller Ornelas, keeping it in the family.

Navajos Nathan Harry and Penny Singer also won top honors in both the traditional and non-traditional attire categories. Orlando Dugi, Navajo, won two honorable mentions in the diverse arts class for an evening bag and cocktail purse.

Dugi also collaborated with Rebecca Begay, Navajo, on an evening bag that took first in the functional objects division, and also won a Judge's Choice Award. Second place in the division was won by another Navajo, Monty Claw.

Two other Navajos also won Judge's Choice Awards, Liz Wallace and Cody Sanderson, while Melissa Cody, also Navajo, won both a Judge's Choice Award and the Conrad House Award for her piece titled "The Dopamine Regression."

Navajo artists won four awards in painting/drawing/photography class, including a blue ribbon for Monty H. Singer and an honorable mention for Hyrum Joe, both in painting. Carmen Hunter took first in photography, followed by LeRoy De Jolie in second place.

Beadwork, most common to the Northern Plains tribes, is becoming more common at Native art shows in recent years. Charlotte Alley, Wind River Shoshone, has made an impressive show at the Heard for several years and this year offered "Reflections," a small doll dressed in Anglo evening clothes of the 19th Century, complete with top hat.

Hopis swept the wooden carving classification, sweeping the traditional and non-traditional categories reserved for them and the Zunis.

Artist Beverly (Bear King) Moran, Standing Rock Sioux, appeared in a buckskin dress with a fully beaded yoke that had been entered at the Heard show a couple of years back. It is a spectacular creation that took three years to create. Her featured piece this year was a full-size, fully functional horse mask.

Lost arts

Folk art has been sadly abandoned as more Native American artists bring a contemporary feel to their work. I enjoy pieces that can take traditional forms, designs and ideas and make them new, like the pottery works of Randy and Jaycee Nahohai that are recognizably Zuni and yet represent their own vision.

If "folk art" is defined by its lack of sophistication, use of minimal tools, found objects, and familiar motifs (at least familiar to the maker and his group), then folk art is fast fading away.

I was delighted to find a display of great folk figures by Harry Benally of Sheepsprings, N.M. A traditionally raised Navajo, Harry used to carve images from a typical Navajo outfit - clunky men and women, sacks of Blue Bird flour, broken down wagons and common animals - and paint them with flat tempera paints. This is Navajo folk art at its best.

But even Harry is going modern. Over the years he has carved similar pieces, without paint, from cedar stumps. Parts of these sculptures are finely detailed and sanded. They still have the folk art feel, but there is a new tone to them. Harry says he hardly carves the old painted figures anymore.

Back to top ^