Traditional, modern designs blend in beauty

On March 5 and 6 nearly 700 Native artists gathered for the annual Heard Museum Guild show. The weather was perfect, the crowds appreciative, and the vendors were happy.

This year's "signature" artist was impressionist Shonto Begay, named for his hometown in the northwest corner of the Navajo Nation.

Begay, Diné, is well known to Heard show audiences. His striking and original art graced the market's magazine and other publicity.

Diné metal smiths dominated the jewelry category, taking five blue ribbons in the seven categories. Ric Charlie had the top ensemble with a necklace-and-earrings set in his unique sand-cast style. Daniel Sunshine Reeves took blue with a dazzling coral cluster concho belt.

Raymond C. Yazzie won the personal adornment (rings, earrings) category with a piece that featured Japanese oxblood coral set in 14-karat gold. Benson Manygoats was awarded first place for his "Whimsical Bracelet."

Keri Ataumbi, Kiowa, took the Andy Eisenberg Award in contemporary jewelry with an insect dominated bracelet, brooch and ring ensemble. Her pieces looked more like sculpture than adornment.

Wallace Ben, from Shiprock, gave me a business card that reads "Ben's Plumbing/Heating and Electrical, New Mexico Licensed and Bonded." It seemed a strange contrast from the delicate sand paintings, both traditional and modern, he offered for sale.

Ben was a demonstrator and studiously ignored visitors to his booth as he poured fine lines of colored sand from his fingers, leaving his wife to field questions from onlookers.

Weavers dominate

Navajo weavers also dominated their division, as usual. Charlene Laughing won best in class with a "territorial rug" with super fine weaving in black and white yarn.

"I saw this old saddle blanket," she said.  "My mother said it was a design that would make a great rug, so I did it."

Charlene shared her booth with her mother, master weaver Mona Laughing, who has won many awards over the years. Mona was showing the most striking "sample" rug I have ever seen.

The upper left third of the rug was one design; the lower right section another. Separating those two elements were three different overlapping rug designs. All portions were executed in bold colors and tight, clean work. It was a masterpiece.

Jason Harvey from Sanostee, N.M., also won blue with a revival rug. The Two Grey Hills area produced the first male weaver on the reservation, Hosteen Klah, and men continue the tradition in that area. Harvey brought several large textiles to the show.

Tahnibaa Naataani took first and a Judge's Award for a traditional dress. She also showed a "work in progress" that was rather unique. It was in the tradition of old "crazy quilts," pieced together randomly of different colors and patterns. It was definitely an eye-catching creation.

Diné artists took five of the prestigious Judge's Awards for outstanding pieces in various categories.

Year of the basket

2011 may well be the year of the basket, extending a movement that started early last year and included two major basket shows at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. The category has been expanding at the Heard show for several years.

This year's best in show was a basket by Passamaquoddy weaver Jeremy Frey, showing at the Heard for the first time.

"I've been making baskets for 10 years," he said, "but I never thought I'd take best in show my first time here. Now what?"
Frey said the shape of his basket and the pointy elements are traditional, but he has added his own design touches and incorporated sweet grass into his work. He uses a double-ring pull on the basket lids.

The main material is black ash, which he pounds until it separates along the annual rings.

"If I keep beating on it the strips get thinner and thinner," he pointed out. The spiky piece was called "Pointy Urchin."

Northwest Coast tribes were also represented this year. Haida weaver Gianna Rose Willard came all the way from Ketchikan, Alaska, with her traditional design woven hats, a major item in the basket revival. Diane Douglas-Willard, another Haida from Alaska, showed an excellent selection of basketry.

Sally Black, who hails from the Navajo Mountain, Utah, area, continues to reinvent Navajo basketry with new designs and new patterns. Her family has led the Diné revival.

Unique clay

Diné potter Samuel Manymules sported a wide grin. He might have anticipated his blue ribbon for traditional, non-painted ceramics when he named his olla "10 Years! Baby!" Manymules has been winning awards for that long and shows annually at the Case Trading Post in Santa Fe.

When asked why nobody is copying his work he replies, "They haven't figured out how."

His clay is his own secret and his firing yields a smoky brown-red color only Samuel has managed to achieve.

"It takes a lot of polishing to get a shine," he said. "This clay is very gritty."

Lucy McKelvy, of Bloomfield, N.M., is at the other end of the spectrum from Samuel Manymules. Her pieces are ultra-modern - canteens, wedding vases, plates and serrated forms, wildly painted with modified Yei figures. Her Jewish menorah melded two distant cultures.

Diné artist Lucita Woodis-Junes took first place in the drawing category and photographer Gary De Jolie took the top prize in his category.

Rain dancers take 1st

The top katsina award went to Stetson Honyumptewa for an incredible pair of rain dancers, with feathers blowing in the wind. Honyumptewa took best in show last summer at the Santa Fe Indian Market.

First place in the traditional doll category went to a whimsical Prickly Pear Cactus Katsina by Tyron Polequaptewa.

The most unusual katsina was a never-before-carved figure representing the Wind Spirit by young Hopi carver Prinston Collateta. The eerie figure was impossible to photograph in the low light. Prinston has a great career in front of him.

Kathleen Wall, Jemez, won ribbons with her nearly life-sized bronzes of maidens. She said it took two and a half months just to build the clay form and four and half months to create the full figure. She has been working traditional clay for 20 years, but moved into bronzes just five years ago.

The Heard show continues to be one of the most popular shows in the country with high praise from exhibitors for the treatment of artists. With so many top craftsmen and such diverse artistry, it is a crowd pleaser as well.

Back to top ^