Museum of Northern Arizona
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Earth, Stone and Wood: Native American Artists at Museum of Northern Arizona
"I respect all people, Navajo, Hopi, Apache, and Hispanic," said Ambrose Teasyatwho, Navajo carver who uses tribal figures as subjects in his one-piece carvings made from cottonwood root. Teasyatwho, a self-taught carver, will be demonstrating his art Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9, 2000 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Teasyatwho is the first in a series of artists, demonstrating their work at the Museum, who will be examining aspects of pottery and carving in July. Artist demonstrators are new to the Museum's Heritage Program, a summer-long series of festivals, marketplaces, demonstrations, lectures, children's programs, and exhibits that provide visitors an opportunity to interact and learn from the individuals that bring their art to life.
Teasyatwho is a self-taught wood carver who started his art after a mining accident ended his career as a laborer in 1988. His carvings of Navajo Yei and Hopi Kachina figures have received recognition and awards from across the nation. He was also chosen to demonstrate his artwork at George Washington University.
Dan Yazzie, local Navajo carver, will demonstrate the work that has earned him several awards at past Museum shows, Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16, 2000 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The local artist uses cottonwood root to produce two and three-dimensional carvings of cultural and ceremonial figures. Yazzie's Female Navajo Yei has received several awards and is now featured on the Museum's 2000 Heritage Program marketing materials.
Following Yazzie, contemporary fetish carvers La Vies and Daisy Natewa will demonstrate the art they have been creating for over a combined 20 years, Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23, 2000 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The Natewas use marble and stone to carve small bears, rabbits, sheep, frogs and other wildlife into necklaces, earrings, and fetishes at their home in Zuni, New Mexico.
July's final demonstrator will be Gwen Setalla, Hopi potter from Winslow, Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30, 2000 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum. Setalla collects clays and dyes from her parent's ranch in Snowbird to make traditional and contemporary styles of Hopi pottery. "It enables me to express my feelings for nature," Setalla said. Setalla was awarded first place at the Museum's 1999 Hopi Marketplace for her water jug that now graces the members' invitation to the 67th Annual Hopi Marketplace.
The artist demonstrations, which are included in regular Museum admission and are free for members, will offer pieces of the featured artist's work for sale.
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This page was originally published in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information. rev. 3/2/11
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