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Venaya Yazzie
Venaya Yazzie was raised in the shadow of Dzi'naodi'thle (Huerfano Peak) which is located on the eastern region of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Born into the Manyhogans Clan, she believes that she was endowed with the divine gifts of the artistic way of life from her Navajo clan relatives from the past.
Venaya's contemporary American Indian work has been called "visionary" as she strives to create images that work outside the boundaries of what society views as stereotypical Native American art. She has great affinity for the work of Russian painter, Vassily Kandinsky, and therefore believes that the spiritual connection between the artist and their art is innately strong and always present in the process of creating art.
As a painter first, Yazzie also focuses her time in the realm of Fine Art Photography, which generally holds the subject matter of the southwestern landscape. Venaya's love of language and the oral history stories of her ancestors have also led her to become an avid writer of poetry and jewelry maker. Yazzie's images of the Native American woman pay homage to the cultural belief of the female as a matriarch. The colorful and distinctive earrings shown above are entitled Meditation. The earrings are made from an original image painted by Venaya which is then applied to lightweight Baltic birch wood.
Venaya divides her time in Albuquerque, NM and the San Juan Valley in northwestern New Mexico.
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Harmony is defined as order or congruity of parts to their whole or to one another. Using different art forms, these four artists create order or harmony through their chosen medium. Each tells us different stories from their distinctive cultures and they continue to teach traditions in the process of making art. Using clay, sand, wood or paint, they translate imagery rooted in their traditions into simultaneous combinations of color, texture and movement that makes each artist's work unique.
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Anita Suazo
Considered a master potter, Anita creates red ware and black ware pots using century old techniques. She credits her mother as her mentor. Her mother was Belen Tapia an innovator in finely crafted polychrome red ware pottery. As a child she was taught the use of techniques in traditional free hand coiling, stone polishing, native paints and the processing of native clays to make her pottery.
Today she works with her husband Joseph, who helps her dig clay from the soil near the Santa Clara Pueblo. Using these traditional techniques, she then makes carved red ware and black ware pots which she decorates with stylized designs: feathers, rain clouds, kiva steps, water serpents, or the sunflower motif featured above. Anita wins awards at shows throughout the country and her work is highly sought by collectors around the world. She is in many museums and private collections.
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Alexander Youvella Sr.
Alexander began carving kachinas at the age of 10. He learned how to carve by watching his father, the well-known kachina carver, Celestino Youvella. His work is meticulously executed and researched for detailed accuracy. Each kachina is posed in a way that helps convey a message or embody the spirit of the doll. By carving, he is not only helping to educate people about his culture, he is helping to keep it preserved. This Crow Man Kachina, or Angwusi Kachina, is one of the warriors who make war on the clown's bad behavior during the Plaza Dances. This one piece carving is carved out of cottonwood root.
Alexander is from the village of Polacca, a First Mesa village, in Arizona. Today he lives with his wife and family in the Tesuque Pueblo, near Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has won many awards for his carvings and in 2008 he received a fellowship from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts.
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Joe Ben Jr.
Joe Ben Jr. is one of today's most talented and recognized Navajo sandpainters. He has been making sandpaintings for more that twenty years. Joe refined his work by using bold color, unique texture and amazing detail. His sandpaintings are all done free hand and he uses only natural materials like sand, ground rock and semi-precious stones. Joe uses a metate to break and grind stones and sand down to make the natural colors for his paintings. His pallet of colors is obtained from careful collections of materials from around the world. His imagery is mainly of Navajo ceremonial events and spiritual symbolism. This dynamic sandpainting features morning stars and lightning.
Growing up in Shiprock, New Mexico he participated in many ceremonies to create balance and harmony in life. These ceremonies that affect the mind, body and spirit are translated into his art. Joe's work has been in exhibits all over the country, as well as abroad.
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