This painting by Ha So De shows a Skinwalker as a wolf possibly attempting to claim the body of the female who has passed away.  The young boy is attempting to keep him from doing so.  Tony Abeyta said the painting was finished by his dad in 1981.  He remembers this because he was 14 years old and his dad asked him to paint the faces of the young boy and the Skinwalker because Ha So De said he was not good with painting faces.

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Ha So De painted this image in the late 1980s and it was purchased by the owners of Kiva Publishing, which, in 1994, produced 225 serigraph prints from this original. 

Ha So De began his art career at the early age of 11 by drawing his first creations on canyon walls on the Navajo Reservation. By age 32 he was published in Art in America. He developed a markedly unique style of broad brush strokes and flowing lines, at times appearing almost nonchalant. He outlined his figures in colorful bands, reminiscent of multiple borders on the Navajo rugs he must have seen the women weaving as he grew up on the reservation. He seemed unconcerned with small detail but only with the sweep and dash of movement in free spirited scenes. His had a good sense of color and contrast.

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   Narciso Platero Abeyta (1918-1998) Ha So De - Fiercely Ascending was known for his Indian-themed paintings, which, stylistically, are atypical of most of the Indian art of his generation. Abeyta attended the Santa Fe Indian School and the University of New Mexico. He also participated in exhibitions throughout the United States and in Paris. He won awards at the San Francisco Fair and at the New Mexico State Fair.

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This Acoma jar is easily attributable to the famous Mary Histia as there are others of the same or very similar design that are documented as her work.  A very similar jar in the Museum of New Mexico Collection (45135/12) is identified as having been made by Mary Histia in 1951.  Another quite similar example from a private Santa Fe collection has been attributed to Mary Histia and had been made in the 1940s. Lanmon & Harlow 2013 [443,25.40]

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This fringed white braided Hopi Pueblo sash is often called the "wedding sash" as it is one of the items presented to the bride as part of her wedding outfit. It is also sometimes called the "rain sash" for the fringe symbolizes falling rain. The sash is woven by hand from handspun cotton. Fragments of similar sashes have been found in prehistoric pueblo sites, attesting to it being an ancient form of Southwestern Pueblo weaving.

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Eagles are very important to many Native American tribes and using the image of an eagle as a design element in paintings, weavings, basketry, etc. is a recognition of that importance.  Hopi capture eagles and secure them on rooftops at the pueblo for ceremonial purposes.  They are taken care of, fed appropriately, and given ceremonial blessings.  Small 2^nd Mesa coiled plaque are made specifically for an eagle and taken to the roof and placed with the eagle in captivity.

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The Hopi Salako Katsinas-male and female-appear during the Salako Ceremony, a ceremony that is held very infrequently, maybe every decade or so.  The katsinas are brought into position by Eototo and Hahai-i-Wuhti, and specific locations are marked as circles of cornmeal by Eototo.  The male and female Salako Katsinas rest in these circles bowing and dipping until beckoned to another set of circles by Hahai-i-Wuhti.  They advance one at a time to their new positions.

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This Navajo-made spider pin captures the essence of a real spider.  This Southwest Indian Jewelry pin has eight legs, eyes, and a body which is made of a single bezel that encases a stunning piece of blue-green turquoise with a beautiful copper matrix.

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There were several artisans at Zuni Pueblo in the mid-1900s who became famous for their carvings of small bird and animal fetishes from a variety of stones and shells.  The miniature fetishes were strung with hieshe and grouped in strings to form beautiful necklaces.  A later addition to the fetish necklace genre is fetish earrings.

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The first Zuni silversmith, Lanyad, learned his trade from the Navajo smith Adsity Chon in 1872. After that time the Zuni combined their lapidary skills with delicate silver work to develop a distinctive jewelry style. Zuni petit point jewelry was first made in the 1930s. This process is time consuming and painstaking. Multiple small stones are cut and shaped to fit into tiny bezels to create the design.

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Clara Lee Tanner, in her book Southwest Indian Painting: a changing art, compares Robert Chee to Harrison Begay in his strong ability to handle a great many colors and his tendency to stress the "intensity of tone in small areas." Chee, especially later in his very short life, could also be compared stylistically to Beatien Yazz.  Chee passed away at the age of 34.  Had he not passed away so soon, would we have seen many more spectacular paintings by him?

The curious fawn is the focus of this painting but the beehive certainly adds the excitement.

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Navajo painter Robert Chee (1937-1971) Hashke-Yil-e-Cale was a student of Allan Houser and was at the height of his career during the late 1950s. Beatien Yazz had begun painting much earlier than Chee. That said, Chee adopted the usage of ground lines, hills and plant life further along in his career, as did Yazz. One can notice how both artists' styles seem to mirror each other when one focuses and compares the terrain, flora and whimsical theme in their paintings. Could it be that Yazz had an influence on Chee's work? One could definitely speculate!

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The Shalako Ceremony is conducted at Zuni in late November or early December every year.  Although a Zuni ceremony, it is attended by members of other pueblos, Navajo, Anglo tourists and others who enjoy seeing the reenactment.  It is not unusual for artists of Navajo or non-Zuni pueblo to paint scenes from the ceremony as it is attractive, exciting, and inspiring.  Pablita Velarde (1918-2006) Tse Tsan - Golden Dawn took the occasion to paint an encounter between a Mudhead Katsina and a Shalako God.

The painting was executed in Pablita's style using mineral earth paintings which she painstakingly made by grinding materials on a metate using a mano.  This was a labor of love as Pablita could have purchased commercial paints and finished the job in much less time, but it was her dedication to the art that made her spend countless hours making her own paints.

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Damacia Cordero was a legend from Cochiti Pueblo. Her storyteller figurines and animal creations were unlike any other potter's work. This storyteller figurine, possibly a male, has the elongated torso, short legs, big ears, protruding nose and flat face of her traditional style.

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This Southwest Indian Pottery figurine set includes two horses, wagon, male and female adults, child, bench and dog.  It is one of the items I commissioned decades ago from Maria I. Naranjo (1924-2006) Margarita of Santa Clara Pueblo.  As I have mentioned on other occasions, I first commissioned her to make for me a three-piece black train set similar to one in a photograph I showed her from the Museum of New Mexico collection.  She made the set for me.  I then commissioned her to make a Noah's Ark, which she did, then in 1985, I asked her to make this horse and wagon set.  I got it from her on December 5, 1985 and kept it in my collection until I sold it to an individual associated with Worcester Polytech Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, on November 30, 1989.  Now, 26 years later, here it is again back in New Mexico!

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Probably one of the most difficult pueblos from which to find an older piece of pottery is Picuris Pueblo. It is difficult to determine if an older piece of micaceous pottery was made at Picuris or Taos.

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This Southwest Indian Pottery ladle appears to have been designed to permit the contents of the bowl to be dispensed through the handle and out the end of the handle.  The handle is hollow and connects to the bowl where there is an opening.  Perhaps that was a way to pour the liquid in a more controlled manner.  The bowl is shaped in a way that it would be hard to pour from the edge so pouring through the handle seems quite logical.  It is likely that the idea for this vessel shape would have been inspired by a gourd.

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   Virginia Ebelacker, daughter of Alcario and Margaret Tafoya, and granddaughter of Geronimo and Sara Fina Tafoya, was not a prolific potter because she had a full-time job at Los Alamos National Labs.  She worked in metallography and plastics and shaped and refined metal and plastics as a profession and was honored for her scientific contributions on both mediums.

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This narrow silver band with delicate turquoise stones was very popular in the 1920s-1940s. Usually it was worn with a half dozen or more other thin bracelets. This one has developed an excellent patina during its lifetime. The turquoise has turned green as it does after years of handling.

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It appears that this was a pendant or necklace in previous times but has been converted to a pin by the addition of a clasp on the back. I think it works beautifully as a pin, probably more visual than as a necklace.

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