This carving of the Hopi Hemis Katsina is entirely from cottonwood root.  It appears that the body is from a single root, with the tableta, foxtail, arms and sash added to the basic.  It is signed with the name Via Harvey but I have not located a Hopi by that name, the closest I found is Vina Harvey.

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The Hopi Tuskiapaya Katsina, is called the Crazy Rattle Katsina, and is a variant of the Sikyachantaka Katsina, which is a very old Hopi Katsina.  It is said that a long time ago when the Hopis were having a famine and the Spanish had driven off their sheep, they decided to have a katsina dance.  At that time, Sikyachantaka did not have a name but one man in the village had a cow, and he killed the animal and fed these katsinas the entrails of the cow.  Hence their name, "holding entrails in the mouth." 

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It is not unusual for early- to mid-20^th century pottery not to have the name of the potter included.  Many Acoma Pueblo potters did not sign their work until after the 1950s.  Sometimes it is possible to take a stab at which potter made a particular item but most often it is no more than a guess.

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The Hopi Salakotaka and Salakomana appear as a pair and they tower eight or more feet tall.  They are tall and slender and without arms.  They move in a graceful manner and dip as they move slowly.  They are referred to as sister and brother.  When dancing, they are always accompanied by Hahai-i-Wuhti and the Tukwinong Katsinas.  The male and female are distinguished by the color of their moccasins-turquoise for the male and white for the female.  Both male and female have a rainbow chin and multiple turquoise necklaces.

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Inez, as she now signs her pottery, is a daughter of Seferina Ortiz, sister of Virgil Ortiz and mother of Lisa Holt.  She has remained with traditional designs and shapes, much like her mother, and unlike that of Virgil and Lisa.

This miniature female storyteller figurine is wearing the hair style of a Hopi maiden, called a whorl hair style.

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   Maria and Julian had four sons: Adam (born 1903), John (born 1915), Popovi Da (born 1922), and Philip (born 1925).  Adam's wife was Santana and it was she who worked with Maria following the death of Julian in 1943.  Santana and Adam also collaborated on pottery.  Santana made the pottery and Adam painted the designs.  Adam also did the firing of their pottery.  Adam surely was the one who gathered the clay for Santana and she most likely did all the clay processing.

This San Ildefonso Pueblo jar is one of the most beautiful of those I have seen by Santana and Adam..

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   Maria and Julian had four sons, Adam being the oldest. Adam's wife was Santana and it was she who worked with Maria following the death of Julian in 1943.  There are two periods of pottery that were collaborated by Maria and Santana.  The earlier ones were signed Marie & Santana and that period lasted from Julian's death in 1943 until 1956, at which time Popovi Da replaced Santana and helped his mom.  Maria did not immediately stop working with Santana when she began working with Popovi but did continue on and off for a few more years.  Those pieces are signed Maria & Santana.

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This small Zia Pueblo jar is indicative of her work. It is perfect in form, consistent in wall thickness, smooth application of white slip, excellent burnishing of the red slip, and impeccable application of the design.  It is signed by the artist on the underside.

Eusebia Toribio Shije (1930 - ) has been an award-winning potter for a number of years. She won the award for Best Traditional Zia Pottery in 1980

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This wonderful acrylic painting by Delbridge Honanie is an untitled piece. Flirting with abstract and surrealist styles it is full of images of man, nature and the spirit world. The swirling shapes and colors could be interpreted as flowers and bees or pollen, suggesting mother nature and/or reproduction. The Katsina face and eagle feathers are more representational. All of these are drastically out of proportion with the cliff face they are attached to and positively dwarf the tiny human figure along the bottom. Is this a suggestion of man's relatively unimportant role in the large scheme of things? We're sure there are as many interpretations as there are viewers. Feel free to contact the gallery and tell us what you think. This piece is a sure fire conversation starter and would be a standout in any collection.

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Michael Kabotie was the son of famed Hopi artist, Fred Kabotie.  Michael passed away at the early age of 67 years at the height of his fame.  He had attended Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas in 1961.  In the 1970s and 1980s, he was the spokesman for the Artist Hopid, a group of Hopi artists who worked together.  Other members of Artist Hopid were Terrance Talaswaima, Milland Lomakema, Delbridge Honanie and Neil David, Sr.

This original painting "Ancient Messages" depicts a variety of petroglyph-like shapes and figures.

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Although not the most common of her subject matter, the activities of daily life struck her mind in photographic detail. Pablita Velarde was keenly aware of the activities in the Pueblo and she watched her aunts and the other members of the Pueblo make pottery, plaster walls, and of course, grind corn. Few people perceive their surroundings with the heightened sensitivity that Pablita Velarde did. She had no interest in making pottery, she was much more interested in painting the scenes she was witnessing.

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During a ceremonial plaza dance, the Koosa are not clowns and are not intended to amuse.  They represent the spirits of the ancestors or Ancients of the people, those who have direct influence with the gods. During such dances, the Koosa dance with the performers. There is nothing but the utmost seriousness by the Koosa during the dance and the clowns generally torment the Katsina dancers but are not to be seen as they are supposedly invisible. They are known to eat in excess and are always gluttons so it is quite common to see them rendered either eating or hoarding food.

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It is always difficult to make attributions to pottery because there is always the chance that there was another potter who produced similar work but is not currently known to us.  This pictorial bowl has been attributed to Annie Healing Nampeyo based on the shape of the bowl, which is similar to other bowls by her, the white outlining of design elements for which she was very well known, and the stippling of the design on interior and exterior, a trait of her mother, Nampeyo of Hano, and Annie as well.

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   Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo is the largest, most northerly, and the most geographically isolated of the six Tewa villages. It was where the Spanish selected as their first capital when they arrived in the late 1500s.  Six months later, they moved their capital to Santa Fe.  San Juan, as it was christened by the Spaniards, is known as one of the pueblos where ritual and political matters continue to be strictly observed. Living and working in this environment, Montoya developed two independent sides of his art: figurative studies of traditional Tewa ritual; and his more cerebral, purely abstract studies of color and form. His popular figurative works brim with vitality and action. His strong asymmetric compositions, such as this image of a pueblo, come to life as if one were witnessing the pueblo rather than viewing a piece of art.

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As is always the case, José Disiderio (J.D.) Roybal [1922-1978] Oquwa - Rain God did an exceptional job in presenting details of the costuming of the Koosa Clowns, the stitches on the basket and the fire and firewood.  He was an exceptional artist who always paid attention to minor details. Roybal was particularly fond of painting Koosa (Tewa Clowns).

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Ben Quintana (1923-1944) Ha-a-tee was probably the most talented painter from Cochiti Pueblo of the early 20th century.  It was a real tragedy when he lost his life during World War II at only the age of 21 years. He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for gallantry in action. We would have seen some marvelous work from this young man had he lived to produce it.  Cochiti Pueblo residents today still respect him for his art and gallantry.

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A Hopi woman's life is dedicated to taking care of her husband, children, and, when needed or requested, any number of birth relatives or clan relatives.  It is the woman's responsibility to take care of preparation and storage of all food after harvest time.  The men do the harvesting, then their work is done and the woman then works nonstop until everything is dried, preserved, and stored for the future.

It is also the woman's job to make baskets.  Each part of the basket is planned far in advance of starting to weave.  Appropriate grasses must be harvested at the correct season and stored and made ready for use when the time comes. Yucca leaves must be collected, split, dried, dyed and stored until needed.  Once all the materials have been properly assembled and treated, which is done over many months, then she is ready to start the weaving process.  Second Mesa basketry is coiled using the technique of wrapping and interlocking thin strips of the yucca leaf over a bundle of grasses which form the foundation and strength of the finished product.

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The coiling technique for basketry is limited to the villages of Second Mesa-Shungopavi, Shipaulovi, and Mishongnovi.  It requires two sections of differing materials, placed basically at 90-degree positions.  One is called the weft and the other the warp-the warp being the foundation and the weft the design or finished part.  Galleta grass is used for the warp foundation and yucca leaves for the weft.

The galleta grass needs no special preparation before being used, but the yucca leaves require quite a significant amount of preparation.  The yucca leaves have to be split into very thin strips, laid out to dry, bleached in the sun or dyed with native dyes.  Many months of preparation are required before a basket can be started.

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The Hopi Indians have a long tradition of existing in the harsh, dry climate of Arizona where they rely on nature to provide for their livelihood.  They have a strong religious belief demonstrated with their annual Katsina dances and in less visual means.  They have preserved their traditional ways for a thousand years when one would expect that today's modern culture would have supplanted tradition.

One of the ways the Hopi have preserved traditions is through making baskets.  Outsiders may view the baskets as curio items or decorative items, but to the Hopi women who make them, they have a very important function in their lives.

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One would expect that a flat tile would be one of the easiest pottery items to successfully make, however, because they are flat, there is no structural integrity.  They sometime crack during the drying process or warp.  This Kewa-Santo Domingo Pueblo tile succeeded in drying without cracking but it did warp slightly.  There is no indication of the artist or time period but I suspect it was made before mid-1950s.

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