Taking a Walk Off the Beaten Path with Taos Potter Camille Bernal

Part of the fun of SWAIA Indian Market is seeing what's going on and off of the Santa Fe Plaza.  As a matter of fact, most stores and galleries have something going on that rides on the coattails of Indian Market.  On Saturday, I stopped into Keshi, a Native American art cooperative gallery, to see a friend and discovered the pottery of Taos artist Camille Bernal.

While Bernal uses traditional means to create her work, the end result is anything but traditional. As a matter of fact, her work is a tribute to ancient Egypt, Japan and Mesoamerica.  Her favorite subjects are insects and floral patterns.  She also favors shapes that deviate from the traditional "perfection" of pot shapes as one usually sees in Pueblo pottery.  Her deep, bold incised designs are very intriguing and beautiful.

While Bernal has never applied to have a booth at Indian Market, she is a regular at the Native Treasure show that takes place in Santa Fe every spring.  When she is not appearing there, her work can regularly be found at Keshi and online at http://www.keshi.com/.

Camille Bernal made time between talking with her admirers at her first one woman show at Keshi to talk about her pottery.  Watch my VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE:

2011 SWAIA Indian Market: Layering the Past in Beads with Emil Her Many Horses

Every year at SWAIA Indian Market, it seems that I am fascinated by another genre. This year, it was bead and quillwork. Having discovered this past year that my heritage may very well include an Eastern Woodlands tribal background probably has something to do with it. Additionally, the artistic vision and discipline of these artists is amazing to me. Naturally, I was instantly drawn to the work of Emil Her Many Horses.

When Emil is not working full-time as a curator at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., he spends the remainder of his day working on stunning pieces of art for Indian art markets around the country including SWAIA Indian Market.  Born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Emil is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe.  He began learning bead and quillwork when he was in junior high school. He saw an item that he wanted to purchase, but could not afford it, so he decided to make it instead. By enlisting tribal women to work patiently with him until he, in their estimation, had exceeded the quality of their work, he mustered the confidence to secure his fate as an artist.

Emil finds nontraditional “exotic” items that made their way onto reservations in bygone days fascinating. As his submission piece for the 2011 SWAIA Indian Market, and in celebration of the work of his predecessors, he chose to transform a vintage phonograph by decorating the horn with beads in the Eastern Sioux floral style.  It is inspired by a similar phonograph found in the Denver Art Museum which is rendered with porcupine quills.

He was kind enough to talk to me about his work, how he learned bead and quillwork, and how what was once considered to be women’s work was ultimately embraced by men as well.

Watch my interview with Emil Her Many Horses HERE:



2011 SWAIA Indian Market: Doll Maker Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty

Detail of Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty's Award-Winning Piece

Every year at SWAIA Indian Market, I have a new favorite artist.  This year it is is Assiniboine Sioux doll maker, bead and quill worker Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty. In addition to her breathtaking art work, Juanita is also one of the nicest people I've ever met.   It was by chance that I ended up at her booth at the 2011 SWAIA Indian Market, and she warmly welcomed me under the white tent to talk to me about her work and her family's history participating in Indian Market.  She has been juried into the show for the last 26 years, and is a protege of her award-winning mother and collaborator Joyce Growing Thunder.



Joyce Growing Thunder

This year, Juanita won "Best of Division" and "First Place" in the "Diverse Arts" category for her soft sculpture Native American riding a horse adorned in full regalia.  She was so kind to let me film her piece, photograph it in detail and talk to me about what went into making this award-winning exquisite work of art.

Watch my interview with Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty HERE:

2011 SWAIA Indian Market: The Unreserved Jemez Pueblo Potter Glendora Fragua

If you want to laugh your butt off, spend a few moments with contemporary Jemez Pueblo potter Glendora Fragua.  Her sense of humor is on par with her talent, and her style is constantly morphing.  And people have been taking notice. As a matter of fact, many Mata Ortiz potters have been trying to reproduce her floral and insect designs, but they don't compare to the real thing. 

Fragua, began making pottery at age 16.  She was brought up in the Bay area, but moved to Jemez Pueblo when she was in her teens. Adjusting to "rez" life was not easy for the urbanite, but she did learn how to work with the Native clays and has done a fantastic job coming into her own as a Pueblo potter.  Her personal style and dynamicism as a person and artist have made her one of the biggest stars on the Native American art show circuit.

For the last two years, I have wanted to interview Glendora about her pottery, but for one reason or another it hasn't happened until now. I'm thrilled that she finally had the time during a lull at her 2011 SWAIA Indian Market booth to talk briefly to me. 

Watch my interview with Glendora Fragua HERE:

Uncle Paulie Presents New Artist Interviews from 2011 SWAIA Indian Market

"New Mexico Style" Takes the Mystery Out of Pueblo Potting with Kathleen Wall of Jemez

The media is starting to sit up and take notice of the newer generation of Native American artists that has been emerging for some time, and rightly so .Its contingency consists of some of the finest artists in the world, not just the Indian world.  They are taking the traditional and putting their own signature spin on centuries-old styles which helps Native American art to evolve as it always has.

Kathleen Wall of Jemez Pueblo is one such artist. She is a potter, bronze sculptor and installation artist.  She will be one of more than 1100 juried artists participating in the 2011 SWAIA Indian Market, which will be taking place on Santa Fe's historic Plaza this coming weekend.  Known for her whimsical Koshari clown sculptures and masks, Wall also loves to create larger clay sculptures of traditional dancers as well as depict lives in various Native American cultures.

The IAIA- (Institute of American Indian Art) trained artist made an appearance this morning on KASA Fox 2's "New Mexico Style" in Albuquerque to talk about her work, explain the clay sculpting process and talk about her collaborative workshop that will begin at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on August 29.  For more information about the workshop, contact the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center directly at 505-212-7052.

Watch the interview with "New Mexico Style" hosts Nikki Stanzione and Kristen VanDyke HERE:

http://www.kasa.com/dpp/nm_style/features/potting-101-from-jemez-pueblo



Albuquerque Journal Celebrates Laguna Potter Max Early's Comeback & Family Legacy

Everyone loves a good story.  Today, the Albuquerque Journal released a terrific article by David Steinberg about Laguna Pueblo potter Max Early.  It's all about how he dropped out of pottery making for a while to go back to college to get his bachelor's degree at age 48, how his big comeback to SWAIA Indian Market last year with a new concept didn't happen, and how this year he finally made it happen.  Proud of his accomplishments, Early is equally proud of his son Alan Early who received a young artist fellowship from SWAIA this year. The two will share a booth at Market, which marks SWAIA's 90th year.

Read the Arts section cover story in the Albuquerque Journal HERE:

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/08/14/living/arts/clay.html

Watch a video interview from last year's "The ROAD to Indian Market" series HERE:

WHY THE "ROAD TO INDIAN MARKET" IS PAVED WITH GOLD

Yesterday, my friend and sometimes client Kathleen Wall did an interview with the national radio program "Native America Calling." During her chat, she talked about the electric energy that happens every year during SWAIA Indian Market. She also talked about the fact that Native people make the Southwest a particularly special place. I totally agree. Upon returning to New York in late June, I was going to write a blog with a similar theme as this one, but it didn't leave my fingers naturally and I didn't want to be disingenuous. I think maybe this is what I wanted to say with some perspective thrown in after trying to reconnect with New York this time around.

The reality is that two and-a-half years ago when I left New York for Albuquerque, New Mexico, I had no idea how much I was going to be changed by one place.  New York, in the many years I lived there, changed me--I grew up a bit, learned what I didn't want in life, learned what I do want in life.  New Mexico taught me how to love life.  Sure, in all its third-worldesque ways of working it was frustrating and it made me aggressive at times, but truthfully you will never be in a place that is more about sharing than New Mexico. 

The other day, I had a conversation with a dear friend who lives on the West Side of Albuquerque, and we agreed that one of the most special things about our lives in particular is that we get to be surrounded by art 24/7 and that our Native American artist friends would give us the shirt off of their backs.  Most of them struggle even more day to day, so that's saying a lot about them.  The concept of sharing--at the level that Native Americans do--is essentially lost in mainstream culture, and if people do it, they mostly do it to be politically correct.  Native Americans share because it is their nature.  Every year, they openly welcome people into their homes during feast days, and some are even willing to share on a deeper level about their tribes, culture and language.  I respect both instances of sharing and would never do anything to exploit the sacred knowledge that I have.  It comes with much responsibility to a people who are are walking the edges of two worlds that in these contemporary times seem to both be confusing and difficult. 

As SWAIA Indian Market approaches next weekend (August 20-21), I am thinking about how grateful I am to be able to attend again this year. I miss the sharing and that is important to me.  At my age I crave things grounded in reality--being around those I love, staying mentally and physically healthy and getting to share as well. New York City is a city of ambition and people don't typically share unless there is a price. Circumstances seemed to be leading me in another direction, but then all changed, and my original plan to return to New Mexico before Market reasserted itself. I'm thrilled!

Take away the politics, the egos and the competitveness of many people involved with Indian Market, it is truly a spiritual experience.  Nowhere else can you have the opportunity to talk with so many down-to-earth, incredibly talented artists and have the opportunity to make friendships with them that will last a lifetime.  That is what Indian Market is to me, and I have been so blessed to have had many incredible experiences in the time that I have lived in the Southwest.  If one could only have nine lives that included terrific experiences during Indian Market and getting to know Native artists in general, I have had at least ten or eleven!

It's nice to know that while humanity seems bogged down in politics, the stock market, and general survival, we can look to Native Americans, who have been survivng for centuries and still live among us with the same ingenuity, open-heartedness and wisdom that they have always had.  Perhaps we can look to their art and their culture to solve some of our own problems.  That is why the Road to Indian Market is paved with gold.  To all my wonderful artist friends, I love you and best of luck at the 2011 SWAIA Indian Market. Happy working!