Heard @ the Heard 2011: Saginaw-Chippewa Painter Daniel Ramirez & The World's Longest Native American Painting

Within the Native American art world, forms are constantly changing.  To stay relevant, artists must constantly reinvent themselves.  One artist who is not content to sit by and do the same thing over and over is Saginaw-Chippewa painter Daniel Ramirez.  Ramirez, who has been painting for most of his 57 years, recently began embarking on a new artistic journey with the development of his "World's Longest Native American Painting," which had a partial debut in Marin County last month.  The painting, which is comprised of one entire canvas, rather than multiple pieces, will hang one-hundred feet long by eighteen inches high upon completion five years from now. 

The journey to create the “World’s Longest Native American Painting” sprung out of an exhibition of Ramirez’s “Women of the Great Lakes” at  Washington D.C.’s NMAI (The National Museum of the American Indian) in 2006.  This piece hung six feet long by twelve inches high.  As a guide to his piece, Ramirez will create a full-scale drawing of the “World’s Largest Native American Painting.”  With the Native American art enthusiast in mind, Ramirez will have every three feet and every six feet photographed so that he can create giclee prints, which he will personally hand paint.  The end result will be thirty-three panels available for purchase by individuals and collectors.

Ramirez spoke to me about this magnificent work at the 53rd Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market in Phoenix as part of my "Heard @ the Heard 2011" series.  Watch the video HERE:

Uncle Paulie's World Releases "Heard @ the Heard 2011" Series March 10

Well the 53rd Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market has come to a close for another year, but the spirit of the show still lives on. I think I may go through Native American art withdrawal!  But seriously, I get to relive all the memories as I begin putting the final touches on my series "Heard @ the Heard 2011."  This year, I've got everyone from Cody Sanderson talking about his mind-blowing submission piece that was the talk of the show, to the jewelry design team of Denipah and LaRance, to visual artists Ben Harjo, Jr., Daniel Ramirez, Marla Allison, and more. 

 The "Heard @ the Heard 2011" series begins on Thursday, March 10, so keep an eye out on Uncle Paulie's World for a new artist interview every other day until it's done.  If you didn't get to come to the show this year, live vicariously through me and my cameras.

This was a very special Heard show for me, seeing all my favorite people again. From the opening night "Best of Show" party to two beautiful 80 degree days filled with music, dancing and phenomenal Native American art, I captured it all through candid photos and video.  Until the series starts, watch this introductory recap video so that you can decide which piece or artist is your favorite!

"Heard @ the Heard 2011" Series Coming Soon to Uncle Paulie's World

Hi ya'll!  Well, I can scarcely believe that another year has passed and it is again time for the Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market.  This is the 53rd season and I will be in Phoenix with my handy camera in tow capturing the spirit of the show with interviews of many of the 750 artists in attendance.  You just never know who you might get to know via the Blogosphere!

Last year, my Heard @ the Heard series was very well-received, so I'm doing it again for 2011.    Stay tuned to your computer for blog updates starting this weekend and into next week.  Please comment and let me know what you think.  Thanks for supporting Native American fine art and see YOU at the Heard! 

In the meantime, watch a teaser for the series HERE!

Ojibway Artist Wanesia Misquadace Launches "Essence of the Lake Collection" at Heard Museum

Next week is the Heard Museum's Annual Indian Fair and Market in Phoenix, Arizona.  It will commence Saturday, March 5 and run through Sunday, March 6. Award-winning Ojibway artist Wanesia Misquadace is known for her birch bark bitings--this past year at SWAIA Indian Market, she placed 1st in "Diverse Arts" for her birch bark canister, made of birch bark, silver and precious stones, as well as Lake Superior pebble stones. She also had the double honor of placing 1st in the "Bracelet" division for her piece entitled Lady Slipper.  Not everyone can do that so it was a great thrill!  Now, her work is in great demand by high-tiered Native American art collectors.

This year, at the Heard, Wanesia Misquadace will be launching the "Essence of the Lake Collection," a new jewelry line with the discriminating, fashion-conscious, fashion-forward collector in mind. This isn't your typical Native American jewelry collection. It transcends what most people think of when they hear Native American jewelry. While her life in the Southwest has to some degree informed the work, the "Essence of the Lake Collection" is truly a reflection of her indigenous cultural roots as well as contemporary artistic influences. These one-of-a-kind pieces will fuse the traditional concept of birch bark bitings and cutouts with representational floral designs embellished with precious and semi-precious stones, including diamonds, acquamarine, yellow topaz, garnets and more.

Wanesia will be sharing a booth with her amazing Dine (Navajo) jewelry designer life partner Frtiz Casuse located at #I-07.  Come by on Saturday and Sunday to see what all the buzz is about. Waneisa is the only female from a Northern United States tribe creating this work, and she is excited to share it with the public.  For more information, visit her blog at http://wanesiamisquadace.blogspot.com/.


Watch a video of Wanesia from my "Road to Indian Market 2010" series HERE:

Barking Up the Right Tree at Bellingham's First Friday ArtWalk

Birch bark seems to be a theme in my life in the last couple of months--from finding out that my biological family may have blood ties to the Ojibway (Chippewa) in Wisconsin,  and learning about an Ojibway friend's culture through her traditional birch bark bitings, which she has transferred into jewelry designs.  Earlier in the month, I found a birch bark rattle at the local Goodwill and picked up a sweet Ojibway birch bark box at a Seattle antique mall.  During the Bellingham First Friday ArtWalk that I attended on Friday evening  in Bellingham, Washington, I met a woman who was photographing paintings of birch bark trees.  After I told her about my recent infatuation with birch bark, she told me she has an antique "picker" friend in Portland, Oregon, who just found a really beautiful birch bark box.  Coincidence?   I don't think so!  I love that art and beauty is all around us and things are interconnected if we open our eyes.

Back to the First Friday ArtWalk in Bellingham...This sleepy burg was named an "Art Town USA" a few years ago, because the arts thrive there, but  in a very quiet way.  Only second to Santa Fe for the number of registered artists,  the quality of Bellingham's visual art is very high and the price points are amazingly low for original art.

Highlights of the Bellingham First Friday ArtWalk were hanging out with the dynamic Trish Harding at her studio in downtown Bellingham and meeting local whimsical printmaker Scott Rickey, who is showing his work at local home design retailer Digs, through the month of January.  I especially enjoyed his print "My DARE Officer was a Dick".   Blue Horse Gallery has new owners, and they have added a quaint new cafe, an area for live musical performances and readings and some terrific new artists like Kiki Cardarelli, who paints her original photographic works with stunning results.  There is also fine jewelry, sculpture and more to be found at Blue Horse Gallery.  At Jinx Art Space, an artist cooperative, which I found to be cavernous, I discovered the work of collaborators Genevieve Gonska and Tammy Findlay in an exhibit of works entitled "Winter Sleep".  The two have created the aforementioned marvelously pensive depictions of birch bark trees in chalk on natural wood.  It's definitely an exhibit not to be missed.

 In the basement at Jinx, I met a lovely and delightful painter by the name of Sheana Sisselman.  She uses motor oil, collected by her mechanic husband, to create incredible black on white canvas paintings.  She also creates works on paper that she artfully places in shadow boxes.   At Jinx, you can also find high-quality copper patina and wood jewelry by Marcus.   

As a lover of Native American and First Nations art, I was thrilled to discover the Cedar Works Gallery, an art cooperative run by Lummi Nation carver Mike Thomas.  Located at 217 W. Holly Street in downtown Bellingham, Cedar Works Gallery features the art of Lummi tribal members as well as others.  Collectors can find cedar masks, cedar flowers bone carvings and more.

I documented the whole evening for my blog.  Watch the video HERE:

When a Boring Day Yields a Birth Mother

Life is generally predictable...at least my life is. Oy vey, that's boring! When life unexpectedly decides to take a change in another direction--like when a beautiful summer romance suddenly dies out once the fall chill sets in, or when we move from grade to grade in elementary school, only to be finally burdened with the very scary discovery that snacks and naps have been replaced by bullies and books--now that is exhilarating! That means progress is happening. Progress is GOOD!

The last two days have been exhilarating for me to say the least.  This past Wednesday, I happily marked forty-one years in this life that I was given.  My life was given to me in so many ways--not just from God, but from a brave twenty-two year-old woman, who in 1969, gave up a plump platinum blond boy with blue eyes so that "it" (I'm guessing she didn't even know I was  boy) could "have a chance."  This woman,  a  mother of five whom she had raised starting with the first one when she was just a fifteen year-old child herself  was so very selfless in her actions.  Last week, that's all I knew about her.  This week, new information hit me like hail pellets, but the kind that hit the ground, melt and bring water to the parched earth.

While this past week went by with marvelous mini-fiestas and wonderfully beautiful and sentimental gifts, the best gift I received was my adopted mother giving me a piece of me back that fell out of the puzzle box when I was a baby.  No, not the literal puzzle box--the puzzle box of my soul and my sense of identity.  It's ridiculous to think that everything I have experienced in my life is null and void because another woman and man gave life to me, but I think...and other adoptees help me out here...there is a need for some kind of closure. Two years ago, my mother wrote away for my non identifying birth records (actual birth records that have all the important stuff such as names, birth dates, etc. blacked out for birth parents' and adoptees' protection and privacy. ) For me, it was finding out that I was the sixth child of six and that my dream of looking at my biological father and seeing myself in his eyes was even (forgive the pun) conceivable that gave me so much of that closure. 

For the last few months, my adopted mother has been piecing together the genealogy of our family.  I remember saying a while back (and feeling somewhat jealous) "Yeah, but that's your history not mine."     I guess she took it to heart because yesterday, I found out that she has been piecing together my segment of the family as well. How did she do it? Well, thanks to those non identifying records, the amazingness of the Internet, and some super-groovy sleuthing on her part searching multiple obituaries, she has, quite possibly, identified the name and location of my biological mother.  Today I picked up the phone to call her, only to find that I had phoned the wrong family. The process could be long and frustrating and obviously emotional.  I will persevere though. Thanks to more sleuthing on my mother's part, this evening I feel more certain that we have finally identified the right family. 

It is clear to me that I mustn't disturb the balance of the lives of a family that probably has no idea I even exist.  Perhaps what has become so clear to me today is a strong sense of self and pride, as well as a gratitude to my biological mother for making the ultimate sacrifice so that I could achieve what I indeed have achieved in my life.  I have had so many wonderful opportunities--more than the average person--and her gift continues to bless my life as I am here, living and breathing, to accept even more opportunities that come my way.

Frequently, I head out to the New Mexico Pueblos to watch Native dances.  As I take in the awe-inspiring sight of hundreds of dancers chanting, singing and moving about the plaza, my first thought always is These people know where they came from. They know where they are and they know where they will rest.  My journey is not yet complete, but today I danced filled up full with the idea that I am connected to even more people in the world and I even know their names!

Thank you to both my mothers, who made sacrifices to ensure that I could live a wonderful life.  

Pioneer of Aviation Subject of New Multi-Media Theatrical Piece on NYC's Theatre Row

If you're in the New York area this week, a must see performance is Before Icarus Fell, a new theatrical piece conceived and directed by Tony Chiroldes of Broadway’s In the Heights.

Chiroldes skillfully brings to life the compelling story of Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian student of science who was the first person to demonstrate that regular, controlled flying was possible. In 1901, Santos-Dumont became one of the most talked about people of the early 20th Century as a result of making a complete flight around Paris’ Eiffel Tower.  Before Icarus Fell is made possible through a 2010 Seed Grant from the Jim Henson Foundation and incorporates live actors with multi-media elements, shadow puppetry and music.

The production stars Liz Acosta, Laurie Berenhaus, Bill Hubner and Tony Chiroldes.

Before Icarus Fell opened at Theatre Row Studios, 410 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, on November 3, 2010 and plays through November 7, 2010 (Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.). Tickets are $20. For more information visit http://www.beforeicarusfell.com/.

Watch a teaser video HERE!