Diverse Backgrounds, Skills Included in Talented Group
Native American Times (nativetimes.com)
SANTA FE NM
3/26/2007
The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), the organization that produces the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2007 Fellowship awards for Native American artists: Roger Amerman (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) for beadwork/diverse arts, Diane Douglas-Willard (Haida) for weaving (basketry), Ira Lujan (Taos Pueblo) for sculpture (glass), Beverly Rose Moran/Bear King (Standing Rock Sioux) for beadwork/diverse arts, Rainy Naha (Hopi) for pottery and Penny Singer (Dine) for diverse arts (clothing design).
Established in 1980 to provide financial support to exceptionally talented American Indian artists from across the nation, the Fellowship program provides a substantial cash award, exhibit space at the Santa Fe Indian Market, and increased national exposure for the deserving recipients. George Toya, SWAIA Board Member and Fellowship Committee Chair said, "This year we received more applications than ever before, making the selection process even more difficult. However, we are really pleased with the breadth of the final recipient's talents, tribal backgrounds, and plans for using their fellowship monies."
Roger Amerman (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) - Beadwork/Diverse Arts
Amerman is an accomplished bead worker who is inspired by the history and traditions of southeast tribal peoples. His work draws on the strong, fluid movement and stunning symbolism which are typical of southeast-style designs, using sun, starts, serpents, mythical animals and cultural heroes in his colorful pieces. He is a multiple award winner including taking the Best of Show award at the Choctaw Nation Arts Show in Tushka Homa, Oklahoma twice, four times at the Speelyi-Mi Indian Art Market in Spokane, WA and once at the Indian Art Northwest in Portland, OR. He plans to use his fellowship monies to produce a full length Choctaw hunting coat, a project that for him will be akin in magnitude to "...Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel..." as it requires traveling to acquire buckskins and five different types (with over 30 colors) of beads, as well as research to learn about and replicate traditional designs. Amerman holds a Bachelor's degree in Geology from the University of Oregon and two Master's Degrees, one from Washington State University in Natural Resource Science, and another from the Colorado School of Mines in Geology.
Diane Douglas-Willard (Haida) - Weaving (Basketry)
Douglas-Willard is a traditional Haida weaver who uses materials such as cedar bark and spruce root to painstakingly create her pieces. Although she mostly makes baskets, she also does Raven's Tail and Chilkat weaving styles in clothing and accessories. She has been an instructor and demonstrator at the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska, and an award winner at art centers and exhibits across the country. Douglas-Willard's work can be found in the permanent collections of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the Anchorage Museum, both in Anchorage, AK, as well as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Her fellowship will be used to make a Raven's Tail robe using sea otter fur as the warp. In the past, Raven's Tail robes and leggings were made for those with chief status and very few of the old robes have survived intact. However, as Douglas-Willard notes, "I have studied with Cheryl Samuel, who wrote the book on Raven's Tail, so Raven's Tail weaving has not been lost." Her education includes American Indian Studies at the University of Washington, as well as a certificate of merit from the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Ira Lujan (Taos Pueblo) - Sculpture (Glass)
Lujan is literally one of a handful of emerging Native glass artists. He has studied with noted Native American glass artists Tony Jojola (at the Taos Glass Art and Education Center in New Mexico) and Preston Singletary (at Pilchuck Glass School in the Washington). He is inspired by the freedom he has found in incorporating everyday Pueblo utilitarian objects into glass and likes to compare glass to Pueblo pottery because "...both are more than just functional. Cups and vases transform into objects that serve to not only hold water, but light and spirit, as well." His work can be found at several galleries in the southwest such as Zane Wheeler in Taos, NM and the Institute of American Indian Arts gift shop in Santa Fe, NM. Lujan was on the first Native Underground panel at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe in 2006, as well. He plans to use his fellowship to help construct a portable "hot shop"-- the space in which hot glass vessels are blown and created, and which take a tremendous amount of time, energy and money to maintain.
Beverly Rose Moran/Bear King (Standing Rock Sioux) - Beadwork/Diverse Arts
Moran has exhibited mostly at the New Mexico State Fair until this time, receiving accolades for her elaborate and beautiful beaded traditional outfits. She regularly participates in powwows as a Northern Traditional Buckskin dancer, and has performed at the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and Native American Music Awards. She attended the University of Virginia in Arlington, VA and Northern State College in Aberdeen, SD, but is a self-taught bead artist. She will use her fellowship to purchase supplies such as brain tanned hides and hair pipes to help her produce dance regalia, bone breastplates, and bags to show and sell at the Santa Fe Indian Market and other juried exhibits. She also states the fellowship will gift her with the opportunity to "professionally document by beadwork to share with all Nations."
Rainy Naha (Hopi) - Pottery
Naha is a third generation potter, primarily taught by her well-known mother, Helen Naha. While Naha has developed her own style, she has faithfully replicated the designs her mother used from the ancient pottery shards of Awatovi Village Ruins (near the Naha's home). She has exhibited at markets and shows around the country, winning many awards. She has also lectured for institutions such as the Crow Canyon Archaeological Society as she believes it is important to educate academic communities and provide them with historically accurate information about Hopi art and culture. Her pottery making process is traditional in that she uses natural brushes and pigments and gathers and harvests all of her own clay. With her fellowship she plans to purchase sheep manure (used as fuel for the firing process), as it is a substantial cost for creating her work. She will also set up a competition and awards program for Hopi youth, in order to encourage young artists to participate during workshops Naha gives during Elderhostel visits to her home. As Naha states, "There is no better way to give thanks to the Creator and to my mother than by passing on the legacy of pottery creation to our children and grandchildren."
Penny Singer (Dine) - Diverse Arts (Clothing)
Singer is a clothing designer who has won multiple awards at shows such as the Heard Museum Indian Market and the Santa Fe Indian Market for her contemporary Native fashions. Singer loved photography, beadwork and abstract drawing while a student at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, and her photos of the Tec Nos Pos reservation and powwow circuit have become one of her principal design components. She often transfers photos directly to her pieces, creating wearable works of art. Her fellowship monies will be used to purchase an industrial grade sewing machine and Serger to help her fulfill the volume of orders she currently receives and to be able to do the more detailed work she is inspired to do.
SWAIA's Honoring Reception to formally recognize these award recipients will be held June 7th, 6pm at the La Fonda Hotel in downtown Santa Fe. Tickets are $50 and include hors d'oeuvres and wine. Proceeds will benefit SWAIA, a non-profit organization, and its programs for Native artists. To request information on the award recipients (including images of artwork) or for media access to attend the Honoring Reception, please call 505.983.5220 x 226 or email sgolar@swaia.org. To reserve space to attend the event, please call the SWAIA Development Department at 505.983.5220 before June 1, 2007. For more information about SWAIA or the Santa Fe Indian Market, please visit www.swaia.org.
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SWAIA's mission is to be an advocate for Native American arts and cultures (particularly those in the Southwest), and create economic and cultural opportunities for Native American artists by: producing and promoting the Santa Fe Indian Market as the finest Indian art event in the world, cultivating excellence and innovation across traditional and non-traditional art forms, and developing programs and events that support, promote, and honor Native artists year-round.
NTN Article#: 8660
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