From the Artist - Orlando Allison:
During late February and early March the Hopi villages observe Osomuya, the moon in which our spirit friends the Katsinam visit our villages to celebrate life in our Kivas. Hopi call the ceremonies Angk’wa (night dance). Night Dance is a rendition of ancient songs the spirits dance to and our hearts beat with, unraveling a tapestry of Hopi stories about a faraway time in places before our world where the hyper-normal boundaries of spiritual life arc above a brilliant horizon and into a microcosm of deep meditation casting prayers across all directions like the spiders’ web that will oscillate in the expanse of the cosmos echoing a cyclical journey of existence. All things good, beautiful and just in life are the paths set forth by spiritual life and intellectual lore. It is through this allegory the directions become permeable to our realm from our spirit friends the “Katsinam," during the Night Dance.

About Orlando Allison:
Orlando Allison is a modern visual Hopi painter from the Southwest. His works are predominantly in the acrylic medium on stretched canvas. Works also include a growing series of large-scale charcoal drawings. Orlando is a self-taught artist with emphasis on a modern reinterpretation of Hopi mythology. In recent years, Orlando has gotten his start at numerous groups shows throughout the Arizona metropolitan area, particularly, in Tempe and Phoenix. Moreover, Orlando has begun showing on the Indian Market circuit throughout the United States. Thus far, has participated in the 81st annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture at the Museum of Northern Arizona in 2014, where he took home Second Place in the drawing and painting category, and the 2015 Heard Museum Indian Market, where he placed First and Best of Class in his category. Furthermore, shows include Orlando’s introduction to the 25th annual Autry Museum Indian Arts Marketplace in Los Angeles, Calif., where he was also awarded with The West Family in honor of W. Richard West, Sr. Best of Painting and Mixed Media Award. Currently, Orlando lives in Tempe, Ariz., where he continues to push his boundaries stylistically and conceptually while maintaining a traditional thread throughout his creations.

From the Artist - Joeseph Arnoux:

In this room, the landscape stretches to engulf the viewer’s imagination. With the sun rising in the East, it blankets Chief Mountain which rises tallest on the North wall. Chief Mountain is a sacred site located on the Piikani (Blackfeet Nation) reservation in Montana. Down by the river on the West wall is a portrait of a Salishan (Spokane) man traditionally fishing. To the South stands a grizzly bear who has caught a salmon.

In this natural setting, I have incorporated both my Piikani (Blackfeet) and sp’q’n’i (Spokane) tribes. The story played out between the bear and man reveals that the man is concentrating on catching dinner, while the bear, fully aware, has his food in mouth. The underlying moral is that the earth has a working system, we as human beings need to accept that and adapt for success.

About Joeseph Arnoux:

Joeseph Arnoux was born in Spokane, WA and relocated in his youth to Holland, MI. He spent his adolescence in foster care with his two siblings, until emancipated. Arnoux is enrolled in the Piikani (Blackfeet Nation) of Northwest Montana from his father’s side. He also has sp’q’n’i (Spokane Tribe) lineage from his mother, located in Eastern Washington. Arnoux attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and CNM in Albuquerque, NM, studying Studio/Fine Arts. He currently resides in Albuquerque, where he steadily practices his artistic craft.

Most of his art relates to activism, nature, animals, and landscapes. His forte in art is illustrations through ink on paper. Arnoux enjoys mixing elements of art and symbolism to create contrast and balance. His goal in creating art is to continue learning new techniques to apply cohesively, improving each piece as he goes.

From the Artist - Randy Barton:

Randy’s artwork is a visual tool meant for educating. He explores the teachings from Navajo creation stories to remind himself of how to find the answers & solutions to life's problems. The foundation of all Randy’s recent paintings derives from Navajo healing ceremonies, therefore the beauty way & protection way can be found in every one of his pieces, as well as in his signature. In "All Direction Protection", you will notice iconic symbols that represent ancient knowledge. The brush strokes, gradient backgrounds & shapes represent the colors seen in the mind’s eye of the seer. Randy is drawn to creating abstract landscapes manifested from the spirit realm so that the paintings become gifts of prayer, reflection, and remembrance of the Dine culture. He paints the vivid visions of the past, present, and future of the five fingered people. "All Direction Protection" is an installation that brings the Earth Surface People in touch with paintings of Diyin Dine’e’ (the Holy People). The Holy People created stars out of crystals to signify seasons on earth. The paintings represent abstract crystal visions. You will notice the inter-connected shapes of landscapes and wedding baskets that also represent the light found in white & black crystals which are seen by the sun, moon and stars. There are stars watching us during the day, and even though we can’t see them, they are protecting us. The Holy People protect us from all directions. “All Direction Protection."

About Randy Barton:

Randy Barton was introduced to graffiti art and b-boy street art at the age of six. After his public art gained recognition in his hometown, Winslow, Arizona, he started freelancing for a few businesses, and these opportunities expanded his horizons in the realms of Graphic Design. His art conveys vivid visions of the past, present and future of the five-fingered people. Randy attended Collins College of Design and Technology in Tempe, Arizona, where he learned design principles and color theory. During his digital art studies, Barton developed an interest in painting with acrylics and experimenting with different types of mediums such as oils and mixing house paint with sand.

From the Artist - Amanda Beardsley:
“Across The Universe,” depicts an elegant girl observing the Cosmos with her cats. The style of this artist room in Albuquerque is unique in that it contains cultural motifs with pop culture imagery, graffiti media, anime designs, and my original conceptual ideas. I incorporate these subjects into the room because I feel that I can manipulate my emotions into my painting and make it enjoyable for everyone. I find pop culture imagery to be interesting when applied to my paintings because the objects are extremely cute and unexpected. I choose to work with different types of media because there is a sense of freedom that exists. The mediums used for this painting are acrylic paints, house paint, aerosol spray paints, Japanese silk screen paper, paint markers, and hand painted linen. The room, “Across The Universe,” exemplifies traditional subjects with Kawaii art (Japanese meaning for cute) to suggest that traditional knowledge continues into the present. The images are juxtaposed by placing traditional art with modern art that appeals to my sense of continuity and past values that blend into our present day activities. This work of art expresses the great principle of knowledge and elements of life contained within the Native peoples’ knowledge of how to live according to natural law. This work of art is important to me as a historical record of the traditional wisdom of Indigenous cultures that will forever be relevant as a guide to how we live our lives. As Native people, we hold these values dear to our hearts.

About Amanda Beardsley:
My mother Christine gave birth to me at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where my father, maternal grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin and two older brothers greeted me. My mother is Choctaw, Chickasaw, Laguna Pueblo, Seneca, and Mescalero Apache. My Father is Hopi. Being many different tribes is a result of BIA boarding schools. A few years of my life was spent living with my parents and two older brothers in Merced, Calif., Austin, Texas, and Madisonville, La. I’m a recognized member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. I am fortunate to have a home in Laguna Pueblo and one in Albuquerque, so my lifestyle is both traditional and modern, just like my artwork. In the fall of 2011, I became a student at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I’ve been inspired to develop my own unique artistic style. I chose Studio Arts as my major in order to fulfill my goals in the art of making jewelry, painting, printmaking, and digital fabrication. IAIA enlarged my understanding of the history of contemporary Native art and Native American history, as well as non-Native art practices. Since graduating from IAIA in the spring of 2016, I’ve continued my education, travels, making art, selling art, and supporting my livelihood as an artist.

From the Artist - Rylin Becenti:
“The Glittering World” is a contemporary installation that speaks to the physical aspects of life—bio matter being this idea that we can only see certain things with light, a microscope, or what the human eye is unable to see, whereas dark matter, equates to the metaphysical. In sync with these ideas lies the spirituality and belief that we are our only enemy, our ego/greed, and the subconscious. As humankind we often worry that our world is becoming overpopulated but we fail to remember the elements which we rely on, creating a hierarchy and moral authority over beings who were once considered equal relatives to us, the plants, the animals, the water, the land, the sky, nihi k’é (our family).  As big corporations continue to extract minerals from the ground, pollute most of the atmosphere, destruct the world’s massive forests and contaminate most of the ocean, our means of harmonious living gradually shed like time in an hourglass. The agency that non-human relatives once had is a history of the genocide and assimilation of Native people. Being able to see your reflection makes you a part of the piece and restores a position or societal function that has been taken from you and a people. On a molecular level, minerals have properties to be toxic or healing but the overall message here is recognition of biodiversity and space. How does the biodiversity within soil strengthen or weaken a space and how do you see your contribution to the world aside from White Supremacy?

About Rylin Becenti:
Rylin Becenti is a multi-disciplinary artist based out of the Navajo Nation; of the Diné she is Táchii’nii born for Tábąąhá, her maternal grandparents are Tó’aheedlííníí and paternal grandparents Tsénjíkíní. Raised in the low-income communities of Phoenix, Arizona her first exposure to art was through graffiti culture, starting as what is known to be a “writer” then maturing to murals with site-specific locations. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico with concentrations in Environmental Sculpture, Painting, Printmaking and Indigenous Studies. Outside of her practice she is among a collective of Indigenous Feminists at the K’é Infoshop in Window Rock, Arizona a space that aims to fight against and bring awareness to modern day monsters such as heteropatriarchy, colonialism, racism and capitalism. Her work conceptually addresses lateral oppression highlighting domestic violence partaking in Indigenous communities while defying the boundaries of contemporary art. Using shock value in means to creating conversation about problems and solutions in a minimal design approach and found object reuse. For the 2018-2019 school year she was the teaching artist at Albuquerque’s Working Classroom and lead a curriculum based on land body sovereignty.

My life in layers, my journey is a continuous weaving of teachings from my grandparents, parents, culture, our history, people I've met and experiences... for better or worse, it is me weaving the past with my present into the future. Because of that, no matter where I am, how much I miss the rez, the land... I will always be home. 
This is the way.

There are three different sized wooden panels, "Eternity Weavings", fixed onto the walls in room 406. One is located to your right as you walk into the room, the second one is the largest panel in the bathroom and the third one is in the main room on the east wall in the center of the arrowheads. They are a continuation of a sort, paintings that'll always shift and change as it needs to be. Whether it is as simple as a signature, a scribble, a poem, a favorite lyric, a drawing, a painting.  I invite you to convey your personal expression onto them.

Roberta Begaye                                                               
DINÉ    
I come from a family of medicine, and I weave paintings. 
I am the Bitterwater clan, Tódích'íi'nii.
I am born for the Zuni-Edgewater clan, Naasht'ézhi Tábaahá.
Maternal grandparents: Towering House clans, Kiyaa'áanii.
Paternal grandparents:  Bitterwater clans, Tódích'íi'nii.
Five Fingered Earth Surface person. 
Nahoka Dine'h Bi'la ashdlaa'ii'.

From the Artist - Vanessa Bowen:
Black God has a crescent moon on his forehead,
a full moon for a mouth,
the Pleiades on his temple
and he wears a buckskin mask covered in
sacred charcoal with white paint.[1]

Black God was busy meticulously placing the constellations when Coyote came along. In the moment of impatience, coyote threw a blanket of stars into the sky forming the Milky Way. It was Black God, also known as the Fire God, who lit the stars. He did not light the stars that Coyote flung into the sky. This explains why some stars are dimmer than others. In another version of the story, it is said that Black God created the Milky Way on purpose. The Navajo believe the Milky Way is a pathway for spirits to travel between heaven and earth. Each star is a little footprint. The artist room by Vanessa Bowen depicts the story of Coyote and the creation of the Milky Way.

Schultz, Teresa. “Mask of Black God: The Pleiades in Navajo Cosmology.”Journal of College Science Teaching 35.2 (2005): 30. EBSCOhost Education Source. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.

Artist Statement
When approaching a canvas, I often paint my personal experiences. Selecting the colors and subject carefully to illustrate a moment in my life that has moved or assisted in my ever-evolving self.

About Vanessa Bowen:
Vanessa Bowen (Diné) is a Native American multi-faceted artist, with skills ranging from pushing paint to pixel manipulation. In 2016, she became well-known for producing “Make America Native Again” hats as a way of starting conversation about the problematic history behind Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan — “Make America Great Again” — and to raise awareness for marginalized Indigenous peoples in the U.S. Bowen continues to work out of her studio located in Albuquerque, NM for her design firm Bowen Creative. She derives her support and encouragement from her husband and inspiration and motivation from her two small children.

From the Artist - Heidi Brandow:
Objectification is the process by which people assign meaning to things, people, places, activities and the like. Thus, objects become part of cultural constructions which inform and guide people’s behavior. “(Material) culture” is a project that extends beyond the boundaries of this room as the artist explores human relationships to objects. The chair, as depicted throughout the space, serves as a visual instrument in further understanding the constructs of how object and objectification exist and perhaps infuse characteristics that both enhance and detract from culture and society as a whole.

About Heidi K. Brandow:
Heidi K. Brandow (Native Hawaiian/Diné) is a painter whose work commonly portrays personalities found in poetry and personal reflections. Hailing from a long line of Native Hawaiian singers, musicians and dancers on her mother’s side and Diné storytellers and medicine people on her father’s side, she finds that her pursuit of an artistic career comes naturally. Heidi’s illustrations and paintings are commonly filled with whimsical characters and monsters that are often combined with words of poetry or stories of personal reflection. Through her artistic practice, Heidi has actively explored issues of immigration, cultural identity and sustainability through her work. All the while, Heidi is diligently involved in examining and personally redefining commonly accepted notions of “Native American Art.” Some exhibitions and lectures she has participated in include the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), Ekaterinburg Museum of Russia, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Patina Gallery, and was also featured in the book, “Art in Our Lives: Native Women Artists in Dialogue” which was published by the School of Advanced Research. The proud mother of two young boys, Heidi K. Brandow is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and has studied design at the historic Istanbul Technical University and briefly at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

From the Artist - Cloudface:
Arrival/Departure is about the cycle of the seasons and the blessing brought by hummingbirds. Hummingbirds bring with them the warmth and abundance of the spring and summer. They protect their territory while simultaneously showing their strength and beauty. Hummingbirds also warn us of the coming cold with their departure, telling us it's time to prepare for the winter ahead. Even though they leave and take with them the blessings of abundance, we know they will be back to continue the cycle. The hummingbirds are entering the room from the window and making their way through the room before exiting.

About Cloudface:
Patrick Cloudface Burnham (Dine/Hopi) is a lifelong painter. Cloudface came from a family of artists and jewelers and was encouraged at an early age to create art. Cloudface's work is a mixture of traditional, contemporary and graffiti art. His Native upbringing and immersion in hip-hop culture influence his approach as he blends the two worlds in his work. You can find Cloud's works in art galleries all over the Southwest in Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Phoenix.

Learn more at: http://Cloud-face.com. Link below.

Ricardo Cate is from Kewa Pueblo and has been drawing the Native American panel “Without Reservations” featured in the Santa Fe New Mexican for 13 years. “Without Reservations” is the only Native American cartoon in the U.S. that is in a mainstream newspaper as a daily. Ricardo Cate’s original cartoon paintings are a decorative delight, as well as serious commentaries on contemporary life, from a Native point of view.

In addition to being a cartoonist, Cate is also an activist, stand-up comedian, writer, teacher, veteran, former college athlete, tribal official, four-time Dakota Access Pipeline protester at Standing Rock, and filmmaker.

Cate's celebrity fans include Wes Studi, Jackie Chan, Winona LaDuke, Nick Nolte, Denzel Washington, and Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement.

Room “Without Reservations”

Humor has always played a significant role in Native American culture. I painted this room as a continuous strip to remind us that humor is all around us.

From the Artist - Nanibah Chacon:
The imagery on the wall incorporates three elements, the woman; the Chief's blanket design and the Bluebirds. The woman depicted in the design is to be a representation of “First Woman” or “Changing Woman.” In Navajo creation stories both of these women gave birth or conceived at dawn, thus giving life and lineage to the world as we know it. The incorporation of the Chief's blanket design is the representation of First Man or the Father, who merged with woman to cause creation. The Bluebirds in this image are the symbols of that creation. There are 4 birds to signify all that is sacred and meaningful in Navajo thought and way. The Bluebird for Navajos signifies a new day beginning, as they are the birds that wake us in the morning, they are reminders that the dawn is upon us which signifies creation, creativity and the beginning of all things new and beautiful. The woman in the piece is releasing these birds and respectively they are flying in the direction of the window. The birds directed to a free space while the window itself is to welcome this experience for the viewer.

About Nanibah Chacon:
Nanibah “Nani” Chacon, is a Dine (Navajo) and Chicana artist who is known for her female figurative works which utilize bold colors and an illustrative format to incorporate commentary Native, Chicana and American culture. She uses female characters to explore ideas of feminism, sexuality, softness, power, culture, traditionalism and modernism. Nani was born in Gallup, New Mexico and grew up both in Chinle, Arizona and Corrales, New Mexico. Her clan is To dich iini (bitter water) and born for Nakai Dine (Mexican/ Spanish people). At 16 she was introduced to graffiti and began a prolific career as a graffiti writer, and continued this practice for the next 10 years, with the pregnancy and birth of her son, Nani gave up the risky world of street graffiti and began exploring other mediums and developed strong aptitude in oil painting. In further juxtaposition of graffiti, she chose figurative work as a basis of subject matter. Nani uses an archetype of female characters to explore ideas of feminism, sexuality, imagination, form, shape, design, color, subtleness, softness and power, culture, traditionalism and modernism, encompassed in what could only be the attributes of a woman. Nani, currently exhibits across the United States and teaches art in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 2004 she received her Bachelor’s in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. Nani was the recipient of the Reggie Gammon award in 2011. She received 2nd place in oil painting at the SWAIA 91st annual Santa Fe Indian Market, 2012, this was her first year exhibiting at Santa Fe Indian Market. In 2012, she returned to the realm of public arts in the realm of murals, creating a large scale 100 ft x 30 ft mural, which integrated radio transmission, for the International ISEA Arts and Technology Symposium and the City of Albuquerque. In 2013 she created a 30-foot mural at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock to accompany the first Contemporary all female exhibit in the space. Nanibah hopes to continue to work in this field to diversify and build upon concepts and techniques in the painting field.

Release Receive

For the music, noise and sound community of New Mexico and those who aspire 

It is within our power to leave what we need 

It is within our power to receive what we need

It is always there for us

"Life is not a linear journey" - WakeSelf

Thank you for your legacy 

Thank you for your consciousness

Leaving a legacy is your most powerful note

Receiving is your talent

May you be blessed

There is no time where time does not exist 

Dedicated to WakeSelf and the Buffalo. We love you.

Within this immersive environment the participants will experience their own ecology with it by interacting with buffalo, iron (blood of our mother), tree, light, water, colors, sound, touch and iconography. This experience is meant to give them inspiration. Participants may leave something for others and or receive something from others on the wooden altars. This symbolizes a release of burden, gifts, needs and or receiving of gifts, needs etc. Part of our human condition is our spiritual interaction between each other and what may seem as a burden to one is a gift to another or them being the same thing to the individual needing to be passed on or put to rest. The elements placed in the room are meant to help us with this transition. Although our experiences are similar our ecology with objects and each other is individual. By these interactions everyone leaves a legacy.

The breath of the buffalo while they sing messages to you creates winds of change. They have no eyes which represents non judgement, return to innocence and forgiveness. It also represents being within in the spirit world and our ability to navigate it. The wind symbols can be found laterally across many cultures, as in Aztec culture, for this space it represents transition. The activation of the wind chimes outside represents two things. The releasing wind and the receiving wind. Both are transtion. The releasing wind is your creation. The receiving wind comes from the horizon where petroglyphs by Indigenous Pueblo people remain. The design of the headrest is an exact mapping of the Rio Grande in Las Cruces. At night it glows with gold and orange similar to many saints iconographic paintings, representing divinity.

From the Artist - Del Curfman:
The Apsaalooke’ Room incorporates the Great Plains narrative, traditional Apsaalooke’ (Crow Nation of Montana) imagery, and a historical recollection into an inviting room full of nostalgic images and bold, brilliant colors. Guests should be propelled into the great plains of eastern Montana and achieve an experience of a different culture, a different time, and a different geological space. The Apsaalooke’ room features a Crow brave gazing upon an open prairie with the last dwindling herd of buffalo. The American bison or buffalo is sacred to not only the Crow but also the entire Northern Plains Tribes and was the bloodline of life for us all. Facing them on the adjacent wall is part of the Pryor Mountains, a sacred place for the Crow people. The final image in the room is the portrayal of the symbolic Crow. The room utilizes the open floor plan and natural light to construct the “Big Sky Country” that the Crow have called home for thousands of years.

About Del Curfman:
Best known for his work with Apsaalooke’ (Crow Nation of Montana) imagery and cultural meaning, Del Curfman explores heritage, tradition, and humanity through painting. His work often incorporates techniques and styles of impressionism. With loose brushwork and semi-abstraction, he captures the essence of nature. Obtaining his BFA in Studio Arts with a focus on painting at the Institute of American Indian Arts of Santa Fe, NM (IAIA) in May 2017 emerging artist and enrolled tribal member, Curfman looks to contribute to contemporary Native Artist history through his work in oil paints and community-based projects.

From the Artist - Ishkoten Dougi:
This room is a fine art painting/installation painted by Ishkoten Dougi, Jicarilla Apache/Navajo, Institute of American Art Alumnus. #1NDN Artist Room is a reflection of NDN art being sent to the future to earmark time with a physical landmark that will stand until the end of time. Nativo Lodge as given me a chance to do just that. To send my reputable art into the future for all people of all race and age will enjoy the works of Native American art; to engulf oneself into an emergence of relaxation with the room to embrace you with comfort. NDN images will bring the neon surface into focus and words will communicate with the viewer to give hints of the Reservation Life, the road to the rez is followed by a group of teepees and as you pass the pane glass windows you see the horizon of floating teepees. Love is the center to every journey with an image of lips to remind us we are not alone and we will find the end fulfilled.

About Ishkoten Dougi:
Ishkoten Dougi studied fine arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. He's shown with all the iconic Native artists from Tony Abeyta to Fritz Scholder, and some of the world's greats like Matisse and Picasso. Dougi has shown in over a dozen galleries and group shows in the U.S. Dougi is Jicarilla Apache and Navajo. From Northern Arizona and Northern New Mexico, Dougi was brought up with art as a way to put food on the table. Following his role models, Dougi has been able to achieve a rank as one of the most modern Native artists alive to date by working within his color theory using color as a "weapon." Ishkoten Dougi does art for the future of Native art and for a foothold in history for his bloodline of Jicarilla Apache and Navajo to reach beyond the future of today's understanding of the American Indian.

"I would like the future to have my art to make me happy and feel safe."

His studio is in the high desert of New Mexico where he wonders where his next creation will go with his dreamy art and texture of time. His art will appease the best collectors of any Southwest or Native American art collector among the modern taste. Be sure to make it to Ishkoten Dougi's next art show to see what is fresh and new in Native art. Among his paintings and stone carvings, he likes to include works on paper from the studio.

Artist Guest Rooms are in a community partnership in conjunction with the Institute of American Indian Arts.  Link below. 

“ReMatriate”

In so many of our Indigenous Creation stories, we are taught histories of gender balance and equity that stem from the beginning of time. Our cultures grew, flourished over time, adapted to changes and lived in balance for thousands of years. After colonization, so much of our lives were thrown out of balance, resulting in health-challenged communities. If we can find our way back to that original balance, we may heal.

This mural was heavily inspired by my partner, Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk. She is not only the matriarch and strength of our family’s home, but she also works tirelessly to build community. Because of her, our children live in a world where it is simply normal for women to run for office. A visionary justice seeker, she threads together people and programs from a local, tribal, state and national level to work toward balance restoration.

I chose to use ledger style art to reflect the Plains tribes we come from in my home. It signifies a shift in time, when our ancestors first began using other materials to illustrate their stories. I wanted to illustrate the stories of OUR DAYS, of our battles, which now include fighting for a place at the table, for sustainability, for a return of cultural fluency, for clean water, for the protection of our land, and for the protection of our future generations.

From the Artists - Edd Sisters:
This space at our hotel in Albuquerque embodies Diné traditions of storytelling particularly in the creation story and epistemological beliefs, incorporating three fundamental elements of the land/earth, rainbows, and several motifs of Navajo storytelling. Informed by ongoing movements of Indigenous resurgence, we have centered the land and Diné cosmology on the center wall. We have thoughtfully portrayed images of Mother Earth (Nahasdzaan Nihima) which has a significant role in our Diné practice of kinship (K'é) in the central depiction of the galaxy and stars with Diné Bikéyah (homeland) below. In this illustration, we included in the top section, four-star constellations that represent each of the artists. The moon/ tł’éé’honaa’éí figure is from Navajo astrology which is important in certain ceremonies and represents various cycles of life. This wall both shares and carries the knowledge of the Navajo place and being in the Fourth World from the creation story. In sharing this knowledge, with hopeful intentions for our viewers, we have used the rainbow as the central symbol that emerges from this center image to guide the rest of the room. The rainbow empowers Indigenous woman storytellers and reminds us of the many lessons our land and our stories have for us. 

On the left wall, we have depicted a desert landscape illustrating the setting of Shiprock, New Mexico, where we have family connections. This landscape responds to the land and non-human world by showing the hummingbird, yucca, and cacti plant life, reinventing the context of 'reservation' that speaks to the humanity and empowerment of the land and animals.

The right wall features a lighthearted image of a rez dog mother and her puppies. This aims to bring the seemingly ordinary or commonplace narratives like rez dogs having dinner, into the forefront. In the bathroom area, we have rendered mixed mediums together to include motifs of sheep and horny toads which have special roles in our cultural stories. These images are our realities as contemporary Native youth and show our world. In our art, we hope to uplift joy and spark imagination for the viewers.

About the Edd Sisters:
The Edd sisters are Diné artists who live Dibe' Ntsaa' and annually participate in the Santa Fe Indian Market.

Ruthie: In her work, Ruthie incorporates dialogues of environmental justice, food justice, and decolonization to re-frame how visual and literary art interacts together as forms of resistance. Transnational and global awareness of indigeneity is her primary source of inspiration. She is a student at Fort Lewis college, studying Native American and Indigenous studies.

Sierra: Sierra is a Navajo poet, filmmaker, and artist. Her artwork has been featured in Native Re-Appropriations Exhibit Opening at the Center for the study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University (2015-16). Her poetry work has also been included in the AsUs online journal as well The Round, a college literary publication.

Chamisa: In addition to her interest in filmmaking, Chamisa is a Diné artist who draws upon her identity as a Navajo woman in contemporary society. Her inspirations are Japanese graphic art styles, and the intersections of urban life as a Native person, and cultural significance of land.

Santana: Santana writes poetry, and creates paintings using her lived experiences as a platform for conveying the influences of social issues confronting Native American youth today. Some of her art references the work done by Frida Kahlo, combining conversation of the body, mind and gender.

 

From the Artist - Marina Eskeets:
Location: New Mexico, United States. W.I.P.P, Carlsbad, NM. L.A.N.L, Ohkay Owingeh, Pueblo of Jemez, Los Alamos, NM. U.N.C, Diné Territory, Eastern Navajo Nation, Church Rock, NM.
Sunflowers are unique plants, known as hyperaccumulators because of their ability to grow and capture contaminates in soil and ground water. Their roots reach down into the earth and pull toxicities from beneath and store them in their roots, stems, and leaves. The process is known as phytoremediation when used to clean areas affected by radiation contamination, which is an issue we face here in New Mexico. This room is a commentary on the relationship between the Indigenous people of New Mexico, the land, the water, the New Mexico government and the legacy of uranium processing in New Mexico.

About Marina Eskeets:
Marina Eskeets is a conceptual artist from Naná’áztiin, New Mexico (The Big Curve, NM, Navajo Nation). Eskeets earned a Bachelors in Fine Arts in 2016, with a major in Studio Arts at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, where she was also a S.I.T.E. Scholar at S.I.T.E. Santa Fe. Her work is stimulated by her childhood herding her grandmothers’ sheep, in a region directly affected by the Church Rock uranium disaster. Eskeets work is centered on energy extraction within Dinétah and the repercussions it has had on Indigenous identity. Eskeets employs a wide range of fine art and photography mediums and techniques to express her ideas. Her works have included: video projection onto a traditional Diné weaving loom, three-dimensional cardboard churro sheep skull masks used in an interactive performance in the downtown streets of Gallup, New Mexico, and embroidered illustrations onto deer skin.

From the Artist - Alexis Estes:
“Everything on earth is known as Wamakaskan Oyate, the living beings of the earth. The universe is known as Wicahpi Oyate, the star nation. These two represent the beings of the earth and the beings of the universe. For every creation there is on earth, there is another in the universe. Mitakuye Oasin, we are all related.” This quotation is the main philosophy inspiring the designs of this artist room installation. The unity of all of creation is explored in this quote. It is a powerful reminder of respect and appreciation for all of existence. Spiritual leader and scholar, Albert White Hat, explained this philosophy through ceremony and classes at the Lakota tribal college, Sinte Gleska University. The visual representations in this artist room allow for art to introduce Lakota philosophy and ideas in a format that is not limited to the definition of words of one language. The Lakota beadwork symbols on the south wall serve to honor the buffalo with the outline of a red hoof print, draw on the rolling plains with a green symbol for a hill, and unite these earthly experiences with the world above. The mirroring of the tipis on the north wall demonstrates the two dualities of our earth and the universe; dualities of life, which together create the whole of creations existence. These traditional approaches to design meet contemporary with geometric style. Movement and energy are created with the angular direction of forms and their contrast of shades. The wide range of colors create a beautiful representation of nature. A stay in room “Mitakuye Oasin” allows viewers a moment to see earth and the cosmos in an enlightened way.

About Alexis Estes:
Alexis Estes ties in traditional Lakota symbols and philosophy with geometric forms. She is born of mixed ancestry and an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of Lower Brule, South Dakota. Alexis is currently a senior at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She will graduate this Spring 2017 with a Bachelor's Degree in Indigenous Liberal Studies and a minor in Studio Arts. Her artistic style ties in traditional knowledge attained through her major study of Indigenous Liberal Studies, which is expressed through practices experienced in her minor study of Studio Arts. Her main emphasis in Studio Arts is Printmaking, in which she creates screen-prints, intaglio-type prints, mono-types, and more. Her art practice began with traditional Lakota art forms, including; beadwork, leatherwork, building and painting rawhide containers, and sewing powwow and ceremonial regalia. She began taking Studio Arts classes at the University of South Dakota, and then took Traditional Lakota Arts classes at Sinte Gleska University in Mission, South Dakota. This knowledge of Lakota designs is applied into the range of contemporary art forms learned at the Institute of American Indian Arts. This has influenced the themes displayed in her art to include Lakota symbols and knowledge, and to contextualize history from an Indigenous lens while at her present college, Institute of American Indian Arts. Alexis’s mission is to practice and encourage self-expression in Indigenous communities. Her studies in Indigenous Liberal Studies have enabled a greater worldview, including a more wholesome, diverse, and creative Indigenous perspective. She seeks to share this viewpoint through traditional Lakota art forms, various forms of printmaking, and a new found passion for painting. It is the practice of liberation, through developing dreams and vision, that leads to manifestation and the creation of art. She hopes to inspire Native youth to continue this practice of self-reflection and self-expression for the health and wellbeing of our communities. With the incorporation of cosmic objects and the symbolism of liberated knowledge in geometric forms, Alexis seeks to tie traditional Lakota knowledge of the cosmos with contemporary art forms. There is geometry in nature, and the simplification of this geometry is exemplified in the forms painted in the room. In addition to this room, her works can be found at Fine Millennium Arts, a gallery by the Santa Fe Plaza, and at the Institute of American Indian Arts bookstore on the IAIA campus.

From the Artist - Garrett Etsitty:
I painted this room with good intentions thinking about my elders how they use to say, "life is beautiful, do your best to stay lifted and grounded." When I was 16, I caught a hummingbird and my grandpa said, "make an offering and wish to be swift like the hummingbird." I grabbed corn pollen sprinkled it on the hummingbird and caught the remains under my hand. It flew out of my hands and I watched it fly with good thoughts about my future. With the remains of the pollen, I rubbed it on my arm and made a wish that I would be an unique artist with speed and beauty of the hummingbird. In Dine' Culture the hummingbird represents the Essence of Life. The hummingbird came from the second world and made a connection with pollen which the Dine' people utilized to make offerings in Beauty Way ceremonies. When the hummingbird flies it is shaped like the moon crescent and rainbow representing the cycles of our life, the seasons, our emotions, our accomplishments, choices, balance, discipline and sense of self-respect and self-dignity. The hummingbird is also a representation of beauty all around us, beneath us, and above us when we walk on this corn pollen road called life. The room has an earth toned background representing mother earth with a cosmic background representing a universal state of mind. The white lines are thoughts motioning into the stars while making offerings. I also added circuit board design representing the world today with a touch of blocks separating from the birds with a swift motion representing energy and motivation.

About Garrett Etsitty:
Garrett Etsitty was born in Chinle, Arizona in 1985, coming from a rural rusty environment. He spent most of his years watching his uncles paint abstraction and realism. At the age of four he picked up a paint brush and began working with color, and by the time he emerged he began to have a growing interest in the creative arts inspired by Dine' Philosophy. He has worked collaboratively and individually on a variety of socially engaged interdisciplinary projects for over a decade. He has exhibited at University of Oklahoma at the Sam Noble Museum, Fort Lewis College Art gallery, Phoenix Heard Museum, and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. He has a widespread collection of art in all kinds of disciplines that he was acutely sensitive to. His multi-optic senses were trained to perceive compositions in the round or flat that his large insect brain could process formal and informal aesthetic with a good deal of any medium. His favorite medium is paint and he had opened the floodgates with respected mediums that makes his Southwest style much more unique.

About Jaque Fragua:
Jaque Fragua is an acclaimed multi-media artist from Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico. From his cultural background, he has developed a yearning for creativity and for the intrinsic process that is Art. Experimenting with various mediums, such as aerosol, found-objects, earthworks, poetry, and music, messages of civil unrest, social justice, emotional introspection, and personal healing have heartened his unique perspective on life through art. Fragua has studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and in turn, has taught many community-based workshops, such as mural projects/public-art studies, and studio classes for figure drawing and painting. Jaque also did the graffiti background art on this Nativo Lodge website. Fragua has worked with fine establishments such as Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Institute of American Indian Arts, and Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (links below) to produce progressive/innovative exhibits concerning the plight of Native America. Fragua is also involved in the Honor the Treaties organization combining art and Native American activism. 

Artist Guest Rooms are in a community partnership in conjunction with the Institute of American Indian Arts. Link below.

From the Artist - Jason Garcia:
Room #423 faces Okuu Pín-Turtle Mountain-Sandia Mountains, one of the four Sacred Mountains of the Tewa World. The Albuquerque artist room is oriented to the six Tewa Cardinal Directions and has various colored representations of each: North/Blue, West/Yellow, South/Red, East/White, The Heavens/Multicolor, and The Earth/Black. The Tewa Cardinal directions are represented by various colored clouds, various cloud motifs situated near the entrance, in the bathroom, and above the electrical outlets. The sink/mirror area has two abstracted bird images representing eagle, hummingbird, and parrot.  The closet area is represented with kilt and manta designs with representations of rain falling, butterflies, flowers, and lightning. These reflect designs on cultural items of clothing that are integral to Pueblo ceremonies. The bathroom has a six-color cloud design with falling rain and the Avanyu or Water serpent design that is representational of both the gentleness and ferocity of water. Two Santa Clara Pueblo dance scenes mirror one another near the window/balcony: the buffalo dance with a male and female buffalo dancer that is typically danced in the winter time and the corn dance with a male and female corn dancer that is typically danced in the summer. Above the headboard is an abstract rising/setting Sun, providing blessings for the new day, blessings for the end of the day, and blessings for rest and rejuvenation. The red color is representative of the orange red sunrise and also the red sunset that gives the Sandia Mountains its name. The Corn Maiden, dressed for the corn dance, stands with her hand outstretched waiting for the arrival of summer rains and the abundance of life that moisture provides.

About Jason Garcia:
My work documents the ever-changing cultural landscape of my home of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. My Tewa cultural ceremonies, traditions, and stories, as well as 21st century popular culture, comic books, and technology, influence my art. Using traditional materials and traditional Pueblo pottery techniques, along with various printmaking techniques, including lithography, serigraphy, and etching, I feel that it is important to keep alive the ceramic traditions that have been passed down to me since time immemorial.  I feel that these materials and techniques connect me to my Ancestral past and landscape, but also connect myself and future generations to our Tewa cultural traditions.  The printmaking media is another way of creating and teaching these stories and traditions to a greater audience. Jason is the recipient of a Native Arts and Culture Foundation Mentor Fellowship. During his time at Nativo Lodge, his apprentice David A. Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo) will assist in the design and painting processes.

From the Artist - Tammy Garcia:
The rain falling is just noticeable among abstract designs inspired by the colors and designs of Southwestern Pueblo pottery. A rainbow forms the perch for a quail braced by flowers as scalloped clouds trim the ceiling above.

About Tammy Garcia:
Tammy Garcia is a Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor and Ceramic artist. Garcia translates Pueblo pottery forms and iconography into sculptures in bronze and other media. Tammy Garcia is undoubtedly one of the most renowned of Pueblo potters. She is a daughter of Linda Cain and sister to Autumn Borts-Medlock. She is also the granddaughter of Mary Cain, great-granddaughter of Christina Naranjo and great-great-granddaughter of Sara Fina Tafoya. Tammy learned to make pottery from her mother and continues the Pueblo traditions of using native clay as the foundation. Her distinctive pottery bridges the gap between traditional and modern. The intricacy and precision of her carving are one of the attractions to her pottery and bronze art. Tammy’s pottery continues to evolve into new directions with each new idea. Amazingly, Tammy Garcia makes less than ten pieces a year. This small number is a reflection of the time involved in each section. The building, designing, carving, polishing, and firing are labor intensive. As a result of the time required, she never replicates a design or pot, and this is part of the dynamic process of her art. Tammy Garcia’s distinctive forms and imagery create “stories” on the vessels. Her designs inspired by Pueblo life, animals, insects, Pueblo stories or traditional images, are both traditional and contemporary. The surface of her works are polished then carved, and there is always a fantastic balance of carved verses matte areas. Tammy’s pottery is in permanent collections and museums worldwide such as The Denver Art Museum, the Heard Museum, and The Autry Museum among others. She has won multiple awards for her pottery and most recently was the subject of a one-woman exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Bronze work exclusively represented by Gallery Chaco. Pottery exclusively represented by King Galleries.

From the Artist - Colleen Gorman:

(Description provided in a clockwise motion)

Spiderwoman String Theory
Spiderwoman is at the threshold outreaching to the Universe and casts a web of Time. Eagle plume is an ancient symbol of faith. Dimensions going into different dimensions make webs of reality.

Time is an Entity.
Sandpainting outline design on 2018 March Universe Study. The fabric of Time and Space cast. The Milky Way is a Tree of Life. Milky Way makes life, which comes through to every individual’s umbilical cord. The eye of the world. Starts at the Crossroads (House of the Rising Sun, Chaco-The Sun Road). The Crossroads- East to West is the path of the Sun; North to South is the path of the Milky Way. Symbolic of the cross that’s existed since the beginning of Time; the one that has nothing to do with crucifying, but rather Life.

Mother Earth in a Sphere
Nahasdzáán. Located below Yadilhilth/ Father Sky.

Shiprock at night. A doorway to the Sky.
A path to Pleiades.

Knowledge Glyphs
Linear Dimension View: Going up 13 Heaven Cycles and down Nine Hell Cycles. European imposition of western world values imposed on an Indigenous concept; revealed through Roman numeral numbering system.
Indigenous View: Indigenous Age of Reasoning/Enlightenment. Indigenous age of ignorance. A cycle of time.

Top Glyph: First Heaven Cycle. The dual god, feminine and masculine, everything that comes together. Next Heaven Cycle starts November 2038 (1 Reed). Messiah figure for Southwest area arrives in 1207 as I-itoi in southern Arizona. The current 260-year Messiah cycle is as follows- 687 A.D. is Pacal in Palenque + 260 years=947 for Kukulakan/Quetzalcoatl in Chichen Iztza. + 260 years= 1207 I-itoi Hohokam/Anasazi + 260 years = 1467 Montezuma Mexica/Aztec + 260 years= 1727 Handsome Lake/Iroquois. 

Center Glyph: 13th 52-year Heaven Cycle / 1st 52-year Cycle of the Underworld. Time Duality. Represents last Heaven Cycle (1492 marked on Sacred Calendar in this cycle), and first Hell Cycle (this cycle begins in November 1518).

Bottom glyph: 9th Hell Cycle. Started November 13, 1986. New Fire Ceremony. Indigenous New Year.  Pleaides directly overhead at midnight.  As above so below. Venus travels through the underworld for 8 days. Rising of Venus as the Morning Star Twin at Sunrise while Pleaides sets.

13 52-Year Heaven Cycles/Hell Cycles
Earth’s year count cycles. Each 52-year cycle starts at 1 Reed. Extrapolated from the 260 Day Sacred Calendar starting at 1 Reed and using the pattern 5 to the right and 5 down to move through time by one solar year (364 days). Leap days (unnamed days) accounted for at the end of the 52-year cycle. New Fire ceremony marks beginning of each cycle. Gregorian leap year/day approach- 1/4 day x 4 years = 1 day/4 years. Indigenous approach- 1/4 day  x  52 years = 13 days/52 years. Heaven cycles/Indigenous Age of Reasoning/Enlightenment denoted in left hand framed calendar. Hell cycles/ Indigenous Age of Ignorance/Dark Ages denoted on right hand framed calendar. 1492 correlates to 2012.

260 Day Sacred Calendar
Based on 13 and twenty. Move through time one day at a time by moving down one cell at a time. At bottom of column move up to top of next column. Repeat until reach end of calendar. Restart cycle at beginning. To move through time in twenty day increments, move to right by one cell.  260 days used to plan human from conception and birth. Cylindrical viewing (folding calendar on paper into a tube-cylinder shape) allows one to view time as a spiral. Cylindrical viewing of calendar on transparent paper allows for 3-D viewing of time as a double helix.

Zia Symbol
Solar year division painted into four equal parts to indicate 91 days per season. Zia symbol an ancient scientific calculator.  Can be used to calculate scientific equations, such as the Indigenous golden mean ratio, Tetrahedron and Indigenous pi based on 13 rather than 12.

About Colleen Gorman:
Colleen Gorman is Diné from Chinle, AZ, and now living in Albuquerque, NM. She is a mother, a teacher and a founder of the Media Arts Collaborative Charter School (link below). She also volunteers for Quote Unquote, Inc. as board president. Some of the knowledge for the Indigenous Time concept is sourced from Roger Cultee, Quinault, executive director of the Indigenous Research Center. Visit the Indigenous Research Center Facebook page (link below) for more information about applications of Sacred Calendar systems and Sacred Geometry.

Mural Assistants included Jeremy Charley, Kim Close, Tachii’nii Gorman and Ann-erika Whitebird.

“Gimiwan//Look to the Sky”

Gimiwan//Look to the Sky is a non-linear narrative woven together from pieces of memories, family, landscape, home and multigenerational collaboration. Gimiwan is the Ojibwe word for rain/it rains. Inside the space, the Gimiwan story encapsulates visual elements connected by rain and references to water or locations in close proximity to water.

The Gimiwan//Look to the Sky story was created from an intuitive making process allowing location and surroundings to influence the story elements. Portions of the mural were created in collaboration with my 6-year-old nephew, Timo. We spoke briefly about ideas of what we could create in the space but a majority was made on the spot experimentally. After Timo would work for a day in certain spots, I would come back on another day and respond to his work. For instance, Timo incorporated his Diné language on the back of the door with the word, “hágoóneeʼ” meaning goodbye. My response to that was to create a wolf and ancient being saying, “boozhoo” and “aniin” meaning hello; how are you in Ojibwe.  

Gimiwan//Look to the Sky will resonate differently within each person. The visual elements will connect a unique narrative depending on what memories and histories each person brings with them. Whether it be a quirky story about color and movement, or a more serious anecdotal about climate change and human impact, there is no right or wrong in its perception.

From the Artist - Lynnette Haozous:
Welcome to Sunrise Blessings. This space was created to pay respect to the sacred connection of women to earth, the water, and honor this sacred feminine-life force connection. This dwelling also pays respect to my three tribes, (Chiricahua Apache, Dine’, Taos Pueblo). My tribal influences are reflected in the designs and imagery. The arrowhead blesses the entry way, creating positive energy and protection for the room. East Wall - “White Painted Woman” - The sunrise dance is one of the most central parts of Apache culture, it is a four-day ceremony that happens when a young Apache woman enters into womanhood. The young Apache woman dances up the sun for four days, enacting sacred White Painted Woman. White Painted Woman blesses the people with gifts, good energy, and protection with the rising sun. The image honors White Painted Woman. The circles are White Painted Woman’s gifts of positive energy and blessings to the world. This energy encircles the room emanating from the sun, greeting you to a new day. Women have the sacred connection to the life force, and our Mother Earth. This sacred female energy is honored through White Painted Woman, the grandmother, and the quail mother. The water is also a part of this sacred life force connection. The water line encircles the room, just as water connects us all, the water line becomes the life line of us all.

“I wanted to create a space where one can feel connected to our mother Earth, but also connect to the energy all around us. A space created to receive and honor the gifts of the universe, to be blessed with good thoughts, energy, and protection. A space to wake up each day with Sunrise Blessings.”

About Lynnette Haozous:
Lynnette Haozous is Chiricahua Apache (of the San Carlos Apache Tribe), Dine’, and Taos Pueblo. Growing up on and around her three tribes’ reservations in Arizona and New Mexico has influenced Haozous’ art works. Haozous is a multi-medium “artivist”, blending art and advocacy to bring attention to the current social conditions and injustices in Indian Country. Mediums include working with acrylics, water colors and spray paint, creating jewelry, screen-printing, writing poetry and acting on stage and film. In 2012, Haozous was one of the first three artists to receive the “2012 Nativo Lodge/SWAIA Artist in Residency” and appreciates receiving one of this years “2017 Nativo Lodge Artists In Residency,” as well. Haozous studied Studio Arts at CNM, and graduated with her degree in social work from New Mexico Highlands University. Her current creative base is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she works at OFFCenter Community Arts Project as an art teacher, and volunteers with the outreach art program working with at risk youth through community art projects.

See more work at: facebook.com/lynnette.haozous. Link below.

From the Artist - Jodie Herrera:
This room was created in honor of the sacred feminine. The ancient symbols of the moon, triangle and circle are present to welcome the mother spirit. As grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and sisters, it is our time to navigate. There will be many directions, but if we guide with love, all directions will lead to the betterment of our collective future. This is represented by the arrows and posture of Zitkála-Šá. Her hand is up over her eyes to assist her in looking towards the light that lays ahead. We have embodied the spirit of the desert flower, represented by the prickly pear cacti in full bloom. We have blossomed despite the odds against us. We are strong, resilient, powerful and ready to rise! If you are a man staying within these walls, please take a moment to celebrate the women in your life. Remember to respect, encourage and stand behind or beside them. If you are a woman staying within these walls, I welcome you to feel the surge of empowerment, support, and appreciation around and within you. Know that there is no task too small to contribute. We must uplift and be pillars for each other. Let us work together as agents of love. But, for now, relax and let these walls embrace and recharge you. You deserve it. I chose to paint Zitkála-Šá in my artist room. She was an artist, political activist and all-around righteous Sioux (Yankton Dakota) woman who lived 1876-1938. She made it her life to fight for civil rights, better access to health care, and education for Native Americans. As an artist, she created the first Native American opera in history and authored many books that intended not only to educate white America of different Native peoples’ culture, but also to illustrate the hardship of cultural assimilation.

About Jodie Herrera:
Jodie Herrera is a Chicana Northern New Mexican painter with Apache and Comanche ancestry. She works as a Muralist, Realist Oil Painter, Illustrator, Mixed-Media Artist and Curator. All her life she has been known as “the artist" to her friends and family. In fact, her first memories are of creating art, and with the encouragement of her mother (full time jeweler and potter) and father, she has followed her path unwaveringly. Herrera’s full body of work is an homage to the sacred feminine and is created to serve and acknowledge the beauty and resilience of all women. She hopes to bring awareness to the many facets of the female experience while also uplifting women and providing a platform for important issues around intersectional feminism. She hopes her work can be a catalyst for positive change.  Herrera is currently working on two art projects outside of murals and all other art related commissions and freelance. One is Women Across Borders, an International Arts and Activism project, in which Herrera travels internationally, working with refugee and immigrant women with the goal of bringing attention to the issues they face and have overcome, as well as educate and activate others around the subject. Herrera also works locally on her main project where she portrays women that have persevered through trauma. She builds personal and supportive relationships with each of her participants, striving to celebrate their beauty and strength with hopes that they may provide a source of inspiration for others. Herrera received her BFA with honors from the University of New Mexico in 2013, with a focus in oil painting. She currently resides in Albuquerque, where she works as a professional artist.

Herrera was awarded “Best Visual Artist of 2017” by Albuquerque The Magazine, and her art has been featured in such settings as The Art and History Museum of Santa Cruz, The Albuquerque Art and History Museum, The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Arts, 516 Gallery, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe, among many others.

From the Artist - Chaz John:
Subverting the idea of who art is made for, REZ DOG ROOM 420 was created specifically for Nativo’s rez dog guests who through survival and natural selection, have created a breed of their own. The interior is based on an overly elaborate Victorian design and classical dog paintings of upper-class pedigrees. In this room, these purebreds have been replaced by rez dogs and the Victorian design overtaken, melting and bursting with rez dog survival and indignity. The room’s hues and values have been painted according to a dog’s visual spectrum, from black and grays to light blues and yellows; catering completely to a canine audience. As the artist, I encourage audience participation in the continued creation of this space, Indigenizing this Victorian interior and creating a new occupied room. Like the rez dogs, who continue to create themselves.

About Chaz John:
Chaz John is an Indigenous artist and activist currently attending the Institute of American Indian Arts. Chaz works primarily with opaque and raw images. Producing quickly lined and illuminated mixed media drawings and paintings in an effort to capture what he calls “Indigenous poetry in the face of conflict”. Chaz often blurs the lines of conceptual and traditional 2D work, constructing performative actions with drawings and paintings often as documentation. Interested in the formation of the modern myth and poetic reification, Chaz’s work is often accessible, layered with subversion and always conveys a sense of Indigenous humor.

From the Artist - Waya Gary Keene:
Originally the thought I had about this mural was to separate the couple with the man on the left and the woman on the right. I started painting the day after Valentine’s Day and wanted to continue with the feeling of love. Recent current violent events (mass shootings) where families were disrupted, were a big factor in bringing the couple together in the mural. We need to be loving to ourselves, our mates, our children, our elders, and our friends. We need to make good choices and failures, they’re hard on the heart. Be brave and be strong in your effort to make good choices. Love and honor all those I have mentioned.

About Waya'aisiwa Gary Keene:
My real name is Waya’aisiwa and I am of the Eagle clan from Acoma Pueblo. I am a self-taught artist. My trademark is the red headband and red arrowheads on my pieces. Some people say my paintings are medicine for the soul. I am a Vietnam era Navy veteran and a recovering alcoholic. I have been clean for 18 years. I hope my mural inspires you to do great and good things in your life.

From the Artist - Duane Koyawena:
Hopi is a way of life, and the people have remained in Northern Arizona since time immemorial serving as stewards of the land. The Hopi life has historical roots grounded in morals based on respect, collaboration, reciprocity, and taking initiative. Hopi is lived by giving reverence to all things living in this world, with wishes for all to live free of pain and suffering through peace and harmony. Hopi is a matrilineal society, and each individual is born into the mother’s clan. Your clan is a source of who you are, and where you came from. Clans have boundaries, roles, and define you and your place within Hopi. As a male, one of the important roles is being the caretaker of our corn fields. Corn serves as the main staple grown through a dry farming technique, relying on rainfall in the desert to nourish the crops. Maintaining a corn field requires patience, structure, discipline, and dedication. Therefore, we refer to the corn as our children, and raise them with the same level of support, and wishes for life as we do our own children. Tawa, the sun, is also referred as iitana (our father); he is who we pray to for good health, strength, and guidance. Through collective prayer, we share our wishes to the world, and they are also received by our spiritual deities, Katsinam. Katsinam are supernatural beings, who bring prayers and blessings as gifts to the world, in order to encourage the people to live good lives, full of happiness, strength, and healing. Angaktsina (Long-haired Katsina) are rain messengers. They sing beautiful songs about rain, clouds, lightning, with instructions for growing corn and raising children, pure hearts, and striving for a good life. In the room, displayed on the larger wall is a tribute to the renowned artist Michael Kabotie (Hopi), with the Angaktsina painted in similar fashion as it is my favorite design of his. Other symbolic references that are found throughout the room: the poli (butterflies) represent the delicate beauty of nature; the black markings “II” are quoma, and are the markings of strength; the upside-down triangles are called yooyung and are the markings of storm clouds.

About Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa):
As a self-taught artist, I have always felt passionate about art since childhood. I was born in Ft. Wainwright, AK, to an Air Force father, Lloyd Koyawena (Hopi), and my mother, Carol Keevama (Tewa/Hopi) and I grew up in Albuquerque, NM, and graduated high school in 1999. I have definitely put the struggle in the saying “struggling artist,” by having had a serious addiction to alcohol for most of my youth. I gained the appreciation for art, and the passion to explore within my own talent, through osmosis from my father who was also an artist. Sadly, my father lost his life to alcoholism. The devastating loss of my father ironically influenced my own destructive path with alcohol. During this dark period of my life, I lost contact with my art, as it had become impure. In 2008, I took the first steps toward my road to sobriety, and reconnecting with my Hopi way of life. Through embracing traditional teachings and culture, my life and art are pure again. Drawing and painting allows me to remember my past, and inspires me to keep moving forward positively for my sobriety, my family, and most importantly, my Hopi identity. Through art, I am better able to create positive energy to help myself and others live a balanced and happy life. Today, I compliment my art work with the desire to help others. I currently work in the Behavioral Health department at the Flagstaff Medical Center. It is through this position that I am able to give back to society. I strive to live a good life, one day at a time, with the support of my daughter, family, and friends. With that, I do my best to surround myself with beauty – one pencil or brush stroke at a time.

The Holy MTN Room. 

Santo. Santo. Santo. Santo.

Build a Fire.

Interpreting a dream from long ago in a galaxy very close to here: From the Holy MTN, a Santo comes down from the peaks speaking forth the vision from the well-spring of loving and living. He confronts and battles the false enriched, exchanging knowledge amongst the weary of heart on his travels to the stars and above-world. Energy, peaking and plummeting beyond ones and zeroes. Sit in this room, meditate, breathe, eat fast food, drink water, shop online, watch TV, do what you do, but become aware where you are in this town that was built on blood next to a river that goes to the ocean which takes that energy with the tides all over the world. And this town is under the mountain where there one day will be a prophet shouting from its peak. 

Estella Loretto is currently the only Native American woman working in monumental bronze sculpting. She is considered to be one of the finest sculptors/artists living today. Estella's genuine spiritual nature defines her commitment to integrity. Her art is contemporary, serene and very spiritual. Her world travels and studies give her a broad sense of creative expression focusing on creating healing environments. Loretto was the last student of Allan Houser as well as a student of other masters throughout the world. She studied in Italy, Japan, India, Nepal, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, and is also a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Estella was Born in Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico. She now lives and designs, sculpts, paints and works on a new line of jewelry in her beautiful Southwest home and studio in Santa Fe. Today she enjoys spending time with her granddaughter, Faith. She enjoys cooking and entertaining her friends, family, and clients. To view and experience Estella Loretto's work is profoundly extraordinary. She shows by appointment.

"I see the making of Art and the process it entails as a sincere and beautiful way to communicate with the great spirit. I want my creations to be serene and balance having graceful flow."

Learn more at estellaloretto.com. Link below.

From the Artist - Michelle "Milo" Lowden:
The room's color aims to interpret the sunsets of the Southwest and the design pattern help reflect elements of mother nature. The room radiates positive energy and is meant for finding the beauty in the day-to-day life that is often taken for granted. When the sun sets, she wants each guest to embrace each day with a thankful outlook on life.

About Michelle "Milo" Lowden:
Lowden is the proud founder and owner of Milo Creations, which specializes in hand-painted Pueblo jewelry. She is the youngest of two, born to Roberta Charlie and Aaron Lowden, both from the Pueblo of Acoma. Lowden currently operates and resides on the Pueblo of Acoma Reservation in New Mexico. Her inspiration to reconnect traditional designs through a contemporary medium began with observing her father's sculptures as well as studying her family's history of illustrious potters. In 2014, Michelle became the first participant in the Inspired Natives Project by the Eighth Generation company owned by Louie Gong. Inspired Natives Project is both a business initiative and an educational initiative. By collaborating with select arts entrepreneurs to manufacture products under the Eighth Generation brand, we hope to expand regional appeal of the Eighth- Generation brand while simultaneously increasing the capacity of the arts entrepreneurs and educating the public about the tangible costs of cultural appropriation.

Learn more at EighthGeneration.com. Link below

View Michelle's work at: www.milocreations.net.  Link below.

From the Artist - Rhett Lynch:
Prayers: (above bed) There are two things' humans naturally do perfectly yet, are unique to the individual, laughter and prayer. When someone starts to emulate a laugh or a prayer of another, they become lost to themselves. The painting "Prayers" belongs to the viewer, as a sunset, a bird chirping, or a dream touches someone. It is a very personal experience much like a laugh of a prayer itself. The only offering I can give to explain "Prayers" is one word; that word is love.

Spirit Window: (on red wall) Spirit Window is about ceremony, meditation, and prayers. This work asks the viewer to contemplate their own connection, to travel a little further beyond comfort, to remember we are all spirits.

Grass Dance: (on yellow wall) On three separate occasions, I had the fortunate experience of calling Taos my home. It's my favorite place on earth. One day I will live there again. The last time I lived in Taos I left with a sad heard. I was sad because I had to leave Taos. I was even more sad to learn my mother was dying. Before I left for Albuquerque to assist my mom, I attended the annual Taos Pow-Wow. My eyes watered as the heartbeat of the drums, their dancers, the Taos Mountain overlooking it all filled my senses. I held tight to the feeling I would be back one day and released it. Grass Dance is more than a work of art. Grass Dance is a promise, a promise to return back to my home.

Lightning Boy and the Medicine Hunt: (on yellow wall) When I was a little boy, I had the knowing I would one day be struck by lightning. When a storm came, I would get on my bicycle and invite my fate. I thought if the lightning didn't kill me, I would know my destiny, my purpose. I thought it I lived right, if I lived in Hozho, I would be worthy of the medicine in the lightning. As I became a young man, I began to think I was going to be passed over and the lightning medicine was going to someone more worthy. Perhaps it had already happened. Now that I am a man, I contemplate my life from a more considered, less naive perspective. I continue to walk in the rain. You never know when lightning may strike.

Infinity: (above sink) Infinity is asking the viewer to look deep within, to connect and keep going. Science confirmed what some knew all along, the more you move into inner space, the more inner-space expands before you. The same is true for outer space. The more one looks into outer space, the more outer-space expands before you. We live in a space of infinity in all eternity. We always have and always will.

Nativo: (the bathroom) A design often found in Navajo textiles. For me, it represents the ebb and flow of life, nature, all things.

About Rhett Lynch:
Rhett Lynch (Diné) has been painting, sculpting, writing and acting for over thirty years. His art conveys the stories and experiences of his Indigenous heritage as well as provoking through emotions. Lynch's room features a work of art that has 175 prayer ties over the bed, a design that reflects the east morning light and giclee prints on the walls. Rhett’s prayer tie painting above the bed offers prayers of gratefulness and peace to guests of the room who will sleep under this painting. The large painting on the West wall is a continuation of giving people a visual and spiritual feast and is evocative of Rhett’s work with layering color. Guests will also encounter two pieces on the wall adjacent to the mirror above the sink which will give a cathedral like effect. Experience unique lodging in Albuquerque, NM at Nativo Lodge.

Learn more at rhettlynch.com. Link below

The room #409 at Nativo Lodge is titled “A Path to Clarity II” It is based on a painting that was completed in January 2019 of the same name. This painting was inspired by a walk I took last fall in Pojoaque, New Mexico with my Son Noel. We were hiking right at the base of the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I was astounded by the scenery, I took pictures with my phone, but the digital pictures did not do it justice. The scale of what my eyes saw was not recorded in the digital photo. I could see all the areas that I have hiked to in the last 27 years while living around this mountain range in Santa Fe. I had been taking pictures of the New Mexican Mountains for years, but I was finally struck by inspiration to begin painting landscapes. “A Path to Clarity II” is the fifteenth and largest landscape completed this year. It is inspired by artists from New Mexico going back at least a hundred years. Numerals play a large part; each measurement is a birth date from a cherished family member. The background is an abstract landscape inspired by everything from Piet Mondrian, Quilting, to Pixels and retro video games like Tetris. The dark line work on top of the color background is inspired by super cool artists like Ken Price, Tony Abeyta, Joan Hill, and the great Robert Crumb.

The remaining areas have birds that I see while hiking in New Mexico. You have a female and male Red Breasted Robin, and on the adjoining wall, a female Bluebird, a Magpie, and a male Bluebird. I have been producing these stylized birds the last three years for the non-profit Bioneers Corporation. I decided now would be a good time to allow some of them to appear in my artwork. I have been a bird watcher since a child, my grandfather would have me memorize and identify every bird while growing up on a farm in rural Northeastern Oklahoma. The style and design are Inspired by Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau and my love for country and western suits of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

The bathroom and sink area are the rewarding enjoyable part of producing this Mural over the course of ten days of painting, ranging from ten to fifteen hours a day. Lots of fun is going into this bathroom, it is based on Marvel Comic great Jack Kirby. Many techniques, including the “Kirby Krackle” will be used to complete the bathroom. It also is designed to appear you are on the moon looking into a “Comic” stylized cosmos while in the restroom. I hope that the customers and visitors to the Nativo enjoy this room. A lot of happy thoughts and heart and soul went into its production. 

From the Artist - Douglas Miles:
In New Mexico (and Arizona) the influence of Native American people is felt and seen on almost all aspects of the community.  Whether governance, farming, canal building, art or  architecture, Native innovation is never ending. Nativo Lodge takes the rich Native American art tradition turning it into an opportunity showcase for Native Artists. It also shares the heavy influence of Native art and architecture in the Southwest. My mural room is done primarily with aerosol, utilizing hand drawn images and some hand-cut stencils. The painting installation techniques are based on street-art and graffiti methods giving the work a sense of immediacy missing from much art. I painted “top to bottom” Indian male and female faces gracing walls to commemorate contributions by the original citizen occupants of New Mexico. I draw on my own Western Apache history using imagery I’ve created that honors and boldly places Native people both in and outside of contemporary society.

About Douglas Miles:
Douglas Miles is from the San Carlos Apache Nation in Arizona. Using street art forms, he creates work that simultaneously deconstructs stereotypes and emboldens Native people in the 21st century. His renegade ethos at work creates a new iconography in art, photos, and film. Miles’ work has been exhibited at Princeton University, Columbia University, the DeYoung Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe. He recently collaborated with actor and author Ethan Hawke and artist Greg Ruth on a New York Times bestseller graphic novel, “Indeh: A Story of the Apache Wars.” His new documentary about his company Apache Skateboards, "The Mystery of Now " is forthcoming.

From the Artist - Warren Montoya:
This installation is an interpretive reflection of a historic life-way of the Pueblo (Native American) people residing in the Rio Grande basin. The traditional task of hunting that takes place during the fall and winter seasons of the year is a considerable ceremony, one that is not only acknowledged as being a main source of food but also a deeper connection to the transference of energy that must take place for hun (the people) to continue. The story of this mural tells of the link between the pueblo person and the mule deer, between the human and source of our sustenance. The various details within the mural from the hunters bow-guard and his pouch peeking out from behind his winter blanket, to the segmented white path of the arrow are influenced by the artists connection and understanding of his cultures. The stylized design of the Pueblo dwellings and the vibrant color explosions behind the deer and the hunter represent the complex and evolutionary perspectives and modes of the Pueblo people, amongst other Indigenous. Ultimately, the practice represented within this mural along with many other practices gives deep consideration and respect to the forces that exist beyond our understanding that have overseen and guided our paths throughout the ages.

About Warren Montoya:
Born of Santa Ana Pueblo (Tamaya) and Santa Clara Pueblo (Khapo Owinge’) in New Mexico, Warren Montoya practices various forms of creative expression and community development work. His core creative practices are painting, illustrations and graphic design. His art pieces are influenced by history, pop-culture, traditional beliefs and the study of contemporary social dynamics. His style is inspired by graffiti art, comic art, Surrealism, and the influence of his peers. Warren received a Bachelor's Degree in Art from Fort Lewis College, in 2006. In 2008 Warren pursued an alternate career as a “Therapeutic Adventure Program” facilitator in which he honed outdoor skills and explored concepts of personal empowerment and practices of resiliency with various participants. From this he was inspired to involve aspects of “cultural” resiliency within his art and also found the path to developing an organization. In 2013, Warren started the company REZONATE Art, LLC, which now focuses on coordinating and producing public arts projects and creative events around the Southwest. In 2015, Warren also founded the REZILIENCE Indigenous Arts Experience that works to create positive social impact with Indigenous communities. Through building mass partnerships, REZILIENCE produces large-scale exhibitions involving aspect of Art, Education, Wellness and Technology. REZILIENCE holds its annual festival every year in Albuquerque, New Mexico during the spring.

Keshishi dons a: we' kya 

(Zuni Traditional Greeting- translation: Greetings, have you arrived)

The duality/complexity of Ancient Pueblo Textiles is vast.  The basis of Pueblo Weaving originated in Mexico (Backstrap Loom Weaving). In Zuni Language, Mexico is referred to as the Land of Everlasting Summer, for Zuni Butterflies represent the coming of warm weather and the rejuvenation of Mother Earth. The room modeled after the whitewash (gypsum) slip that was utilized in not only textiles but Pueblo Pottery as well. The butterflies are modeled after old-style Zuni Pottery Designs in shape.  The internal design of the wings is modeled after Ancestral Pueblo Textiles, which can be seen depicted at Pottery Mound located on the bank of Rio Puerco, west of Los Lunas, New Mexico. The textiles are known as the "Dot in The Eye" textile. The textile patterns were created by using the tie-dye method or thru resist dye. Utilizing earth tones with a metallic sheen help to convey the sacredness that textiles play in Pueblo Culture/Religion. All Pueblo textiles are related to moisture and prayers for such. Being agricultural-based communities' moisture of all kinds is a sacred blessing from our ancestors. The Gold splatter throughout the room is a homage to yellow corn pollen drifting through a warm summer breeze, allowing new vegetation to come to life.

The main focal point is a recreation of an Awatovi-Pueblo black on yellow polychrome. The simplicity encompasses both the masculine and feminine qualities found within Pueblo Pottery; the design is prayer moisture and harmony. The second design located within the bathroom area is another recreation of an 1800 black on white Zuni Stew bowl. The design is a direct representation of rainbirds in-flight stretching out to all directions. 

The room encompasses both the Masculine (Pueblo Textiles) and the Feminine (Pueblo Pottery) dualities found within Zuni (Pueblo Culture). Unwind in the simplistic complexity of Zuni Pueblo Culture.

Elahkwa (Thank You)

From the Artist - Ehren Kee Natay:
Avanyu, a Tewa deity, the guardian of water. She is depicted as a horned, feathered, water serpent. Avanyu is often depicted in pottery and Petroglyph designs. Ehren’s Avanyu is reminiscent of a Yakuza Japanese style of design. The Buffalo Dance is a ceremonial dance that has been uniquely adapted by each Pueblo. Ehren’s Buffalo Dancer is in the Pueblo of Pojoaque style. The room also contains a metallic photograph of Ehren wearing a mask he made. Ehren said, "When I have captured some form of self-identity in a work of art, it is finished. A thought, an emotion, an experience is solidified, and I can separate from that identity. There is a journey in every piece of art, and also a lesson. When I can share this journey and this lesson with another human, an exchange of wisdom and magic takes place." The KeeVa is a dwelling that was created to pay homage to the creative source. It pays homage to those who have written on Kiva walls and cliff dwellings. It pays homage to comics and cartoons. It pays homage to traditions and spirits of this dimension and beyond.

About Ehren Kee Natay:
Ehren Kee Natay (Diné/Kewa Pueblo) is a recipient of the 2012 SWAIA/Nativo Lodge Rising Artist Fellowship. He is a contemporary street art style artist. His work explores the beauty and taboo of his culture. Natay’s room portrays a Buffalo Dancer, a water serpent and includes a photographic print on metal as well as other artistic elements that nod to pop culture and comic book style design. 
 

Learn more about Ehren Natay's work at: ehrenkeenatay.com. Link below.

Artist Guest Rooms are in a community partnership in conjunction with the Institute of American Indian Arts. Link below. 

From the Artist - Nathan N. Nez Sr.:
For this room, I decided to go with two different styles and mediums that best define me as an artist: using spray paint and acrylic. I have used figures, symbols, and phases from Navajo culture. I chose three words which mean a lot to me and have helped me become who I am today as a husband, father, and Navajo artist. On the north wall I used the words Hozho and Yeego, putting the definition of the words above them. I painted corn because as I was growing up, I remember playing in the cornfield at my grandmother’s house. The hummingbirds are an interpretation of my mother’s grandkids and the bird on the basket is a representation of my mother. On the east wall, I used the word Diné and I painted a Hogan which will always be home to me. I love to paint a Hogan which for me means to stay humble and remember where I came from. My mother still lives in the same Hogan that my grandmother had lived in for many years. The south wall, I decided to illustrate paintings I have done in the last year that have made their way to new homes all over the country. The meaning of the Hogan at the end is showing me this isn’t the end and there is a whole new world left to be discovered artistically.

About Nathan N. Nez Sr.:
I am from Woodsprings, Arizona: a small community on the Navajo Nation. After high school, I joined the United States Army and was stationed in Ft. Hood, Texas for four years. I was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and now am a veteran of the Iraq war. When I returned home, I went down a dark path with drinking and using drugs without any solid foundation to call home. I felt lost. I lost my Hozho. In 2008, I met a woman who would change my life around for the better, and she is now my wife and the mother of my two kids. After moving to Albuquerque in 2013 I pursued my art dream. I received my Bachelors of Art in Art studios from the University of New Mexico in 2017. Today, I am proud to say I am drug and alcohol free and living with my family here in Albuquerque. As a Navajo artist, I took new steps and a new direction with my style by going beyond boundaries of Native American art by including a collaboration of my graffiti style. I do value my traditions and culture giving much respect; however, I have learned to evolve and develop my style from the norm. I stay close to my culture, values, and roots. My family and friends have told me stories that turned into art. I also use art as an outlet to help deal with PTSD and so that keeps me grounded as well as pushing me to paint more.

From the Artist - J. NiCole:
This room is showing recognition to women rising and our future generation. Each portrait is based on women that have inspired me, because they make a stand for what they believe in and for their communities. I want people to feel empowered, happy, love, and strength when they stay in this room.

Joann Kauffman – Nez Perce
The portrait on the square wall behind the restroom is of Joann Kauffman representing our elders. She is a community activist, Native rights activist and advocate for First Amendment issues. To me she represents strength.

Coco – Comanche/Kiowa
The child represents our youth and the future.

Kim Smith – Dine
The portrait by the desk is of Kim Smith. She is also a Native rights activist, not only in her community but all over the world. To me she represents the present.

April Holder - Sac and Fox/Wichita/Tonkawa
The canvas print by the sink is of April Holder. She is an artist, and I admire her humble strong statements she makes in all of her paintings.

The elk teeth in the bathroom represent women, love, strength, and empowerment.

I want people to see the inner beauty and strength of our women, not just the physical appearance. The colors represent my emotions and emotions around me. We carry all of these beautiful colors within ourselves and I want them to resonate with each portrait.

About J. NiCole Hatfield:
Comanche/Kiowa (Numunuu/Khoiye-Goo)

J. NiCole Hatfield (Nahmi-A-Piah), is a Native Oklahoman self-taught artist who draws her inspiration from historical photographs of her proud tribal women. Just as she describes her paintings as ‘her voice’, she feels that painting these women acknowledges and honors them by giving them a voice in our contemporary world. She also teaches and preserves tribal languages by frequently incorporating them into her paintings. She studied a broad range of mediums while attending the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe but her preferred medium to translate her bold colors to canvas is acrylic paint. J. NiCole was launched into the art scene in Santa Fe through the Indigenous Fine Art Market (IFAM), live paints and lectures at the Paseo Art Gallery. She is frequently a guest artist at the world-famous launch pad of Native American fine art: the Oscar B. Jacobson House on the O.U. campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Her work has been exhibited and showcased in the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center, the Anadarko Southern Plains Museum, as well as in many notable private collections. J. NiCole has participated in numerous festivals, celebrations and juried events including the Norman Arts Council One Beat Street, Tonemah Annual Christmas Benefit Concert Live Art Fundraiser, Indigenous Fine Art Market in Santa Fe, 4th Annual American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival, Small Works, Great Wonders National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Art Show, and NMAI Art Market, Gathering of The Tribes SRP at UCR, Riverside, CA Workshop, Juried Autry Art Market in Los Angeles and the Juried NMAI Smithsonian Native American Art Market in New York City. Her awards include the second place in the 2D Painting division at the Artesian Arts Festival in Sulphur, Oklahoma and second place at the Comanche Nation Fair. She received the Rupert Costo Medal award from Sherman Indian High School, in Riverside, California, where she addressed students as part of a lecture series for the Native American Student Program of the University of California. J. NiCole has a strong history of tying together art and community improvement. Her piece “Cheyenne Girl” won the Kauffman and Associates call for Native art work and has been featured on walls in different cities for the Native Art 4 Health Campaign. And, she has worked with the Delaware Nation Suicide Prevention Program and performed a live paint for the Red Feather Gala’s Annual Fundraiser in Oklahoma City to raise funds for the Indian Health Services Women’s Health Program in Oklahoma City. J. NiCole is currently working on a mural at Lacey Pioneer in Anadarko, Oklahoma and travels locally, creating live works of art for special events and fundraisers for organizations such as the Comanche Nation I AM NDN Program, which focuses on empowering the Native youth. Born and raised in the Southern Plains of Oklahoma J. Nicole, respectfully of the Penetukah (honey eater) band of Comanches, has a profound understanding of the unique paradox in which Native American people and artists find themselves.  She is challenged with art’s demand to “make it new” while still honoring and appreciating the unchanging spirit in all things as well as traditional tribal values. By consolidating the past as well as transcending it, she is able to obtain the gasps of artistic air needed to escape drowning in the assimilating flood of Native fine art.

 

From the Artist - Kandis Quam:
The inspiration for this room was literal and symbolic meaning of some Pueblo traditional garment designs. The big blue symbols can represent the billowing cloud formations found over the ocean called Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds. The dark blue at the bottom represents the deep waters of the oceans, and there are literal clouds within the geometric, symbolic cloud formations. Also, our Sun Father can be seen peaking over the horizon with messengers (the Dragonfly and Butterfly) carrying messages from our ancestors to us.

About Kandis Quam:
Art has always been in my life; from the moment I was born. I come from a family of well-known Native Artists. As a result of growing in an artistic family, I got to watch and learn from my parents, Jayne and Lynn Quam, as they navigated the art show world. Even at a young age I knew my destiny was/is to continue the Quam family legacy of art. However, I also wanted to be the first in my family to graduate college. Once I graduated from Zuni High School, I went to New Mexico State University Main Campus. Five years later, I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in American Indian Studies. From then on, I went back home to the Pueblo of Zuni, and began building up Natachu INK full time with my cousin Elroy Natachu Jr. In the early summer of 2014, Elroy began to teach me how to paint and do other areas of the arts, such as: making traditional clothes, making jewelry, and embroidery. Through every piece of art I do, I aim to push my art to the next caliber: infusing the traditional with a modern twist. My main subject matter of choice is imagery with a heavy Zuni influence. I want to instill a sense of cultural preservation in this modern age to the younger generation. I hope to help further enforce the importance of oral tradition and the passing on of knowledge with the stories and teaching of how these sacred beings and entities were held in high regard by our ancestors. Through my use of visual media, I seek to bridge the past with the present and create change through beauty.

From the Artist - Jeanette Rocha:
The designs and symbols in this room commemorate the Araro Jóskua, the place where the P’urhepecha fire surges. It's a space that evokes and honors the inner light and ancestral memory. For us P’urhepecha, many of our stories begin with the stars. The Araro Jóskua, or Orion constellation, depicted on the south wall, is an important gathering of stars. It is the place of our ancestors, where our fire rises from, and a guide for the people. The darker colors on this wall reflect the night sky representing an individual's unconscious, profound memory. The star designs are the light and strength. This strength, also symbolized with a sinsúni, or the hummingbird, is depicted on the west wall of the room. The overall colors of this wall are sunrise colors, the colors first seen before the sun shows itself.  The sinsúni is perched on top of a maguey plant, a symbol for Mother Earth. Each of her leaves represent a tribe connected to her center, her heart. The south wall is a sunrise landscape with stars designs of different colors. The colors of each star might represent light emanating from one of the four directions. Light that we begin with each day.

About Jeanette Rocha:
Jeanette Aguilar Rocha, P'urhépecha from Queréndaro, Michoacán, was born in Watsonville, California. At the age of 14 her family moved to Chicago, Illinois where she found an avenue of expression in graffiti. As a graffiti writer, her focus became letter style and color. She learned to control movement and light in darkness using aerosol, her preferred medium. She went on to study photography at Northern Illinois University giving her an opportunity to experiment with other media while further studying the displacement of people from homelands. Jeanette currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches art at a public school in the west side. She participates in various art gallery group shows in both Phoenix and Chicago. She is part of Neoglyphix, an original all Indigenous aerosol art collective. Her work can be seen in murals throughout Phoenix; 16th Street, the west side, south side, as well as the Salt River community.

From the Artist - Mateo Romero:
The plaza at dawn...the drum beats from inside the Kiva...pinon smoke rises into the air...men chanting Tewa verses....

Dancers emerge from the doorway...deer bouncing impatiently...buffalo striding forward in structured lines... male to female, old to young...

Singers with sacred paint on their faces drumming... low drumbeats rumbling... the dance begins....

It is ceremony.

This room is structured around several fundamental elements of Rio Grande Pueblo dance culture. In its most basic form, the red base element that runs around the room is a reference to the dance practice houses in the village. The line elements between the red and buff color on the wall reference lines on pottery rims. The large graphic brown forms on the walks are modern interpretations of historic Keres pottery designs...bee weed plant, rain clouds, dragonfly’s, etc. They function as design elements in a classic Pueblo pot border/panel arrangement with repetition of motif. Arranged between these graphic designs are the dancer paintings. Deer, Eagle, Feast Day dancers are painted with vibrant color and active surface texture to display emotion, spirituality, transcendence. It is my hope that through all of these elements brought together here that the viewer experiences a visual connection with these nuanced aspects of the dance. If we listen closely in the room, we can hear the faint drum beats...smell the pinon smoke...hear the men chanting verses as the dancers emerge into the plaza.

About Mateo Romero:
Contemporary Pueblo painter Mateo Romero was born and raised in Berkeley, California. Although his cultural background is an urban one, through his father Santiago Romero and his connection to their Southern Keresan Cochiti people, this experience includes much of the Rio Grande Pueblo world as well. Mateo attended Dartmouth College and studied with acclaimed artists Ben Frank Moss and Varujan Boghosian. He received an MFA in printmaking from the University of New Mexico. Mateo is an award-winning artist who has exhibited internationally in Canada and in the United States. He is a former Dubin Fellow in painting at the School of American Research in Santa Fe, NM. In 2016 he received a prestigious Native Arts and Culture artists award. He paints in his studio in Santa Fe and lives in Pojoaque Pueblo with his wife, Melissa, and their children Rain and River.

 

The name of this room is "The Sixth World" and the theme is Indigenous futurism. A lot of inspiration and imagery is taken from my comic book of the same name. One half of the room is an imagining of what Earth, namely, the Dine reservation will be like in 200 years. The other half of the room focuses on space, the eponymous Sixth World. Within Dine stories, there are five worlds, with the current Dine being in the fourth world. I wanted to present my vision of the future for Dine while also making references to our culture: the four holy colors, the panels are arranged clockwise, and other visual details.  I hope everyone enjoys this room and if they would like to learn more about this universe; more can be read in my comic book series.

From the Artist - Rose B. Simpson:
Rose’s room is a prayer. Each portrait on the three walls is creating a space of blessing, guidance and protection. The west wall features a self-portrait, surrounded by clouds that represent the rain that brings nurturing and nourishment. The north wall is a portrait of Razelle Benally, of Lakota and Navajo descent. She is surveying the room with concern, care and safeguarding. The south wall is a portrait of Yolanda Smith, of Naragansett/Wampanoag descent. Yolanda is bringing forth a tributary of stars- focal points of orientation, guiding the route to follow our highest paths. Receiving these three elements, make your way to the balcony.

Standing upon the four directions, take a moment to identify your path. You are protected, supported, passionate, and blessed in your commitment.

About Rose B. Simpson:
Rose B. Simpson (b. 1983) is the daughter of clay sculptor Roxanne Swentzell and Patrick Simpson, a wood and metal contemporary artist. Rose has experienced art throughout her life in Santa Fe and on the Santa Clara Pueblo Reservation. Being from both Indigenous and European descent, with art and philosophy primary in both families, she applies her abilities in ceramic and mixed media sculpture, installation, drawing, aerosol painting, writing, music and performance to further her exploration and dedication to finding the relationship between aesthetic expression and life. After studying at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, she received a BFA in Studio Arts in 2007, and an Honors MFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. Simpson has participated in many exhibitions, including “Relations; Indigenous Dialogue” at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, NM, in 2006, which was featured in “Art in America” magazine. She was chosen as part of a collaborative art team chosen to participate in the 2008 SITE Santa Fe Biennial, a global invitational exhibit. In the summer of 2010, she kicked off the Institute of American Indian Arts “Visions” project with “Matterings” a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art. Her work is in several museum collections including the Heard Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, the Clay Art Center, and most recently the collection of the Denver Art Museum, coinciding with a Native Arts Residency and performance. In the Fall of 2012, Simpson was awarded the honor of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellowship. Her international exposure includes foreign study, resulting in a group show of work in Kashihara-Jingumae, Kansai Prefecture, Japan. In the spring of 2012, she participated in “Emnowaangosjig/Coming Out; The Shifting and Multiple Self,” a group invitational at the Toronto Free Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada, and in 2014 she attended Kokiri Putahi, a gathering of artists in Kaikohe, New Zealand, also resulting in an exhibition. She is currently represented by Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, (link below) and is a member of the Board of Directors of Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, a 501(c)3 organization located at the Santa Clara Pueblo. Living and working in Santa Clara, she is a caretaker of one of the Institute’s sites, a classroom space and future model for sustainable living systems, while attending Northern New Mexico College pursuing a certificate in Automotive Science.

From the Artist - Jay Smiley:
“Winds of Change” illustrates the power wind carries as well as its significance in Navajo creation stories. Originally another subject was in mind, but when Jay entered the room, he was asked to paint, the wind coming off the Sandias was strong that morning; blowing through the room, his thoughts became about the wind. Around the room Jay attempts to capture the characteristics of wind; flow, rhythm, movement, color, spontaneity, softness, excitement, aggression and love. In Navajo creation stories, the wind (ní ch’i) is what gave life to the Diné peoples. Wind is what networks all of nature, giving life and the power of motion to all living things. Wind lives in the four cardinal directions and is creator of the beautiful landscapes found within the four sacred mountains, which you will see in Jay’s room: To the east - white; south - turquoise; west - yellow; and north - black. Energy and vibration are carried through the environment by wind and represented in the symbols used throughout the installation. The Zia symbol was used again to represent the four directions and the land of enchantment which is New Mexico. The final act in many traditional ceremonials is to stand and breathe in the air, to again fill the lungs with the wind, and to remember Hózhó (to walk in beauty).

About Jay Smiley (Navajo):
Jay Smiley is from the Navajo Nation, Arizona and creates a mixture of abstract, contemporary and street influenced paintings. Jay was raised valuing Ké (kinship/family) and Diné (Navajo) tradition while having been immersed in pop culture, hip-hop, expression and dance from a young age. Art and culture have become a lifestyle for Jay, his paintings are a way to give back to his community and are for the world to see. Jay uses aerosol spray paint, acrylic, stencils, and pen to combine his understanding of traditional Native teachings and modern art technique – helping to find balance in a complex modern world. He uses the four sacred colors of his tribe and Indigenous symbols to accomplish this vision; capturing visual landscapes, abstract figures, and his emotions. As a member of the established art collective “Medicine Paint Dream Warriors,” Jay finds inspiration from this circle of artists and is proud of their accomplishments as a whole. Jay Smiley can usually be found live painting at a music festival, night club or community event and has found a niche for entertaining the crowd with personal style and artistic flow. Jay feels his most cherished moments have been spent working on the many murals scattered throughout the Southwest from Lower Antelope Canyon Tours to a collaboration piece with kids from the community in Navajo, New Mexico and the IMPACT project.

Taos Pueblo Views from a Pueblo room. The Pueblo room starts from early Taos Pueblo mountains, then goes from late night to early morning to twilight. Ends with the Pueblo pottery fish.  I want visitors to feel how it is in our Pueblo house. The paintings are like looking from the inside from each time of the day and night.  The Pueblo door has a real handle and looks like it can be opened. All Pueblo doors are handmade and started to appear in the late 1870's. The painting title Taos Pueblo Early Morning shows an entrance from the rooftop. That's how we used to enter the rooms. The ladder on the same painting shows one side longer than the other side. It was used to help pull you up when carrying a load. But also, was used to pull the ladder up. All of my paintings show the way it used to be from the 1920s and earlier. The Trout paintings in the restroom goes from realism to pottery form to make you feel like you're in a river. I want the visitor to experience like their resting in a gallery of the Southwest.   

This room communicates the connection between past and present, traditional and modern, and paying homage to the natural environment. The graffiti aesthetic lines are elemental in my compositions. In this room, they represent the movement of the cool breeze gliding down the Taos Mountain, and the chilled spring water from our sacred Blue Lake, that generates the river’s flow. Life is plentiful during the warmer seasons in Taos Pueblo, within the wash area I painted abstracted flowers blooming and welcoming the sun that meets the water to create life.

I painted the Taos Mountain facing the north side of the room, every morning when I’m home the first thing I look up to is our mountain. I am appreciative that this mountain belongs to my people and we will always take care of it with the goodness of our hearts. Taos Pueblo is the foundation of Taos, its energy has drawn so many other people to this place. We as the People of the Red Willow (our original tribal name) are humble and welcome those that visit our ancient land and homes.

The three Pueblo women I painted harmonize with the idea of creation, these figures tie together my love for Animation, and Pueblo attire nowadays, which incorporate pre-contact Northern Pueblo style with worldly imports, such as elaborate fabrics. Overall, this room encompasses the telling of resistance, resilience, and survival of Pueblo People. Today we stand strong, and Taos Pueblo will always be the home I return to. 

From the Artist - Dylan Tenorio:
The cyclic motion of our Universe decorates the interior of this room just as it does with the surrounding environments of this ever-changing land. On one side we are caressed by the solitude of night, and on the other we are guided by prayerful dawn. Through this painting I hope to bring forth many teachings from my grandmother Beatrice, one who lived so closely to the Earth’s motions. A strip of coral color flows along the floor, representing the rejuvenating life force everything in this world holds. This strip also exists in my grandmother’s home. Teal, a color by which all Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island recognize, represents water and tranquility. This land, adorned by harmonic dimensions, gives us a new perspective on the lives we lead with every turn of the cycle. The piñon trees sprinkled across the view of any who have traversed these areas are reminders of our time here on this world; as they have witnessed our peace and destruction for time immemorial. Here they stand quietly amongst the cycles, providing their energy through seeds, just as all life provides for one another within all ecosystems on this Earth. This room’s goal is to bring the outside in, with its beautiful harmony preserved.

About Dylan Tenorio:
Dylan is from Kewa Pueblo / Diné, he has been drawing since he was very young, inspired by his family of jewelers and the philosophies of Pueblo traditions he has been working diligently since to evolve his practice as an artist.

“I am very fortunate to have grown up the way I have, and I cherish the many teachings I have learned over my time here, through the many people who are in my life. I too am reminded by this piece of a fundamental lesson, every day is a new day, a new way, a fresh take, so I continue to discover new things through every passing day with love and prayer, just as my grandmother Beatrice did when she was here.”

Dylan is currently training as a Visual Development artist, using his outdoor experiences to create environments for various media, he strives to be an avid Environment Designer for interactive experiences such as games or virtual environments. He is also a musician, composer, and producer with a collection of 18 albums from 2011-2016 under the moniker ACBO, and hopes to someday bring his visual arts and music into unison through animation.

From the Artist - A. Thompson:
Simple and exquisite.
Beauty is what you are when I gaze upon you. Beauty is what you give me each and every day.
It has built me. It has completed me. It has paved a way every single day for me to be strong.
Perfect with imperfections.
Beauty is in her smile. Beauty is in her eyes. Beauty is in her hands and in her style.
Beauty she is, when she stands to stare into the unknown to face all odds.
She is the essence of cultures stories; she is the sharing of blessings from generations to generations and the stars beyond.
She is a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife to life, and a blessing to me.
A blessing to us all.
She protects without knowing she does.
She stands tall, vigorously with passion like the color Red.
She bares strength like many females before.
She is beauty that surrounds us all,
like Mother Nature’s calm and her storm.
She is Beauty in her own way and she is So Strong.

Beauty is a way of protection for me. As children we are told to practice the true nature of beauty before us, behind us, above us and below us. It starts with us, individually with our thoughts, our words, and our actions which is then expressed through our connection with others and the rest of the world. It is in the Navajo Culture that we share the verse, Walk in Beauty. I wanted to capture one of the most beautiful sights of expressing beauty, love and resilient from a standpoint of my emotions. Each color represents what a strong woman is and all her nature. Red is for love and passion she contains. Black is the sadness she may struggle through each day. Blue is for new beginnings and walking into the unknown with a strong stable heart. I use art to share what is in my heart and on my mind. I wanted to share something that means the world to me. I wanted to express the love I have as an artist to the traveling world.

“I love art because I get to tell you my thoughts and express myself with colors. If I told you in words, they’d be plain black and white and that’s just too boring.” - A. Thompson

On each wall she is surrounded by arrowheads. I use them a lot in my art. In our culture, arrowheads are used for protection. She is surrounded by protections; they are running in all directions, protecting her from any forms of negativity. I have also incorporated the + symbol which represent crossing paths and also the stars. This project was a dedication to all the strong Navajo women, mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers. Without a woman we would not exist. This room was done in thoughts of her and my beautiful mother.

About A.Thompson’s Art (ATA):
A.Thompson, a self-taught artist who recently started painting in 2010, as a form of expressing emotions after completing rehabilitation for drugs and alcohol. Since then A.Thompsons Art (ATA) has participated in art shows and galleries across the country showing in Los Angeles to New York from Washington state to Washington D.C. She is an abstract expression artist dabbing in both contemporary and Navajo culture mediums. Studying all forms of art and artist, from older generations to the new age, ATA loves to aim all her work in different directions, different styles and working with different tools to help capture what it is she is trying to express. With a motto, “Let’s decorate the world with more art,” ATA has since increased her drive to succeed in the art world. After returning home to her reservation in the summer of 2014, ATA works and lives out of her studio in Lukachukai Arizona, located near the Chuska Mountains. Coming from a struggling past, ATA feels a great passion for helping and encouraging local and young artist to find a positive outlet with art demonstrations and motivational speaking.

From the Artist - Michael Toya:
Say-uh-mah (greetings), “If You Believe,” depicts popular culture icons intertwined with traditional Puebloan interpretations of design which influences and teaches the viewer about what Pueblo people believe in. More often than not, these beliefs are transformed into powerful designs and traditional markings, in which you witness throughout the installation, that give the Pueblo people strength, courage, and confidence to keep their culture alive! For instance, the bear paws represent courage, strength, wisdom, and are a sign of protection. The corn maidens, and the stalks that they were produced from, honor fertility and new life. “Life goes on, plant our seeds and start a new beginning,’’ is what our corn maidens wish of us. The steps of life design are the trials and tribulations of your journey. The stars watch over us and shine light into our hearts. The thunderstorm clouds and lightning bolts offer great power. Everything is sacred around you whether it is the spirits of our ancestors or the forces of nature. Honor them, give thanks, and in return you will feel their blessings, if you believe. 

“If You Believe” is a story of a Rebel Society warrior who was sent by his people to make peace with Chief Vader and his clan. The purpose of this reaching was to gather all the strengths and forces, from every entity, to assist our fallen clan mother, of the Rebel Society, in her journey into the next world. This clan mother that I speak of is none other than the late Maiden Leia. Maiden Leia left a Legacy behind that empowers you to reach your destination in life through faith, perseverance, and warm feeling. She is now in hyperdrive mode moving through space heading to the sacred world. She is guided and protected by the light and dark forces which surround her but the Rebel society senses that further forces are required to safely carry Maiden Leia to the sacred World.

Therefore, a Rebel Warrior was chosen and sent to gather added forces, whether light or dark. The warrior was hesitant in making peace due to his mentality of fighting to protect and honor his people. Just look into his eyes and you will see the Rebel Society symbol validating that he is true to his people and can never be swayed. In the response to the mixed emotions and hesitation of the Rebel Warrior, his people sent blessings of positive vibrations and gentle feeling. His people called upon a Rebel Pueblo Maiden, to carry out this important task, by swaying in some turquoise hummingbirds who are the messengers of positive vibrations and gentle feeling.

With this understanding, the Rebel Maiden sent prayers of positive strength and gentle feeling into the offering by simply breathing a burst of air from her soul unto the food. The hummers then indulged in the offering, took in the prayers the woman has sent, and flew away to bless the land and their Rebel Warrior. The Rebel Warrior quickly felt the presence of the turquoise hummers and their offerings, that were sent by the Rebel Maiden. With no hesitation, he took his hands and embraced the air and offerings the hummers have brought and inhaled this gentle feeling into his being. In doing so, the Rebel Warrior was successfully able to make peace with Chief Vader and bring necessary forces to safely guide Maiden Leia to the Sacred World.

About Michael Toya:
Michael Toya is of Jemez Pueblo decent and at a young age, he was certain that becoming an artist was his calling. Being exposed to traditional drawings and paintings, through familial ties, prompted Michael to focus in on pursuing a career in the art world. Michael is a self-taught artist incorporating various mediums, from acrylics to intricate free-hand mat cut designs, into every piece. You will also notice Culturally interpreted designs found in his works that educate everyone on what he upholds and believes in. It is in these designs that offer spiritual and motivational strength to the viewer. Michael recently dabbled into the Comicon scene creating pop-culture traditional art mashups. He gave his love of certain pop-culture iconic figures a taste of Native flair. This particular type of art landed him an interview and news story on KRQE13, in December of 2017.

“Before I create a piece, I take my hands and motion them away from my body and into the air brushing away all negative feeling. Then, I embrace all the good that our creator has given us. Now I am centered and focused, and can create art that inspires and educates everyone to just be yourself.”

Instagram: @toyamichael. Link below.
 

From the Artist - Geraldine Tso:
"This hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico is about visiting the Pueblo with family and friends. Dine, the people, traveling together, on a nice cool day. Visiting and socializing, with Pueblo families. Colorful blankets, keeping them warm from a long journey along the Northern New Mexico landscape. The striking red Chile peppers are a trademark of the Southwest. New Mexico is known for its Chile, and many of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico use red Chile in various Chile stews. Several years ago, I planted some pumpkin seeds, in a small garden patch, at Taos Pueblo, NM. Today, in several of my paintings, I represent my three kids as pumpkins. To see pumpkins and their vines grow and stretch out, exposing the cheerful beauty and bright color tones of each pumpkin, giving a character to each one.

Paintings above bed: Navajo Land, Coyote Canyon NM: A place of home, a horseman, taking a ride, under a quite peaceful deep sky.  Bathroom: Petroglyphs, Prehistoric, Native American Petroglyphs."

About Geraldine Tso:
Geraldine Tso, Dine (Dine/Navajo), was born in Gallup, New Mexico and raised in Coyote Canyon and Standing Rock, New Mexico. She gravitated towards drawing and coloring at a very early age, which her parents, both accomplished artists in their own right, encouraged her to pursue. Even though she considers herself to be self-taught, she studied formally at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and UNM, Gallup, New Mexico. Geraldine works with different mediums including acrylic, oils, and watercolor on handmade paper & printmaking such as monotypes and serigraphy. Ms. Tso's primary artistic influences are RC Gorman and the Taos Arts Society. Her artwork consists primarily of Southwest architecture and landscapes which emulate the natural earth tones of the Southwest. Ms. Tso has shown her work in such prestigious shows as the SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market, the Eiteljorg Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN, Autry Museum of the Southwest, Indian Market, Los Angeles, CA, Pueblo Grand Museum, Indian Market, Phoenix, AZ, The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Museum, Indian Market, and numerous others across the country and the Southwest. She has won "best of shows" at the following juried events; the San Juan Bautista Art Show and the Parkview Fine Art Show in Aurora, Colorado. Her paintings have been purchased by individuals worldwide who have acquired her work either at Evening Snow Come Gallery in Taos Pueblo, NM, or various art shows. Her work has also been featured in various magazines & books and featured in galleries such as the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City and Evening Snow Comes Gallery, Taos Pueblo, NM. The beauty of Geraldine Tso's paintings embraces a bright and surrealistic vision that also include a hint of traditionalism. Ms. Tso is the proud mother of three children, who are also artistically gifted.

Artist Guest Rooms are in a community partnership in conjunction with the Institute of American Indian Arts.  Link below.

From the Artist - Andrea Vargas Mendoza:
Mountain Flower speaks of a place where dreams and passions are carried by the wind and ascend to the clouds. Mountain Flower pays homage to nature’s beauty from the top of a sacred mesa called Dzil Na’oodillii, which is located on the soil of the Dine (Navajo) Nation. She is a spectacular mountain range that is surrounded by the company of the yellow Greenthread flowers, and visited by soft Grey Hairstreak butterflies. In the summer, the Greenthread flower is strong and grows bright yellow petals.  In the winter she is sweetest when made into Navajo tea – soothing and warm.

About Andrea Vargas-Mendoza:
Andrea Isabel Nahuali Vargas-Mendoza comes from the legacy of Olin and from values inherited by the Naakai dine’é clan. Her signature style combines energy with larger-than-life images. She has a passion for sharing her paintings, silks and drawings inside museum spaces where she can highlight her love of nature and the elements. 

Learn more at: www.AndreaVargasFineArt.com. Link below.

From the Artist - Felix Vigil:
Felix was assisted by his son, Adam Spenser Vigil, as a collaborative partner. Subverting the idea of who art is made for, creating art is a journey. Whether the medium is paint, bronze, wood, glass, clay, or paper, each has its own intrinsic characteristics and I must acquaint myself with those qualities. The journey for me begins when I observe the world around me. Sometimes it might be a powerful and loud thunderstorm, or a whisper of a word, or the colors of a sunset; maybe the movement of Deer or Buffalo Dancers, or the eloquent songs of mocking birds singing at daybreak that sparks my senses and interest. Inspiration comes in infinite forms. I feel a certain obligation to take these sources of inspiration and explore all perspectives and to find a path to formulate an idea or a visual element or statement. The creative process always takes me into new territory; sometimes rocky, rough and sometimes smooth as silk. Each new image or work will have its own unique message and purpose. These are the elements of the creative process that I love and bring me great joy. To be challenged and to explore all the possibilities of an idea is what I live for. I credit my father, Francis Paul Vigil, for laying the foundation for my artistic endeavors. Mother Juanita gave me her gift of unconditional love. Grandparents Juanito and Lupe Sando taught me the value of hard work and commitment and determination. My family has always been a force of strength and support. I rely on my traditional philosophy and beliefs of the Jicarilla Apache and Hemis to guide me on my artistic journey and on this path, we call life.

About Felix Vigil:
Felix Vigil is a classically trained fine artist whose contemporary vision is influenced and guided by the spirits of his Jicarilla Apache and Hemis ancestors. His body of work includes painting, sculpture, film animation, architecture, and literature. “Ideas for my work come out of the ceremonies, songs and stories of my people. It is inspired by ideas that are very old, but those concepts are still very relevant today. I consider my work contemporary meditations on ancient themes that depict traditional symbols in their essential forms and bring them to life with saturated colors and stylized representations of animals and geographic features of the land. Each piece that I create evolves incrementally, according to its own life cycle.”

Now, reflects living in the present and understanding the sacredness of now with Ndee women who are in the moment in vibrant hues of the four sacred directions. Each woman painted represents a mood of today’s narratives within Indigenous female thought processes and feelings that can be found and expressed on social media. There are Apache basket designs on the lower part of the walls that are intertwined with the women to indicate how contemporary Ndee women are part of their culture. Women are sacred as much as their ancestors, the past and current times are forever woven together.  

My work reflects Ndee and Tohono O’odham perspectives of colonial structures through various mediums and several techniques. I am interested in bringing these topics into discussion, sharing my experiences and views as an Indigenous woman in current times.

From the Artist - Peterson Yazzie:
I started this room with a splash of paint based on the idea of a new season. I am amazed by the beauty of nature and how life thrives from season to season. The beautiful smell of rain during the monsoon, the change in sunlight patterns in autumn and the changing colors of leaves all remind me of different times in my life. The return of song birds in spring is a gentle reminder of a new season. I appreciate nature's painting across the sky at sunrise and sunset. I enjoy watching stars shoot across the night sky as much as I did when I was little, I continue to be amazed. Spring is a new beginning for many in nature, including butterflies. Butterflies are speckles of beauty that develop through several stages, each are very unique. We all have stages in life and each new season builds on the last. As an artist, I have been blessed with many wonderful stages since my first art class in high school. I have been fortunate to find encouragement from various individuals that have left lasting impressions, I am forever thankful. The room is a visual melody of beauty through color and motion. I have included the hand prints of my children, Peyton, Tatum and Orion. This early part of their childhood can be traced to the size of their hand prints. They have many more beautiful seasons ahead! I am happy to share this opportunity with my little ones. I want to thank the Institute of American Indian Arts for surrounding me with such caring and talented people, I am honored to be and IAIA Alumni. I appreciate the Nativo Lodge for the memorable opportunity on this project, I enjoyed the hospitality. I am very fortunate to be teaching with the wonderful faculty at Northland Pioneer College, we too have many wonderful seasons ahead! Thank you.

About Peterson Yazzie:
Peterson Yazzie is a Contemporary Navajo artist/educator from Greasewood Springs, Arizona. Yazzie has won numerous awards from prestigious art shows such as Heard Museum, Santa Fe Indian Market, Arizona State Museum, Museum of Northern Arizona, among others. The Navajo culture and personal experiences is the foundation of Yazzie's work. Yazzie's painting literally starts with a splash or paint sparked by an idea, the rest is completed with intuition and experimentation. Yazzie also carves what he has coined as "Yei wall sculptures." These wall sculptures are carved, painted and adorned with natural exotic (legal) feathers. Yazzie received an Associates of Fine Arts (2002) and Bachelors of Fine Arts degree (2004) from the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Peterson furthered his education by earning a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2008. Peterson is currently the Two-Dimensional Art instructor at Northland Pioneer College in Holbrook, Arizona, since Fall 2011.

"My art is informed by my personal experiences and surroundings, through process and experimentation. I approach each piece with an open mind, I find art more exciting if it guides me. Life is filled with positive and negative energies; I find creativity is my key to maintaining balance. Art continues to connect me with amazing people throughout the world, I am forever thankful."

From the Artists - Working Classroom High School Students:
Working with images they felt reflected their interests, this room transformed into a collage of misfit puzzle pieces. The spontaneity brought raw interpretations of land, identity, escapism, thought, and emotion. This room represents the limitlessness of creativity to the students.

About Working Classroom:
In 2019, Nativo partnered with Albuquerque’s Working Classroom’s students from the Native American Community Academy and instructors to create collaborative middle and high school artist rooms. Working Classroom cultivates the artistic, civic, and academic minds of youth through in-depth arts projects with contemporary artists to amplify historically ignored voices, resist systemic injustices, and imagine a more equitable society. They value the strong, fresh and unique voices that youth bring to art and social justice movements. Training young artists from under-represented communities contributes to a more complete and nuanced understanding of our world. Art has the power to heal and disrupt isolation and systems of oppression. 2019 Instructors: High School Marina Eskeets.

Learn more: workingclassroom.org. Link below
 

From the Artists - Working Classroom Middle School Students:
Our room is a collective of youth silhouettes, medicinal floral plants, symmetry, and warmth from a sacred mountain. The goal was to send a positive message of harmony and reciprocity with the earth, and the many healing gifts She brings.

About Working Classroom:
In 2019, Nativo partnered with Albuquerque’s Working Classroom’s students from the Native American Community Academy and instructors to create collaborative middle and high school artist rooms. Working Classroom cultivates the artistic, civic, and academic minds of youth through in-depth arts projects with contemporary artists to amplify historically ignored voices, resist systemic injustices, and imagine a more equitable society. They value the strong, fresh and unique voices that youth bring to art and social justice movements. Training young artists from under-represented communities contributes to a more complete and nuanced understanding of our world. Art has the power to heal and disrupt isolation and systems of oppression. 2019 Instructors: Joeseph Arnoux & Rylin Becenti.

Learn more: workingclassroom.org. Link below.

From The Artist De Haven Solimon Chaffins:

"For as long as I can remember, my love of Nature has always played an important part of life. It was there I found a Peace. Yet - I didn't know how much I would need Nature, in order to heal. In early Summer my 2-yr-old little boy succumbed to complications of CP. It was horrific. And although, I knew his passing was coming;  nothing prepares a parent for the child to die before them. It goes against Nature. Still - it was devastating. Fighting major depression, grieving, and taking care of my 8-month-old little girl was overwhelming. Yet, I did it because there was no one else to help me but myself. At times, people are caught in that similar situation. Every now and then, we would escape to the woods and soak up all it had to offer. And that was a lot. In the days following my son's untimely passing, my daughter and I found solace in the rain storms which would visit the surrounding landscape. The Elders would always feel that the deceased loved ones would bless the grounds with rain. It was meant as a kind of blessing; washing away the sadness....finding some sort of peace, a sense of renewal. And so, it is my hope you find a sense of renewal and peace in this room. Dragonflies taking messages to all the Deities who reside in the clouds. Taking the weight off your shoulders and giving it back to the earth. I was very drawn to the turquoise blue, as it's considered a color of protection. The color is used on windows and doors to ward off any negative energy. But for me, dark blues represent one of my favorite artists, Marc Chagall."

About De Haven Solimon Chaffins:

De Haven Solimon Chaffins was born in Portsmouth Virginia and is an enrolled member of Laguna & Zuni Pueblo. She attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, and received an Associate of Fine Arts degree in 1990. In 1995, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the College of Fine Arts, University of New Mexico. Chaffins took a number of years off to have a family. Her son Skye was born in June of 1996 but passed away at the age of 2 years old from complications of Cerebral Palsy. Her daughter Fauve was only 8 months old at the time. Severe Depression set in; she did not paint for a number of years. Although - a self-taught artisan; creating art was not her first choice. She wanted to study Mortuary Science. Unfortunately, since there were no programs available to study nearby; she became involved with Fine Art. To this day, she continues to find a way to intertwine Art & Memorial objects. Every work of art pays tribute to her son, Skye. She believes it was her daughter, Fauve who saved her. Chaffins will often incorporate her children in her imagery as Hummingbirds. In 2017, Chaffins became an advocate for Autism Awareness after her daughter was diagnosed. She is also an advocate for Mental Health & Suicide Awareness. Currently, select pieces of her work are part of a thought-provoking traveling exhibit making its way throughout the United States. The exhibition entitled, EXPOSURE: Native Art & Political Ecology is an exhibit supported by The Ford Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts. She is featured alongside several other International Indigenous artists. Chaffins is the Signature Artist for the New Mexico Nursing Excellence Awards since its inception. This year was the 20th Anniversary of the NM Nursing Excellence Awards. Her imagery is also registered with the United States Department of Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Washington DC. At this time - A mural created by Chaffins is on display at the MET in New York City. The mural entitled "Radon Daughter" is one of many artworks created by prestigious Indigenous artists. The group exhibition is called, "Grounded in Clay."

From The Artist - Kelly Frye:

Existence is the exploration of using geometric abstraction to explore the idea of sharing thoughts through non-objective forms. Using the concepts of Suprematism allows me to freely compose ideas that the origins of humanity are the same. In our ever-changing world, our communities have been polarized by political and religious ideologies that threaten peace and progress. Existence is my way of expressing universal thought through pure feeling, that all our lives are made of forms and shapes that we collect individually to paint the world we live in. Existence

About Kelly Frye:

In her paintings and her metalwork, Kelly Frye explores themes of healing from trauma, including personal, communal, and global. Kelly graduated with a BFA in fine arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. An enrolled member of Tesuque Pueblo, Mescalero Apache descent, with Spanish and European ancestry, her art embodies her unique cultural background. As she writes, “The soul and spirit of my work springs from my curious nature. This curiosity has led me to many adventures throughout my life. Self-discovery through the arts allows me to express a contemporary voice of my Indigenous world. I find limitless possibilities of expression in a combination of historical and personal narratives. These experiences have allowed me to explore different mediums, culminating in a passion for sculpture with casting metals and freedom of expression in abstract painting.”

From the Artist - Mallery Quetawki:

Cactus and yucca plants dot the high desert landscape of the Southwest and just like the sharp spines that grow on the pads of the prickly pear, the Zuni People have protected and thrived on the land that we have lived on since our migration led us to settle in the Middle Place (Zuni Pueblo).  This migration from the Ribbon Falls of the Grand Canyon is symbolized by the turquoise line that surrounds the room and ends at the spiral.  The diamond landscape with the golden stars portrays our sacred landmark in Zuni, Dowa Yalanne Mountain.  The use of gold represents the once-mistaken lore of Zuni being the Seven Cities of Gold (Cibola) that treasure-hungry conquistadors thirsted for in the 1540s.  Our gold is this very desert.  Although beautiful, the land inflicts a touch of danger with its unforgiving extremes on both ends of the weather spectrums. From triple-digit summers to below-zero winters, we have remained and we have survived with much of our ceremonies that keep that balance of life.  We acknowledge every creature and all parts of the land from the sky to the ground and everything in between as part of this life cycle that we hope to continue to sustain.  We are all connected through DNA and other forms of kinship beyond blood.  We honor the harvest that nourishes us through prayer and ceremony, and we dance for the many forms of moisture to bless our fields, signified by the stair designs and water droplets carrying the cactus blossoms.  The cactus blossoms flowing along metallic tufts signify our most precious resource, our children, who will continue the dance and the language that make us who we are, the A:shiwi. 

About Mallery Quetawki:

Mallery Quetawki is from the Pueblo of Zuni in western New Mexico.  She is currently the Artist-in-Residence with the Community Environmental Health Program at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy in Albuquerque, NM.  Mallery has used art to translate scientific ideas, health impacts, and research on uranium mines that are currently undergoing study in several Indigenous communities.  Currently, her work titled, “Our Cultures, Our Languages” is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City in the Grounded in Clay exhibit in the American Wing through June 2024.  Mallery has a large-scale mural titled, “Morning Prayer”, on permanent display at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque and several other murals in Zuni.  In November of 2021, Mallery’s art was showcased as an interactive Google Doodle that kicked off Native American Heritage Month.