Frank Rain Leaf (Taos Pueblo) invokes the courage and strength of his own warrior background and that of his people with this painting on paper using watercolors and other paints. The image is centered around traditional weaponry, with Bald Eagle perched solidly atop it, feathers clearly articulated and wings rampant. Entitled Flight of the Taos […]
In the old way, serious contemplation or conversation was often accompanied by the ceremonial smoking of a pipe. This small personalized version, expertly hand-carved in vintage style by Joseph “Joe T” Trujillo (Taos Pueblo) is infused with the meditative and spiritual qualities of the old ways. Bowl and stem are all one piece, wrought by […]
Sharpen your traditional hunting skills or simply learn to communicate with the herd with this hand-made elk whistle. Carved of deer antler entirely by hand by Joseph “Joe T” Trujillo (Taos Pueblo), this vintage-style whistle is fully functional for use in the back country. The deer antler is treated with a clear stain to seal […]
Spirit birds fly on wings of light. It’s true of this tiny version, not an eagle but a spirit bird of a more ordinary sort, yet with extraordinary color and texture. Hand-carved by Delvin Leekya (Zuni Pueblo), this wingéd being emerges from Zuni rock, the Pueblo’s nickname for a particular variant of yellow travertine. It’s […]
Taos Pueblo master drum maker Lee Lujan gives voice to the earth’s own heartbeat with this small traditional Pueblo drum. Made in the old way, it’s summoned from a single unbroken length of cottonwood trunk, whole and complete with no fitted pieces. each side is covered with rawhide, tanned, stretched, and dried in the old […]
A Pueblo drum gives voice to the heartbeat of the land. Master drum maker Lee Lujan (Taos Pueblo) created this large traditional upright drum from a length of cottonwood trunk, a whole and unbroken circle of old wood. He stretched tanned rawhide over top and bottom to create a dual-sided instrument with spectacular resonance, then hand-laced […]
Water is life, and breath, and love. Olivia Martinez (Taos Pueblo) honors them all with this traditional wedding vase. Made of hand-coiled local micaceous clay, it arises out of a large round bowl nearly spherical in shape, with a gracefully angled ridge around its widest point that gives the impression of a lid. From the bowl […]
Olivia Martinez (Taos Pueblo) infuses this traditional micaceous wedding vase with motifs of unity and love. The vase is made in the old way, hand-coiled, lightly polished, and fired to a subtle sheen. The bowl is slightly sculpted, a barely-definable ridge accenting its widest point; each spout emerges gracefully from the bowl, one angled upward at […]
Frank Rain Leaf (Taos Pueblo) evokes both ancient and modern representation of person and place in this acrylic painting of a traditionally-dressed Pueblo flute player. This is one of Frank’s most iconic and popular images, one he has used as a model for smaller art media such as greeting cards. It’s an image of the […]
Renowned Comanche artist Tim Saupitty created a matched pair of air-spray paintings in watercolor hues, images of a man and woman in full traditional dress. The male figure remains in Wings’s private collection; he has put the female figure on offer. Whether viewed as a dancer or a bride, she is wholly traditional, with beaded […]
Randy Roughface (Ponca) has cajoled this miniature horse into emerging from a block of white alabaster so translucent it looks like calcite. His abundant mane and tail flow freely; head lowered, he appears ready to spring into a gallop at any moment. He stands atop a thin point of Pilar slate. Length, from tip of tail […]
This coiled bracelet is one of the trademark traditional styles of mother/daughter team of Clarita and Vera Tenorio (Kewa Pueblo). After choosing more than 200 chip-style turquoise nuggets in varying shades of blue and green, lightly polished and drilled in the centers, they string them on a spiraled length of sterling silver wire; the wire’s own […]
Some 200 subtly-shaped free-form nuggets of blue and green turquoise are lightly polished, drilled, and and strung on a tense length of spiraled silver wire. Each end of the strand is capped by a single piece of drilled coral and a tiny sterling silver round bead. The flexible coil style fits nearly any wrist. By Clarita […]
This simple little necklace is one from Wings’s private collection, made years ago by one of the Pueblo’s children. Strung on simple fishing line, it features spiraled metal tube beads with a coppery glow. Half-way down the length of the necklace, they begin alternating with rough-polished chip beads of spiny oyster shell in purple and […]
The spirit bear wears a coat of winter white year-round. Here, he’s rendered by Jeremy Gomez (Taos Pueblo) in beautiful spiderweb alabaster, the color of snow delicately traced with lines of shimmery gold and dark brown. He takes the form of a medicine bear, holding on his back a bundle of feathers in colors mirroring […]
The medicine bear takes form this time as a ghost bear, a mystical being, hand-wrought from spiderweb alabaster by Jeremy Gomez (Taos Pueblo). In keeping with his medicine obligations, he carries the bundle on his back, made up of feathers that evoke the colors of his marbled body and a topped by a miniature Skystone […]
This mysteriously marbled spirit bear is hand-carved by Jeremy Gomez (Taos Pueblo) of gorgeous spiderweb alabaster. In keeping with his status as a medicine bear fetish, he holds a bundle on his back, one composed of delicate feathers and a tiny piece of turquoise. He stands firmly upon a red cedar base; base and stone […]
Jeremy Gomez (Taos Pueblo) has coaxed a tiny spirit bear out of beautifully wintry spiderweb alabaster. As a medicine bear fetish, he carries a bundle of feathers topped by a turquoise nugget. He’s balanced atop a red cedar base; both stone and base are oiled to preserve the materials. Bear stands 3-3/8″ long (excluding feather length) by 2-3/4″ […]
Spiderweb alabaster forms the body of this miniature ghost bear fetish by Jeremy Gomez (Taos Pueblo). He’s a medicine bear, carrying a bundle of feathers that mirror the colors of the stone topped by a tiny turquoise nugget. He stands atop a simple red cedar base; both cedar and stone have been oiled for protection. […]
This iconic belt buckle, a hallmark of traditional Southwestern Indian jewelry, is hand-wrought by an artist whose name the style bears. Rodney Concha (Taos Pueblo) is known for his beautifully complex belts and buckles in the classic design known as concha (the Spanish word for “shell). He has coaxed a large and highly stylized version from beautiful […]
Rodney Concha (Taos Pueblo) is known for his elaborate belts and buckles in a traditional style that bears his name: concha, for their shell-like shape. Here, he has created one out of glowing copper in a very old, very iconic shape and pattern, with a slightly-domed interior and scalloped and feathered edges. At its very […]
This classic Southwest Indian concha belt buckle takes form in the warm and healing hues of burnished copper. By Rodney Concha (Taos Pueblo), it bears his trademark Eye-of-Spirit-and-sunburst center, edged by scalloped stampwork that flares in the traditional eagle-feather pattern at either side. Buckle is 2-5/8″ long by 2″ high (dimensions approximate). Copper $125 + […]
This beautiful little medicine bear is carved in the bold, square style that is the hallmark of Taos Pueblo’s talented Gomez family — in this case, by Jeremy Gomez. Coaxed from orange alabaster in striated tones ranging from apricot to rose with an icy surface effect, he looks cool and warm simultaneously. He carries a […]
Frank Rain Leaf (Taos Pueblo) evokes an entire culturescape in this painting of the the Pueblo’s people and lands. It’s a timeless image, one that summons spirits long past yet thoroughly alive today. Frank’s meticulousness shows in his attention to historical detail, as seen in the men’s old-style braids and their blankets in classic striped […]
