Finally, we can see the blue of the sky. After weeks with our small world wrapped in the heavy white pall of wildfire smoke, yesterday’s winds shifted sufficiently to blow most of it out of our part of the valley. There is still haze, of course, but the color has returned to our world, and at last, we can walk outside our door without a mask.
And so long in the grip of this suffocating miasma of pale gray, this return of bright shades and clearer air feels like an embrace of the earth, a prayer for her children.
It’s a feeling much like that represented by the spirit who centers today’s featured work. I’ve written briefly about her before, and about the artist who has rendered her so beautifully here:
[It’s] an image carved into a beveled wooden plaque, then hand-painted in traditional patterns with, at least in part, natural paints. It’s by Josh Aragon (Hopi/Laguna), an artisan who specializes in carving katsinam (kachinas) in the traditional Hopi way. By far the greatest part of his work is done in such figurative pieces, but occasionally, he’ll create something unique like this little painting.
It’s of Crow Mother, one of the powerful and influential female spirit beings of Hopi. In the past, we have had a couple of Josh’s Crow Mother katsinam in inventory, but they tend to sell out relatively rapidly. She’s a uniquely beautiful being, wrapped in a blanket adorned in traditional symbols, and wearing a case mask with “wings” of crow feathers attached to either side. She’s called “Mother” for a reason: She has a maternal relationship of sorts to many of the other katsinam, and to the people themselves.
Josh is, as noted above, from Hopi (and Laguna), but he married a woman from Taos Pueblo, which is how we came to know him and love his work. All of his kachina figures have long since sold, but you can view their extraordinary beauty (and his equally extraordinary talent) in the Other Artists: Katsinam gallery here. We also had, at one time, two small works of wall art by Josh: this one, and a similar small painting of Morning Singer. The latter sold years ago, but this one can be found in the Other Artists: Wall Art gallery here on the site. From its description:
Josh Aragon (Hopi/Laguna) is best known for his katsinam, figures carved in the traditional fashion out of a single piece of cottonwood root. Sometimes he puts his carving skills to work in other media, creating carved paintings on wood instead of canvas. In this one, Crow Mother stands within her traditional case mask, wrapped in a blanket accented with ancient symbols. The paints used include natural dyes; the piece stands 7.25″ high by 6.25″ across (dimensions approximate).
Wood; paint
$125 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This work features Josh’s trademark use of brilliant color, and also his trademark attention to traditional detail. The feathered “wings” of Crow Mother’s case mask are beautifully articulated, and the rest of the mask’s artwork shows the same meticulousness. Her blanket bears traditional designs, and her ruff is accented with the long coils that are shown on old representations of such figures (and on contemporary regalia, too). The borders at top and bottom are perfectly balanced, showing off the clouds drifting across the midpoint of the turquoise sky to great effect. It’s a lot of beauty and power contained in a very small space, and it feels almost anticipatory, as though the world is waiting with bated breath to see what blessings she will bestow.
On this day, it feels as though those blessings have been delivered: breath no longer held or suppressed, but moving freely, rainclouds gathering now and the potential for life renewed. It does indeed feel like an embrace of the earth, a prayer for her children . . . and as we move toward the end of this summer of suffocating, paralyzing dangers, a chance one more the earth, and for us, to breathe.
~ Aji
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