Our Native carvers use a wide variety of stone media, everything from unidentifiable found rock to local slates and sandstones, regional materials like alabaster, and even more exotic imports like steatite and various marbles. For my money, one of the best (and one of the most economical) is a simple stone that occurs naturally all over the county, known as Pilar slate.
It’s named for the “Pilar Formation,” one of several regional sedimentary layers that were given place names from the broader area: Embudo, Rinconada, Picuris, Pilar, Quartzite, Vadito, to name a few. The place name from which the Pilar formation is taken is a tiny village just south of Taos called Pilar. At one time, Spanish colonial settlers called the area La Cieneguilla, “The Marshy Place,” for its low-lying wetlands along the Quartzite tributary of the Rio Grande, nestled between a range of peaks on either side. The wiki on the name tells what is most likely an apocryphal story (in this case, probably made of whole cloth) about the genesis of “Pilar” as a place name, since it omits much in the stub entry about the peoples originally there. They included members of Taos and Picuris Pueblos, who used the wider areas for hunting and fishing as well as other purposes. I’ve found no one among actual elders who acknowledges anything about such a person as the wiki (nor any other source, each of which uses the exact same phrasing) describes. For that reason, I won’t link it, but I will link to a report that gives some background into the Pilar Formation and the other geologic formations in the area, which you can find here.
At any rate, the name stuck, and it also stuck to a certain form of rock commonly found in several parts of Taos County: Pilar slate. It’s slate, as geologists and mineralogists define it: a type of foliated metamorphic rock, evolved over eons as natural forces applies heat and pressure to sedimentary clay minerals such as shale, siltstone, or mudstone, transforming them into a new substance. The slate that forms from the metamorphic process often contains iron, as well as a variety of other minerals, including calcite, hematite, pyrite, quartzite, and even the mica for which Taos Pueblo’s native clay is famous.
Pilar slate most often occurs on a spectrum of dark grays, mostly a lightened charcoal color. Pick up any given piece of it (or any given carving made with it), though, and hold it to the light, and you’ll see something much more dazzling. Pilar slate often contains flowing matrices of deep red, ranging from reddish-brown to brick red to maroon in hue, traces of the siltstone or mudstone that formed its original layers. It’s also flecked with tiny bits of brilliant metallic color — shades of silver, gold, bronze, copper, even a metallic ivory — from the co-occurring minerals. Around here, it’s probably mostly the local mica and the quartzite for which the river just south of here takes its own name, but others may be present, as well.
Given a large enough block, however, the actual colors of the stone itself shift. Sometimes it’s possible to find an entire piece that appears more red than gray, manifesting in the deep purple-maroon or brick red shades of the sediment within. The piece above and the one below are good examples. Once in a while, you’ll find a piece in which the red and gray have so thoroughly merged into one another that the stone itself appears a rich, dark chocolate brown, giving it an ironwood-like appearance; the piece at the end of this post is a perfect example.
Pilar slate is soft enough to be susceptible to carving, yet the colors and appearance of the stone and its inclusions make it suitable for bold pieces that emphasize the stone and the spirit within it, rather than an abundance of minute carving detail. It’s perfect for the old “vintage” style of Native carving, in which stone and spirit are the sole focus. It also has a preternaturally attractive feel: a bit like soapstone in texture and smoothness, but with no damp or oily sensation; cool to the touch, yet warm beneath your fingertips.
It’s also readily available, making it cost-effective for our artists to use. It’s a particular favorite of Randy Roughface, a friend of ours who is originally from points north of here. He’s a nephew of the late Carter Camp, a founder of the American Indian Movement, and like his uncle, Randy is Ponca. He’s married to a Taos Pueblo woman, and they make their home and are raising their family here. Randy is a multi-talented artist, but his specialty is carving — occasionally small fetishes, but more often sculpture ranging form miniature to medium sizes. He also specializes in a vintage-style technique, one that evokes the carvings of the ancients: no use of power tools, and minimal detail, carving with the stone rather than out of it, and just enough to bring forth the image of the animal or other spirit that resides within.
Some of our most recently acquired pieces are good examples of this technique, and showcase Randy’s skill at it. With each of these three, there’s no question what animal each carving honors and evokes, but the stone does all the talking. The one above, of course, is of a miniature buffalo. From its description in the Other Artists: Sculpture Gallery here on the site:
This miniature rendering of Buffalo, carved in the old style, stands on a shelf or fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Evoked from a thin slab of local Pilar slate by Randy Roughface (Ponca), he appears by turns charcoal gray and soft brick red. Vintage-style carving like this is scant on detail, allowing the stone and the spirit of the animal to merge and reveal themselves, but the stone itself, although rough-hewn by design, is silky smooth to the touch. (dimensions approximate).
Pilar slate
$55 + shipping, handling, and insurance
He’s tiny in physical size, but huge in presence and spirit. He’s also thin enough, and just small enough otherwise, to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand when he’s not standing watch on a shelf or mantel. And in his body, the slate manifests in a soft heathered mulberry color, purple in some lights, gray in others, with faint and delicate bands across his body.
But he’s not the only animal spirit to have visited Randy recently. Eagle put in a recent appearance, too, and appears immediately below. From its description:
This vintage-style Eagle rises out of a chunk of Pilar slate to call to the spirits. Carved by Randy Roughface (Ponca), the finish is smooth like soapstone, an an unusually soft red color smudged with the more typical gray. Stands 4.5″ high by 3″ wide at base (dimensions approximate).
Pilar slate
$125 + shipping, handling, and insurance
In this manifestation, Eagle likewise assumes the redder form of the stone. In some natural lights, it appears brick-red, a bit heathered and weathered along the flat surfaces limned in deeper red around the edges. In other lights, the gray is dominant, the warmer color only a hint, a bit of a glow around the subtle lines of the carving.
And once in a while, the stone takes a truly unusual form, successfully integrating all of the grays and reds and tiny metallic glints into one solid-appearing color. More unusually yet, in Randy’s latest piece, that form is brown: real brown, full and rich, the color of dark chocolate or of coffee. It’s the color of the block of slate from which he coaxed a horse, a wild mustang, a thoroughly Indian pony just gathering itself to rear powerfully upward on its hind legs. From its description:
This wild mustang by Randy Roughface (Ponca) evinces power, strength, and character. Coaxed from velvety Pilar slate in a rich and rare chocolate-brown shade, he appears to smile as, mane and tail flying behind him in the wind, he gathers himself to rear up on his hind legs. When placed on an entirely flat surface, he’s perfectly balanced, his forefeet a fraction of an inch in the air. Horse is 5-7/8″ long by 3-9/16″ high by 1/2″ deep at the widest part of the base (dimensions approximate). Another view shown below.
Pilar slate
$155 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It’s difficult to see in the photos, but as the description itself notes, if you look closely, you’ll notice that his forefeet are elevated slightly, hooves in the air. Placed on a flat surface, he does balance perfectly, with that sense of raw gathering power emanating visibly from the stone itself.
It’s a gathering of another kind, too: of animal spirits, traditional ones; of relatives of furred and feathered clans; of helpers and guides and messengers in other forms. All of them have been led out of the stone, out of the layers of ancient sediment that surround us, coaxed into being by Randy’s talent, brought into the light to be recognized, appreciated, honored for the help they provide.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
