Monday, May 28th Memorial Day
As promised, this week we have pictures
of
a Modern Contemporary "Hano Mana" Kachina from our personal collection. She was
carved by Award-Winning Alfred "Bo" Lomahquahu of the Hopi Pueblo. We saw her at an IACA Show a couple years ago
and couldn't forget her. One week later we traveled to Hopi to pick her up. She's over 15" tall and
carved from ONE piece of cottonwood root (which resists cracking) except for the feather in her
hair,
the lilypads at her feet and the bird in her hand. Hano Mana appears in the Bean
Dance on Second Mesa and in
the Water Serpent Ceremony on First Mesa. She almost always has a turquoise face and a basket of corn, usually in
her hands.
This kachina (or Katsina) is very different from last weeks Kachinas, which represented the "Traditional Style" of
Hopi Kachina. The most distinctive feature of the Modern Contemporary dolls is their attention
to detail; you
can see the individual strands of her hair, her bracelets and turquoise necklace, the small wrinkle at her underarm and threads on her robe just to name a few.
This micro-detailing
has become possible with the advent of new high speed electric wood carving tools, which are expensive to buy
and challenging to use. While many modern "Action Dolls" portray dynamic movements, we've always loved the
gentle resting pose of this exquisite maiden at the edge of a pool of water, releasing the
golden bird of peace
in her hand to the Universe. We feel she is making a "peace offering" to the world, a
hopeful image for Memorial Day.
We have more images of her on her
Hano Mana Kachina Page.
Tuesday, June 5th
This week we're featuring three Zuni Fetishes
carved from natural blue Angelite (Blue Anhydrite) from Peru. The buffalo (shell horns) was
carved by Todd Westika, the mountain lion (lapis eyes) was carved by Gibbs Othole and the
mountain lion kicking back with his arms around his legs, his tail over his shoulder, an
amber bear-claw necklace and the great face was carved by Dee Edaakie.
Anhydrite is a Calcium Sulphate, hardness of 3-3 1/2. It is found in round,
nodular formations with a rough outer crust as can be seen in the bottom image. It is also found
in gray, pale lavender, white and reddish shades.
Monday, June 11th
This week we're showing a variety of "Leekya Leaves."
The "Leekya Leaf" was originated and named for Leekya Deyuse, famous Zuni Fetish carver and jeweler who passed on in 1966.
Because Ricky Laahty is Leekya's grand-nephew, we frequently have frogs (and other pieces) that have a
carved leaf as decoration. This is a symbolic family tradition started many years ago. Below you'll see some
pictures of turquoise neckware that were made by Leekya, some are set in silver bezels, some hang
as center pendants. (The top-left picture shows some of Leekya's fetishes as well.) The multi-colored
necklace is a part of Julia's collection and was made by Leekya's daughter, Sarah,
seven years ago with a Natural Turquoise "Leekya Leaf" center pendant. The bottom-right picture is of some pendants
made recently by Ricky that were carved from Nutria Travertine and have a "Leekya Leaf" on one side and
inlaid on the other side with Zuni Azurite-Malachite.
(Leekya Deyuse pictures courtesy of Oscar T. Branson "Turquoise, The Gem of the Centuries," page 23.)
Monday, June 18th
Ricky Laahty is known for only carving frogs.
This week we're going to show a few of his carvings that aren't frogs.
Most recently he created a Turtle carved from Natural Zuni Nutria Stone
and inlaid the shell with Natural Zuni Malachite. The turtle's eyes are inlaid with malachite and
Nutria black jet. This is the first turtle he's ever carved.
A few years ago he carved a bear with his tongue out smelling the air. Ricky
drilled a hole down his back and attached a gold-pearl shell feather to the bottom of it, all
strung on sinew. This was a gift and hangs on our rear-view mirror. This is the only bear that
Ricky has ever carved.
There is a Pearl Shell old-style horse with black jet inlaid eyes.
From over ten years ago: a small turquoise bird and very large
Natural Azurite Parrot (we call him Henry Hawk) with natural matrix-rock beak.
Monday, June 25th
This week we're featuring a rare and unusual purple gemstone
called Stichtite
(pronounced: stik-tite).
Stichtite is formed when the plates of the earth collide. It is a Manganese/Chromium Carbonate-Hydroxyl/Hydride found
in South Africa and Australia.
It has a hardness of 1.5-2.0 Mohs (which is relatively soft), and is usually found as a deposit on another mineral.
For being
a soft stone, it really holds together well, takes a high polish and is non-toxic. The carvers enjoy
working with it and say "it feels good," which it does. The color gets richer with handling.
Below are pictures
showing how thin the 1mm veins of Stichtite are when they're formed in Green Serpentinite (gemological name for Serpentine) in the rough
form. On the right of this is a closeup of the face of a Jeffery Tsalabutie Mountain Lion carved from Stichtite-in-Serpentine.
This is the way Stichtite is most commonly found.
Stichtite specimens thick enough to carve (with no other mineral present) are valuable and extremely hard to find.
The middle pictures show pure Stichtite in the rough next to two finished carvings. Both
the fetishes were carved by Dee Edaakie, Zuni. The large Frog on the left has an extended pink-pearl shell tongue
and measures over 4 1/2" long x 2" wide. The fetish on the right is of "Resting Mountain Lions"
and is 2 1/4" long x 2 1/4" high.
The bottom pictures are of a large Ricky Laahty Stichtite Frog Fetish from this past year.
On a metaphysical level, Stichtite is believed to enlighten emotions and tranquilize the environment.
Its also engenders faithfulness to promises, fosters open opinions and gentleness to oneself and others.
Monday, July 2th
Natural Chinese Turquoise
The next few weeks we're going to share pictures of what
some of the gemstones look like
in the rough before they're carved into Zuni Fetishes or set in jewelry. This week we're
featuring Natural Chinese Turquoise.
Natural Chinese Turquoise can be found in many colors and grades.
The turquoise we're showing today comes from the Hubei Province. Good, carveable NATURAL Turquoise
that hasn't been stabilized and is high-quality can run anywhere from $120 - $300 a pound in the rough.
This turquoise is usually only used in jewelry, not for carvings so hopefully that can explain why
the price for Natural Turquoise fetishes are so much higher than a picasso marble or serpentine fetish.
(One pound usually fits in the palm of your hand.) It is sold by the gram in the rough,
valued by the
carat finished. We carefully pick out all the stones to find the
best grade and most suitable shape for the carvers we work with and much of the weight of the
stones are lost in the carving process. (See below for more info on how
these carving get made.)
The top left picture shows this turquoise as it
comes out of the earth in its rough state. It's hard to see the color and impossible to see what
it may look like inside. The picture to the right is after the nuggets have been
tumbled in grit to remove the outer crust and then polished to reveal their color and webbing.
The middle row shows a large polished
nugget with a finished Jeffery Tsalabutie Bear Fetish. On the right is a gorgeous Dee Edaakie Eagle
that's never been seen before. His light-blue down-like chest glows in contrast with the darker
matrix on his wings.
The bottom row has a gem-grade deep-blue turquoise Old-Style Bear
by Lena Boone, a
large turquoise Mountain Lion by Jeffery Tsalabutie, and two frogs by Ricky Laahty carved from deep
blue and khaki-green turquoise.
Monday, July 9th
This week we're
featuring rare natural red amber from Chiapas, Mexico.
The "red" amber we're showing today
is mainly found in the Chiapas region of Mexico. Only a small percentage of the amber found in
Chiapas is this rare Red color, most found is the more familiar golden color. Most amber comes from the Baltic region of Poland and Russia and is a yellow to
golden color that is either transparent or opaque (milk-honey). This special
amber is found in nodules with a rich orange-red-brown weathered outer crust. Most of the time, when picking
pieces in the rough, you can't see the inside clarity or color. When carved and polished, this
amber exhibits shades of not only red, but also green and gold.
Amber is the fossilized, hardened resin of the pine tree formed in the Eocene Period about
50 million years ago. It is mined from the surface of the earth, sometimes found with inclusions of insects, parts of plants or pyrites.
It is considered an organic gem material, has a Mohs hardness of 2-2 1/2. When rubbed with a cloth, amber becomes electrically charged and can attract small
particles.
Currently, synthetic resins and yellow glass or copal (which is a younger pine resin) is used to imitate true amber since only 15% of the
amber mined is suitable for jewelry.
It has been used since prehistoric times in jewelry and religious objects, as well as a cure
for various illnesses. Metaphysically, it calms hyperactivity and stressed nerves,
finds humor and joy and is associated with the naval chakra.
We purchased this amber directly from
the miner and it is expensive, about
$400/pound in the rough. This amber is usually only seen in jewelry, not used for carvings. To help explain the end-cost of a carving out of a gem material such
as this, the specimen that the lion was carved from cost $100 (see pictures below).
Below we're showing pictures of Chiapas amber in two exceptional Zuni fetishes. We also have
pictures of it in
the rough, showing the outer crust and deep red color when held to the light.
The large mountain lion was carved by Jeffery Tsalabutie and is 4" long x 1 1/2" high x almost 1" thick.
He is tricolored, showing deep red shades, as well as gold and green. He was carved about four months ago
and is in our private collection. The other carving is of a Dee Edaakie Bear
that ended up revealing a "complete bug with wings" (possibly a dragonfly) when it was finished.
Rough specimens with insects are much more valuable than ones without. This bear is in a private collection
in Texas.
Monday, July 16th
This week we're featuring Nutria Jasper and
Travertine, both native rock
to Zuni. Nutria is an area about 12 miles east of the Zuni Pueblo and is considered in the
Zuni Mountains. There are pieces in museums carved by Leekya Deyuse that were carved
from this material. A few Zunis still live in Nutria
and Ricky Laahty's family has their sheep ranch and old family home there. There are two small
lakes there that are called Upper and Lower Nutria.
Nutria Travertine is a type of limestone with a Mohs hardness of 3-4. It comes in shades of
yellow, red-brown, green-brown and is formed in hot springs and caves.
Being relatively soft, it carves well and it takes a lustrous polish.
Below there are photos of a specimen Nutria Travertine in the rough that forms in flat
veins with a crystalline structure. The finished carvings show a very large Nutria Bear (6 1/2" long x 4 1/2" high with
Zuni Azurite heartline) and a mountain lion by Fred Bowannie along with a turtle by Ricky Laahty with
an Zuni Malachite inlaid back.
Nutria Jasper is a type of chalcedony (pronounced kal-cid-ny) with a Mohs hardness of 7. It is very hard
to carve and it takes a lot of work to get a polish on it. It is found in nodules with a rough, sharp
crust. The color is usually a deep
brown, red-brown or green-brown.
Below there are pictures of two specimens in the rough and a special, large Ricky Laahty
frog. He was carved in 2000, has wonderful large eyes and is in our personal collection (never been seen before).
He measures 3 1/2" wide x 3" high.
Go to Ricky's SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market page from last year to see his very Large
Nutria Jasper Double-Frog-Mates which was the Blue Ribbon Winner .
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