by Kimi Eisele AUTHOR'S NOTE: In 2018, SFA awarded a Master-Apprentice Artist Award to Stella Tucker, a Tohono O’odham elder and teacher, in honor of her work upholding the tradition of the baidaj, or annual saguaro fruit harvest. The award provided support for Stella’s work passing along the tradition to her daughter, Tanisha Tucker. Stella’s ... [Continue Reading]
“I Am”: Jason Martinez Talks Flamenco
Jason Martinez is a flamenco dancer and cajón player. He was introduced to the artform at the University of New Mexico, with instructors Eva Encinias-Sandoval and Pablo Rodarte. He has traveled to Sevilla, Spain and studied extensively at the National Institute of Flamenco under Joaquin Encinias and Omayra Amaya and with celebrated artists at ... [Continue Reading]
Layers of Life and Beauty: The Papercuttings of Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta
by Kimi Eisele To look into one of Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta’s colorful and intricate papercuttings is to look into another world and wish you could go there. At least that’s how it is for me. Magdalena practices the art of wycinanki, or papercutting in the Polish tradition, a form said to have originated with the cutting of designs ... [Continue Reading]
Not Just a Basket: A Conversation with Alice Manuel
Alice Manuel is a basketweaver in the Onk Akimel O’odham tradition. A member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, she learned to weave at age 19. She is the recipient of a 2017 Master-Apprentice Artist Award from the Southwest Folklife Alliance in recognition of her artistry and education. The award supports her in passing on the ... [Continue Reading]
Mo’ Betta: A Conversation with Barbea Williams
Barbea Williams is a dancer/choreographer, director, visual artist, and educator dedicated to sharing dance, theater, and visual cultural traditions from Africa and the African diaspora, including traditional West African, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, and Haitian forms. She has directed the Barbea Williams Performing Company (BPC), Arizona’s premier ... [Continue Reading]
That’s a Lomaventema: A Hopi Silversmith on Making and Teaching
Gerald Lomaventema is a Hopi jeweler and recipient of a 2016 SFA Master-Apprentice Artist Award. Lomaventema teaches students the Hopi overlay technique, which was first developed by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie and his brother-in-law, Paul Saufkie, in the 1940s. After World War II, the artists taught returning Hopi veterans through the GI Bill and ... [Continue Reading]
More than Luck: A Master Artist Passes on the Chinese Lion Dance
On a Sunday morning in March, nine teenagers are squat-waddling across the floor of a large room of the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center. Kevin Lau, a heavy-set man in his 30s wearing shorts and a t-shirt calls out, “Good job. Keep going! This is good for your hip flexors. You guys are young!” He claps a few times and when everyone has returned to ... [Continue Reading]