Making ceremonial masks from cottonwood is a special and spiritual practice. Yaqui/Yoeme artist Louis David Valenzuela learned the artform from traditional pascola maskmakers in Tucson’s Pascua Yaqui communities. Also a painter, sculptor and dedicated teacher, Valenzuela is a recipient of a 2018 SFA Master-Apprentice Artist Award. He spoke with ... [Continue Reading]
The First Light of Day: A Conversation with Annetta Koruh
Annetta Koruh is a Hopi basket weaver from the village of Bacavi on the Third Mesa. She represents the fourth generation of basket weavers in her family. In Hopi tradition, basketry is a spiritual and healing practice. Annetta is a recipient of a 2018 SFA Master-Apprentice Artist Award, which has supported her in teaching Mckenna Nachie, a college ... [Continue Reading]
The Arizona African Diaspora: A Conversation with Rod Ambrose and Barbea Williams
by Kimi Eisele Rod Ambrose and Barbea Williams both came to Arizona from Chicago, Illinois and created lives as artists in the Southwest. Rod is an actor, director, and storyteller in the griot tradition and Barbea a dancer, choreographer and director working to pass on traditional African and African-inspired dance forms from Africa, Haiti, ... [Continue Reading]
Desert Matriarch: Stella Tucker, 1947-2019
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]