Kenji Kawano and Navajo Adornment

The photographic work of Kenji Kawano.

Last week I visited the Navajo Nation Museum's newest exhibit. It features the work of Japanese photographer Kenji Kawano whose work exclusively captures the imagery of the Navajo Nation.

Beaded earrings and things

Handmade Indigenous earrings made by Venaya.
Photo credit Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2015

The use of 'sunburst' or 'horizon' colors in Indigenous beadwork is popular. Perhaps it is done in reverence for the sky, or an homage to the colors of the sun's radiance, for whatever the reason many Indigenous beaders know these colors sooth the 'Indin' soul.

I designed and beaded  these new earrings in my new collection. The design pays homage to the stars. It is a stylized 'star' concept, but many may see only a cross. As a beader I used many mixes of colors, but always I prefer the sunset brilliance of colors in my work.

Indigenous Adornment is my muse, and with it nestled into the hem of my garments I will bead on! Blessings

Bead life

Hand-made beaded earrings made by Venaya.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Venaya Yazzie 2015

Lately I have returned to the world of traditional Indigenous beading. My hands and eyes have settled into the studio light with a slender beading needle attached to shiny nylon thread, waxed with beeswax.  And, in front of me a rainbow of colored seed beads. I am a 're-born' beader!

These earrings are a pair that I made this year, they are my inspiration or my initiation back into the world of Indigenous beading. Its funny how many of my stories, or recollections concerning my art take me back to my time as a student at IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts) in Santa Fe, NM. Well, this beading I am doing nowadays allows for my mind and hands to live harmoniously as a team. I have begun my beading trek this new year and I am thoroughly engaged in the 'beauty' of it all. My painting studio has morphed into a beading studio, but this is a wonderful thing, for I find the process of beading refreshing and inspiring as I am 'awakened' to new ways of 'seeing.'

As a painter I apply the colors onto a flat surface, the paintbrush a bridge to my work, yet with beading I apply the colored- bead to the buckskin surface.  The whole beading experience seems to be a more tangible, organic ritual for me. This short break from painting my two-dimensional works is medicinal and it is a good thing. The beading items I make also assist in funding my art, so I will soon be announcing some of my items for sale.

The memories I keep concerning the Indigenous beading technique helps to fuel a rich history of a modern Indigenous women. I learned to bead primarily from two amazing people I met in Santa Fe; a Hopi/Seminole girl and  an Alabama Cousatta/ Lakota boy. Both of these beautiful friends taught me how to bead and forever they are with me helping me keep the 'beauty' of this life about 'hozho.' Little did we know we would be contributing still to the act of INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT.

Tragic

Sometimes you lose a beautiful piece of jewelry. An old friend from my IAIA days use to say about a broken piece of turquoise, "The ancestors needed some turquoise." The other day I dropped  one of my favored turquoise earrings that I acquired from Santo Domingo Pueblo, sadly I lost a quality item, but truly some 'ancestor' gained a beautiful chunk of earthly-turquoise for their journey.