Venaya Yazzie\u2019s colorful paintings reflect Native feminine figures as well as Native symbolism. Her two-week artist in residence, May 5-17, culminates with a free public presentation of her work at the Far View Lodge Library on Thursday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a local community artist of the Four Corners area, I feel very blessed to be a part of this group of Mesa Verde artists,\u201d said Yazzie. \u201cI feel good about being amidst the grand history of the people who once dwelled in the cliffs of Mesa Verde.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a visual artist, I know that each daily experience in the natural beauty of the land and flora and fauna will bring moments of sacredness,\u201d she added. \u201cI am very humbled as an indigenous female artist to be chosen to share my art with the community, and so create dialogue on Southwestern contemporary native art via my paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yazzie\u2019s contemporary American Indian work has been called \u201cvisionary,\u201d and she strives to create images that work outside the boundaries of what the global society sees as stereotypical Native American art. Her modern acrylic and mixed media art serves to preserve a continual reverence for god and his creation, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am inspired by many things, including the culture of my Navajo and Hopi people from the present and past, but above all, the land is my inspiration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Yazzie believes her art should always tell a story, and she hopes her two-dimensional images stir discussions of modern issues of social justice, self-awareness, the environment and the cultural ties to the modern American Indian and their historical past.<\/p>\n
An alumna of the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Arts in Santa Fe, Yazzie also holds a bachelor\u2019s in English from Fort Lewis College and a master\u2019s degree in elementary education with a minor in Indian education from the University of New Mexico. Her work can be seen at www.yazzgrlart.com.<\/p>\n
Mesa Verde National Park has also named several other artists in residence, including journalist Rob Galin, potter Michael Savage, sculptor Hal Stewart, writer Sonja Horoshko and painter Ed Singer. Each artist residency extends two weeks, and they are staggered throughout the summer and into next fall.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s artists were selected from 65 applicants by a jury of a park ranger and three professional artists. For more, visit www.nps.gov\/meve\/supportyourpark\/artists_in_residence.htm.<\/p>\n
For more, visit www.blm.gov\/co\/st\/en\/nm\/canm\/artist_in_residence.html or call (970) 882-5600.<\/p>\n