His graceful creations,
cut from sheets of metal, incorporate Navajo themes, such as the
ye'i (a holy person or deity) and eagles. He achieves an iridescent
accent to each piece by applying heat. The results are dramatic
sculptures that he describes as, " . . . little beings looking
for a home."
It's not unusual for
Lorenzo to incorporate the number four into his work ¾ a reflection
of the natural order of life (the four seasons, the four elements
and the four sacred mountains). Sometimes he slips in the number
three to represent his three children.
Born in 1956, his farming
family lived on the outskirts of the Navajo Reservation in New
Mexico. Lorenzo attended both government boarding and public schools.
In high school, he focused on art classes and took a few welding
classes, but had no plans to become an artist. His lack of ability
to draw, which he described as "about one degree better than a
stick figure," discouraged him.
It was not until the
spring of 1993, that an artist friend, Ambrose Teasyatwho, encouraged
him to pursue his artistic inclinations and he began sculpting
in metal. Lorenzo worked with his mentor Ambrose for about a year,
first as an apprentice, and then, as a fellow artist. Since then,
he's received a number of awards, including first place in sculpture
at the Totah Festival in Farmington.
When he begins to shape
the metal into a sculpture, Lorenzo has a general idea of the
form that he wants to create. Rarely planning his work on paper,
he will sometimes sketch the image directly onto the sheet of
metal. Then, he lets the shape emerge. Looking at his finished
product, it is possible to see the spirit he instills into each
of his "little beings."