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"When we create art, we share a piece
of ourselves with the world," say Steve Wikviya LaRance
and Marian Denipah. This husband and wife team are making
their imprint on Native American art, as individuals and
as partners, creating jewelry, paintings and sculptures.
They are true artists, loving to create, innovate and experiment.
They said that when they participated in a cultural exchange
with artists from the Northwest and were introduced to
Bill Reid’s work, “He opened our eyes to the
concept of going beyond being categorized as a jeweler,
sculptor or painter, but to being seen as an artist," says
Marian. |
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Steve was raised in the Hopi Village
of Moencopi. His grandfather, a religious leader from Hotevilla,
was a major influence on his life. At Hopi he learned the
traditional arts of carving katsina dolls, making bows and
arrows and working with silver. His first piece of jewelry
was a bow guard he wore for ceremonies. In high school his
interest in art increased and he began painting. After high
school, Steve moved to Flagstaff to study business, but left
school to work full time as an artist. He painted for a while,
but it was sculpting in stone that excited him. He has become
known for his Hopi designs in alabaster, marble and limestone.
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Marian
was born in Tucson, Arizona. With a father from the
Navajo Nation and a mother from the San Juan Pueblo,
Marian grew up sharing both cultures. While attending
high school, she became interested in painting portraits.
After high school, Marian moved to Santa Fe and later
met Steve through mutual interests at American Indian
events. While in Santa Fe, she attended the Institute
of American Indian Arts and studied painting, photography,
modern dance and ballet. She received her degree in
Fine Arts from Northern Arizona University. While her
training and expertise is in the style of the old European
Masters, today she is more experimental and contemporary. |
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Marian worked for many years with
Navajo jeweler Ric Charlie, one of the master tufa cast jewelry
makers. She helped him with his painting; he helped her learn
tufa casting techniques. Tufa casting is an old, very complicated
process. Two tufa stones are rubbed together, flattening
them until they are flush. The design is cut into the stone
and the two are bound tightly together to create a mold.
Melted silver or gold is poured inside and when it is cooled,
excess metal is cut and the casting is filed and polished.
The texture of the tufa stone becomes a part of the design.
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Their tufa cast jewelry
is beautifully designed and impeccably executed. Steve
and Marian gather
the tufa from the Hopi Reservation. "I was able
to find the site where Charles Loloma used to get his
tufa," says Steve. "When we began, we were
inspired by work from masters like Charles Loloma and
Preston Monongye. We've studied the history of cast work
and old techniques for inspiration. Recently, we have
been inspired by Aztec, Inca and even Egyptian gold and
silver jewelry. We just came back from a trip to Hawaii
where we were moved by their designs and new materials." |
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"I
think of jewelry as little paintings in stone," says
Marian. "Although jewelry is more graphic --
we can work with texture and design to bring more
depth to a piece." Their distinctive jewelry
uses traditional Native designs -- like petroglyphs,
dragonflies, katsina figures and water designs --
in creative contemporary ways. The designs are often
set with precious and semi-precious stones. Many
look like small sculptures -- a Long-Hair Katsina
set with a band of brightly colored stones or a traditional
hand design with petroglyph-like stars and stripes
in a tribute to the Nation's Capital. Always wanting
to experiment and try new techniques, they are most
recently creating a body of work using diamonds with
gold. |
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The Indian Craft Shop represents artists from over 40
tribal areas within the United States. Located in the Department
of the Interior federal building at 18th and C Streets, the
Shop is open Monday thru Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays. Open the third Saturday of each month
from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Photo ID required for entrance.
For more information, call 202-208-4056.
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