Wilmer Kaye, Hopi, is known
for the perfection of his Katsina dolls and sculptures. Willard
Loloma, Kaye's uncle, taught him to carve when he was only a
teen. Wilmer is also the nephew of famed Hopi jeweler, Charles
Loloma.
Kaye continued to carve after
he completed high school, while working in constuction as a mason.
Kaye uses only a pocket knife for his carvings and uses both
paint and stains. He rubs linseed oil into the wood to bring
out the grain and preserve the wood.
Kaye works on one Katsina
doll at a time, so that he can concentrate and make it look the
best it can, before beginning a new doll. Kaye's intricate carvings
have won many awards and have been seen on the cover of Arizona
Highways magazine.
"This is a very distinctive
Kachin Mana for there is no other quite like it. The closest
is the Hano Mana who lacks the peculiar Navajo snout and hairdress
of this mana.
"She accompanies the
Kau-a Kachina and like her brother is a Navajo Kachina. During
the dance she carries a basket. In some cases she kneels and
uses the rasper and scapula on the basket while Kau-a stands
in line in front of her. She never accompanies the Mongakwi."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's
Documentary (179)
