 |
Best
of Division
Santa Fe Indian Market
Hopi
Basket by Kathy Kooyahoema
Coil Plaque with
Butterflies
16"
Diameter | 3 1/2" Deep
28 Coils
|
Artist Bio:
I've lived on the Hopi Indian
Reservation in the village of Shungopavi all my life and participate
in the ceremonies that occur within the ceremonial calendar.
I was taught the process and art of making yucca coiled baskets
and plaques and sifter baskets by my mother and godmother.
Any spare time I have is spent
working on my art. I enjoy working on a piece as it brings me
tranquility and good thoughts. The symbolism and tradition in
my designs are linked to my knowledge of and participation in
my culture. Any ideas I have I share with my children and they
too get anxious to see the outcome of the designs.
This piece is about "Po
lit" meaning butterflies. This is from thoughts of butterflies
chasing each other through the fields of harvest to come, when
the rains come, which are common in songs of prayers for rain,
therefore a bountiful harvest.
The materials I use, yucca
and galleta grass, are gathered and prepared seasonally. The
preparation of the yucca takes many steps to get it to the right
texture and strip. The stripes of yucca when ready for use is
woven (wrapped) over the bundles of galleta grass and yucca;
this is done by puncturing and stitching a continuous coil with
the yucca around the bundled galleta grass and yucca.. The tool
I use to make the punctures to stitch the coils together is a
sharp awl.
Most of my work stays within
the Hopi community through ceremonial gifts, exchange for goods
and services, or through sales to other Hopi members.
More recently, with encouragement
from friends and family, I've gone out into the marketing world
and participated in the local Hopi Arts and Craft Market, Tuhisma,
and for the first time, the Santa Fe Indian Market:
Tushisma:
2005, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
2007, 1st and 2nd place
2008, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
Santa Fe Indian Market: 2009,
Best of Division, Basketry and 1st place
I'm thankful to have learned
this art and hope to teach my daughters, goddaughters, and granddaughters
so they too will carry it on.
Native American basketry is
one of the earliest art forms. The Indians made them as utilitarian
pieces for storage, holding water and even cooking. Basketry even precedes pottery making.
Baskets used for cooking were lined with clay, and water vessels
were covered with pine pitch. Today basket making has developed
into a fine art, that few Native Americans continue to practice.
Where baskets were once a
common item among all tribes, the art has now disappeared among
many Native Americans, and the handful of weavers that continue
this ancient craft are few and far between. Hopi basket weavers are considered some of the best
in North America. They produce baskets in three different techniques.
On Second Mesa the Hopi weavers
specialize in Hopi Coil basketry. Hopi coiled baskets are woven
by wrapping bundles of plant material with a single piece of
plant material usually yucca. The colors are usually limited
to white, yellow, green, red and black. Designs you often find
on these beautiful baskets are Katsina, animals, blanket, and
geometric designs.
On Third Mesa the Hopi weavers
specialize in wicker basketry. They make wicker plaques, cradles
and burden baskets by weaving flexible stems of local plants,
such as rabbit brush, scrub sumac and arroyo willow, over and
under stiffer support stems. There are many colors and designs
used in wicker plaques and baskets.
Women on all three mesas make
plaited sifter baskets. These baskets are made by plaiting yucca
fibers, either natural or dyes, to achieve many designs. Many
of the Hopi wickers, coils, and sifters are used for social or
ceremonial purposes.
