Jurors' Comments for All Awards

Best of Show ($1,500)
Rick and Cindy Barrett
“Vegetal Crystal Stars” by Charlene Laughing, Navajo

Description: Wool rug including both vegetal and commercially dyed yarns; woven on a traditional Navajo upright loom. (51 x 72 inches)
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About this Award: Awarded to the work whose quality showcases excellence in arts. Any medium is eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: I really love the rug’s good combinations of the colors—the lights and the darks—they play off each other. They way she used diagonal and the ribbing, a wider band of ribbing than is normal. The rug is pretty even all the way across and the middle is where its supposed to be.... a wonderful piece. I would guess it took her about 9 months…that’s her baby!
Alex Beeshligaii: I just learned more (from judging with Barbara Ornelas) I mean when she was talking here about the different weaves it took to make the whole rug, the way they intertwine, the different colors of the dyes…I really, really have a lot of respect for the technical aspects.
Ryan Huna Smith: …simply the amount of time that it takes in weaving a rug like that…a lot of patience and the time and technical skill that goes into that. It’s beautiful rug and the quality is exquisite.

Award of Excellence in Clay ($500)
Frederick Lau II D.D.S. and Dennis Lyon
Taos Bean Pot by Pam Lujan-Hauer, Taos Pueblo

Description: Traditional Taos-style cooking pot made from micaceous clay from Taos. This is the only clay that fires this particular color of yellow-orange. The pot is coil-built, burnished and pit fired with cedar.
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About this Award: Awarded to work that shows the best quality in craftsmanship and use of ceramic material. All pottery is eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: I’m not familiar with pottery and techniques but I really like the clean lines, the shape and color…and the effect of the mica.
Alex Beeshligaii: For me it caught my eye when I first came in here earlier. The simple shape of it—the roundedness, the two little handles—knowing it a seed pot. When I was growing up my aunt had pots with seeds in the shed, you knew which one had which seeds....I am always drawn to this shape, to its utilitarian use.
Ryan Huna Smith: (about the runner-up) I voted for ‘Fishing Hole’ by Susan Folwell. I liked the shape of the piece and how it’s not symmetrical…the incorporation of the representational forms and these nice abstract elements and how the fish and the holes incorporate well into that asymmetrical form. I like the feeling, the flowing movement of the piece.

Judges' Choice Award in Clay ($500)
King Galleries of Scottsdale
“Anasazi Feathers” (Turtle figurine) by Andrew Harvier, Santa Clara/Taos/Tohono O'odham

Description: Etched turtle figurine made of natural earth clay gathered from Santa Clara Pueblo, N.M. The clay was processed and formed by hand and fired outdoors in the traditional Pueblo manner. The natural turquoise cabechon was hand cut and polished by the artist.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship and vision in the use of clay. All pottery and figurative clay are eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Alex Beeshligaii: It just caught my eye earlier—like that pot that Barbara chose earlier. When I looked at it up close I saw this intricate carvings…it blew me away. The shape is special too—you know it's a turtle but it’s clean…nice high polish…I like the way the cuts are done.
Ryan Huna Smith: I like turtles but what I like about this piece is that you start with this polished smooth piece of clay and slowly start etching this design into it. Before I knew it was a turtle that’s what caught my eye first. What I like further is that inside this piece is this carved whirlwind…and how uniform and tightly patterned it is as well.
Barbara Ornelas: (about the runner-up: a pot by Judy Tafoya) I remember my father being a trader and the black pots they brought in—I have a thing for black pots. It has a great shape and design is unique. I like the way it was done.

Award of Excellence in Katsina Dolls ($500)
Ralph and Ingeborg Silberschlag
“Coming Winter” (Deer Katsina) by Nuvadi Dawahoya, Hopi

Description: Hand carved from cottonwood. It was painted with acrylic paints and a woodburner was used for texturing.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in Katsina doll carving.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: A katsina carver friend of mine told me along time ago the hardest thing to do is show how it feels to you. I can just see the dancer, you can tell he is in the middle of a dance and concentrating on that. The piece has to talk to the people. A great piece. And of course I love the snow!
Ryan Huna Smith: There a lot of nice things involved here…the use of the whole thing—the base is incorporated in the design. What really stuck out was the gesture of the figure and the carving of the cloth—the folds are so natural. The other thing I like is the treatment of the wood for the rocks and the plants. The texture is amazing even though they are all made out of the same material, they have different texture that emulates them.
Alex Beeshligaii: (about the runner-up: a Katsina doll by Coolidge Roy Jr.) I like this…maybe it’s the face. I was checking it out. I like the way the feathers have this flow to them, the tiny details, the painting on the regalia…very cool.

Award of Excellence in Katsina Dolls (Traditional Style) ($500)
Grey Dog Trading Company and Bahti Indian Arts
“Pat'zo” (Western Killdeer - water bird) by Clark Tenakhongva, Hopi

Description: Traditional style Hopi Katsina doll carved from cottonwood root. It is painted with all natural pigments and plant dyes and adorned with corn husk earrings and duck feather on the head.
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About this Award: Awarded to the Katsina doll carving that best portrays adherence to traditional representation and use of materials.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: It’s really different. I've never seen that use of the blue color before and the cornhusk earrings are great.
Alex Beeshligaii: Totally different…all these others…I’ve seen a lot of the others…this I don’t see that often. The colors really caught me.
Ryan Huna Smith: It’s the blue—that chalky cobalt looking blue is really beautiful. The image of the bird on the forehead….the overall look of the figure. I love the use of the color but it’s the blue that is really striking.

Award of Excellence in Lapidary ($500)
Bill and Mary Anne Springer
“Spring Ring” by Benson Manygoats, Navajo

Description: Handcrafted ring made from 14K gold sheets and wire. It is inlaid with natural precious stones: Australian opal, lapis, red coral, Sleeping Beauty turquoise and malachite.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in jewelry.

Jurors’ Comments:

Alex Beeshligaii: I like this because he uses not only regular lapidary and different materials, but the framing of it also, by using his metalsmithing skill, then inlay it, then slide on…to assemble the way he did this is really cool. It’s kinda ornate but I like the way the inlay is done and how it all came together in a balanced way.
Barbara Ornelas: I really like this too. I don’t know the technical aspects but Alex explained that part. I think the person did a wonderful job, I like the colors but I think it would be hard to wear.
Ryan Huna Smith: Speaking on what the award is about I think its just incredible what he could do. Looking at what he did its just a phenomenal job. On another note the whole piece is a fun-looking piece a nontraditional approach to native art…a non traditional approach to a ring fun that is exciting and has a lot of movement. Great over all piece.

Award of Excellence in Jewelry ($500)
Bahti Indian Arts and Richard Spivey
“Many Star” (Coral bracelet) by Toney Mitchell, Dinéh

Description: Silver overlay and coral bracelet.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in jewelry and silversmithing.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: I love the piece…the natural coral. I love the crosses, they remind me of the chief’s blanket crosses. I love the openings in it.
Alex Beeshligaii: By using different methods—the etching, the cutout, the overlay and just the bezel holding the beautiful red coral—and the clean work on the inside he makes it all work. What caught my eye first was the bezel, then the crosses.
Ryan Huna Smith: This piece stuck out for me too because its simple and also the application of crosses across the bracelet. I like the composition....how they are spaced and the treatment of how each one is made. The oxidation of the black adds a lot of texture to the patterns of the piece. The play of rough versus smooth on the surface is great.

Judges' Choice Award in Jewelry ($500)
Arch and Laura Brown and Roland and Pam Shack
Wild Horse Bola by Toney Mitchell, Dinéh

Description: Bola tie made of overy silverwork with leather and Wild Horse magnesite.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in jewelry.

Jurors’ Comments:

Alex Beeshligaii: I just like the way its made: the tips, the overlay design all the way around it. Everything is uniform or balanced…the cut outs and stamping on it. It’s not over large or over bearing.
Barbara Ornelas: I agree with Alex I like the tips—elegant. I like the design and the unusual stone.
Ryan Huna Smith: I like it because it is not overly elaborate and it looks wearable: not too heavy or flashy. I love the treatment of the silver as well the contrast of the textures and surfaces—it adds a nice mixture. The design, the silversmithing, the silver itself…there a lot of things going on but it doesn’t overwhelm. I like the tips too. A lot of bola tips tend to get a bit too fancy; these are kind of elaborate but simple.

Judges' Choice Award in Basketry ($500)
Desert Diamond Casino
“Spring Blessings” (Willow basket) by Andrew Harvier, Santa Clara/Taos/Tohono O'odham

Description: 2 in 1 basket server. Handwoven in the tradition of the Rio Grande Pueblos using hand gathered natural red Rio Grande willow. Some pieces were peeled for contrast.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in basket arts. Single entry, so it had to meet the standards of all the voting judges in order to be recognized. This piece garnered an unhesitant unanimous decision.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: The color combination is really neat…the fact that he did three different colors. I also like the smell of it (laughs) and the two different techniques he used and that he made a base for it.
Alex Beeshligaii: When I first came in here I thought it was two they way he wove them together—very strong and durable.
Ryan Huna Smith: The use of the willow, some of it peeled, the colors became an element to diversify the palette. I love the raw look of the basket as well. Unfortunately, unless you actually look at it closely you won’t be able to smell it but the smell is wonderful (smiling).

Award of Excellence in Weaving ($500)
Marilyn Graham Lawson
Wide Ruins Rug by Charlene Laughing, Navajo

Description: Weaving in the Wide Ruins regional style using both vegetal dyed and commercially dyed wool; woven on a traditional Navajo upright loom.
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About this Award: Awarded to acknowledge excellence in technical achievement in any form of weaving or fiber arts. Rugs, baskets and other fiber arts are eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: The pattern is really intricate but balanced really well.
Alex Beeshligaii: I liked it because it's eye-catching. I like the colors the combinations she used and again: the amount of work.
Ryan Huna Smith: The weaving is excellent. I love the contrasts in the colors in the weaving overall. I think it's really wonderful.

Award of Excellence in Two Dimensional Art ($500)
Desert Diamond Casino
“South Rim” by Norman Lansing, Ute Mountain Ute

Description: Ink and acrylic on board.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in painting or drawing.

Jurors’ Comments:

Alex Beeshligaii: I like the way the sun hits the rock formations. The closer you get to it…the details…you see the change across the landscape, from the shadows to the light. I know it’s really hard to get that right.
Ryan Huna Smith: Three media are used here: watercolor, acrylic and ink. To use such a variety of media to accomplish a piece shows the skill of the artist. I love his use of the acrylic in the foreground—it’s very simple but effective. Then the watercolor in the background is very loose but he used the ink to bring out some shapes in the rock.
Barbara Ornelas: (about the runner-up) I picked it because of the rug (laughs). I like that ye’ii in mid-dance and love the light and the coloring.

Award of Excellence in Sculpture ($500)
Arne and Doris Roland
Navajo Corn Maiden by Dennis Ross Yazzie, Diné

Description: Sculpture carved from cottonwood root with commercial paints.
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About this Award: Awarded for high quality in craftsmanship in sculpture or carving.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: She looks very elegant with the long earrings. I love her bun and the pattern in the back. I picked this over the other bronze of his because it was a lot more work. The artist had to do more detail.
Alex Beeshligaii: I was drawn to it because of the simple form of it: the length of it, the face, the way the ears protrude, the hairline and how the hair is laid down, the long flowing jocla earrings. Where I was growing up women used to wear long turquoise strands of earrings like that. The way the corn stalk is on the back and the body flows up the same way is great.
Ryan Huna Smith: (about the runner-up: “Redtail” by Nuvadia Dawahoya) I like the simplicity. The face is what I really like, and the hair. The treatment of the carving—the cloth looks real not wood—and the treatment of the jewelry—its carved but looks natural. Each piece is treated individually.

Hartman H. Lomawaima Memorial Acquisition Award ($3,000)
Friends of the ASM Collections
San Ildefonso Polychrome Jar by Cavan Gonzales, San Ildefonso Pueblo

Description: Hand-built and painted, traditionally fired pottery. The shape is traditional and resembles the shape of Black Mesa. Traditional squash blossom designs.
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About this Award: This special acquisition award is open to all works on display at the Fair; they need not be entered in the Friday competition to win. Art works winning acquisition awards become part of the museum's permanent collections. They are chosen for their technique and artistry as well as for the way in which they compare and contrast with other items in our collections. Any medium is eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Doreen Burbank, Diane Dittemore, Andrew Higgins, Doris and Arnold Roland, and Lynne Spivey: We have long had Cavan Gonzales, great-great grandson of Maria Martinez and son of Barbara Gonzales, on our ‘wish-list’ of potters whose work we want to acquire. Cavan interprets the San Ildefonso polychrome pottery tradition in fresh, bold ways and as well makes black-on-black pottery for which Maria and Julian Martinez are famous. Gonzales has his pieces in major private collections in Germany and across America as well as in the collections of the Heard Museum, the Wheelwright Museum and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe. Whereas the profile and motifs of this pot are traditional to Cavan’s family, his play of the positive against negative is a contemporary contribution. The squash blossom is an ancient design; but, it also reminds Cavan of a devil’s claw found at the old gardens of San Ildefonso where no one now lives.

Roselyn Marshall Memorial Acquisition Award ($1,500)
Roselyn Marshall Memorial Fund
San Ildefonso Black-on-black Bowl by Cavan Gonzales, San Ildefonso Pueblo

Description: Pottery bowl with black-on-black feather designs. Made from San Ildefonso clay and slips and traditionally fired using cow and horse manure.
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About this Award: This special acquisition award is open to all works on display at the Fair; they need not be entered in the Friday competition to win. Art works winning acquisition awards become part of the museum's permanent collections. They are chosen for their technique and artistry as well as for the way in which they compare and contrast with other items in our collections. Any medium is eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Patrick Lyons and Diane Dittemore: The award honors the late wife of ASM’s popular and omnipresent volunteer Jay Marshall. Roselyn Marshall was fond of and collected Tewa blackware pottery, primarily from Santa Clara Pueblo. Cavan Gonzales of neighboring San Ildefonso is known today primarily for his polychrome pottery. Still he continues to make black-on-black pieces such as this one following the tradition invigorated in the early 20th century by his great-great grandparents Maria and Julian Martinez. It is exactly such gifts as the Marshall Memorial Fund that allow us to continue to build collections that represent the full range of artistic expression in the Southwest.

Youth Award of Excellence ($100)
Friends of Lorraine Honanie
“Chanter Yei” by Tulane John, Diné

Description: Mixed media incorporating LEGO® blocks, wood and acrylic paint on canvas.
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About this Award: Awarded to recognize quality in any artistic medium. Artists of age 13 to 17 are eligible.

Juror’s Comments:

Ryan Huna Smith: I just like the fact that it took something that is a toy and turned it into something from the culture. The good feeling of youth seeing the value of their culture being able to perceive that. My kids used to make rug patterns in legos it caught my eye and brought back memories.

Youth Award of Excellence ($100)
Friends of Lorraine Honanie
“Chei and Masantis' New Hummer” by Quanah John, Navajo

Description: Acrylic paint on canvas.
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About this Award: Awarded to recognize quality in any artistic medium. Artists of age 13 to 17 are eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: Such a happy painting! (laughing) You’re always happy if you have a brand new car in front of your hogan!
Alex Beeshligaii: When you watch kids do this it’s amazing—without coaching or whatever you get to see what they see.
Ryan Huna Smith: What it reminds me of is being in grade school and painting with tempera on art paper but this is on canvas: again youth incorporating culture and sense of place with modern elements meshing together.

Youth Award of Excellence ($100)
Robert H. Ames Piestewa
“Talking God” by Tulane John, Diné

Description: Wood sculpture with natural pigments, leather cord and feather.
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About this Award: Awarded to recognize creative effort in any artistic medium. Artists of age 12 and under are eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: As an artist when you have children you try and find things for them to do. I can see him finding the top part and figuring out what to do with it.
Alex Beeshligaii: I like because she took a couple pieces of 2x4 and used the existing marking in the wood. It took a kids imagination to put it together and make it work
Ryan Huna Smith: It reminds me of my childhood, playing with blocks. What I like is the treatment of the wood: simple treatment. What I like about it also is the kind of painting where you have parental support… taking child/toy element and creating something from their culture.

Youth Award of Excellence ($100)
Robert H. Ames Piestewa
“Autumn Girl” by Myleka John, Diné

Description: Mixed media using copper leafing, cloth, beads and acrylic paint on canvas, depicting a Navajo girl in traditional dress.
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About this Award: Awarded to recognize creative effort in any artistic medium. Artists of age 12 and under are eligible.

Jurors’ Comments:

Barbara Ornelas: I really like it and how she pleated the clothes—adorable! I bet she had a good time making it.
Alex Beeshligaii: I like …it’s cool. It’s cute and refreshing.
Ryan Huna Smith: I have 3 sisters who liked to play with paper dolls. It reminds me of that but what is nice about this is that this little girl had no Navajo paper dolls so she created her own. Tapping into their culture makes me feel good. I also like the title and how it works with the colors.