Alternate Views 
Navajo Corn Maiden
by Dennis Ross Yazzie, Diné
Description: Sculpture carved from cottonwood root with commercial paints.
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.