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Michael Kabotie
Overview
The week-long Native American Arts Festival, designed
to enhance and add depth to the hands-on workshops, includes
formal presentations, lectures, and informal discussions
with a distinguished group of artists, tribal elders and
scholars. In addition, the Festival Week offers a way
for those not enrolled in a workshop to participate and
learn about the most current issues and theories concerning
Native American artists, art, music and culture.
The Workshops
The Native American Arts Workshops are designed for adults
at all levels of experience and knowledge. Working closely
with master artists and cultural specialists, students
have the rare opportunity to learn traditional and contemporary
Native American art forms and to gain an understanding
of the rich cultural foundation which inspires and motivates
each artist.
The Lectures
and Presentations (See events
schedule below.)
The spirit
of this annual series is to bring the scientific, intuitive,
and trickster voices together for a balanced and provocative
learning experience. This summer, scholars and artists
will look at Native American music, both traditional and
contemporary expression. The week will open with the premiere
of the documentary film Sing Birds: Following the Paths
of Cahuilla Power; featuring birdsingers from our region
who will sing before the screening. There will be an evening
performance by an experimental duo (cellist and DJ) from
the Navajo Nation, as well as three lunch-time “brown
bag” lectures focusing on music and dance traditions
in various regions of the Americas. The final event of
the week will be a traditional Stomp Dance performance
by The Lenape Delaware Dance Troupe from Oklahoma.
Guests:
Michael
Kabotie- Hopi Artist; Consultant to this program
Joe
Baker - Delaware Tribe, Consultant to this program,
Director of Community Engagement, Herberger Collage of
the Arts, ASU
Tara
Browner - Oklahoma Choctaw, Professor of Ethnomusicology,
UCLA
Rose
Ann Hamilton -Mountain Cahuilla
Victoria
Levine - Professor of Music, Colorado College
The Lenape Delaware Dance Group - Bartlesville,
Oklahoma
Ernest
Siva - Cahuilla/Serrano, President & Founder,
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center
Sean
Owen - Educator, Documentary Filmmaker
Mark
Tahbo - Hopi Tewa Potter
Curtis
Zuniga - Delaware/Isleta Pueblo, former Chief, Delaware
Tribe of Indians
Jennifer
Ben - Navajo, Cellist
Byron
Oliver Fenix - Navajo, Musician/DJ
Sydney Poolheco - Hopi, Musician and
Singer
Additional guests to be announced.
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Events
Open to the Public
Each day, the visiting scholars and artists will discuss
a wide range of topics dealing with art, music and anthropology
in Native America with slide lectures, presentations and
demonstrations.
The
Workshops
The workshops (full descriptions below) offered during
the festival July 12-18 include:
Cahuilla
Basketry - Rose Ann Hamilton
Hopi Tewa
Pottery - Mark Tahbo
Mesoamerican
Instruments - Ernesto Olmos-Hernandez
Native
American Flute Making - Marvin and Jonette Yazzie,
Ernest Siva
Navajo
Inlay Jewelry - Richard Tsosie
Navajo
Weaving: Beginning & Intermediate - Barbara Ornelas,
Lynda Pete
Native
Plants for Food, Medicine & Utilitarian Uses-
Barbara Drake & Lorene Sisquoc
Living
off the Land: Cahuilla Survival Technology - Kim Marcus
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See the
Adult Courses page for descriptions of these additional
Native American Arts workshops offered June 29-July 11.
Hopi
Jewelry
Santa
Clara Pottery
Native
American Beadwork
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Cahuilla Basketry
Rose
Ann Hamilton
July 13–17
Course # NACB Ø1
One-week session
The Indian tribes of
California produced baskets of great diversity and beauty.
The exquisite baskets of the Cahuilla, in particular,
are recognized among the highest form of the basket making
art, and in recent years the Cahuilla have experienced
a revival in the tradition.
Each student will learn
how to create a basket of his/her own during the workshop
using yucca, sumac, juncus and deer grass. On a field
trip to the nearby Cahuilla Reservation, students will
be taught identification of plants used in basket making
and will learn how to prepare the plants for use.
Tuition: $625
Lab fee: $35 (Includes materials, field
trip transportation and use of tools in the class)
Enrollment limited
to 10 students.
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Hopi-Tewa Pottery
Mark
Tahbo
July 13–18
Course # NAHP Ø1
One-week session-includes Saturday am firing
Master potter Mark
Tahbo makes a special return visit to Idyllwild Arts to
teach his popular pottery workshop. Students in this workshop
will learn the traditional Hopi method of creating polychrome
pottery. Revived at the turn of the century by Hopi potter
Nampeyo of Hano, the ancient Sikyatki style of Hopi pottery
is recognized and collected throughout the world. Students
will learn the Hopi techniques of coil building, stone
burnishing, painting with natural pigments, and firing.
The natural clays and
paints are provided by the artist, and are gathered from
special places on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. These
materials are considered to be sacred and the clay sources
may some day run dry. There is enough clay for each student
to make 2 to 3 small pieces of pottery – all that
can be successfully completed in the week-long workshop.
This is not a production pottery course, but a careful
examination of the delicate process of Hopi pottery making
and the cultural foundation from which the art is inspired.
Tuition:
$625
Lab Fee: $45
Enrollment limited
to 15 students.
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Mesoamerican Instruments:
Creating Sounds of Nature
Ernesto
Olmos-Hernandez
July 13–17
Course # NAMI Ø1
One-week session
Imagine being inspired
as you form ceramic ocarinas and whistles with your own
hands, discover new ways to play them and learn intriguing
history of pre-Columbian instruments. Begin each day hearing
ancient legends that honor the power of music. As the
day progresses, your creativity will be stimulated and
your hands will shape various instruments. The instructor
is widely recognized as an innovative artist and for his
vast knowledge of ancient Mesoamerican people, their celebrations
and legends. He integrates his Maya, Aztec, Zapotec and
Mixtec roots and traditions with music. Don’t miss
this rare opportunity to work with him in creating your
own unique version of these ancient instruments, and then
learning to play them.
In this workshop, students
will:
Materials:
Download
Materials List
Tuition:
$625
Lab Fee: $20 (includes clay and other
materials)
Enrollment limited
to 15 students.
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Native American Flute
Making
Marvin
and Jonette Yazzie
Ernest
Siva
July 16–19
Course # NANF Ø1-A
Intermediate: 4-day session (Thurs.-Sun.)
July 17–19
Course # NANF Ø1-B
Beginners: 3-day session (Fri.-Sun.)
In this workshop, each
student will construct and decorate a six-hole flute under
the guidance of an experienced Navajo flute maker. They
will also learn some history of flutes as well as the
care and handling of their newly created instrument. During
the course, ethnomusicologist Ernest Siva will teach the
basics of flute playing and each student will receive
a small booklet of flute music.
Beginning students
(3-day session begins July 17) will use basswood, new
this year, for the body of the flute. They will carve,
shape, oil, tune and finally decorate their flute. The
Pentatonic scale will be used to tune the flutes and students
may choose the key (from F to A).
Intermediate students
(4-day session begins July 16) will work alongside beginners,
but will create a Grandfather flute, using body measurements
and mostly hand tools. Wood will be local mountain wood
from trees killed due to lack of water and the Bark beetles.
Keys F to A. The intermediate section is designed for
those students who have already completed a flute in this
workshop in prior years.
Materials:
A complete materials list will be sent upon registration.
Tuition: $425
(Beginning, 3-day session)
$525
(Intermediate, 4-day session)
Lab fee:
$40 (Beginning, 3-day session)
$55
(Intermediate, 4-day session)
(Includes wood, materials
and the use of tools and equipment in class.)
Enrollment limited
to 10 students.
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Navajo Inlay Jewelry
Richard
Tsosie
July 13–17
Course # NANJ Ø1
One-week session
The Navajo adopted
the art of jewelry making from the Spanish after contact,
taking the art to new heights and establishing a style
that is now considered to be the “traditional”
Navajo style. Today, there are many Navajo jewelers who
are moving beyond that style, designing contemporary pieces
of jewelry which reflect a new Native American reality.
Artists are creating colorful collages and patterns with
beautiful stones and shells set in gold and silver. In
addition to turquoise and coral, it is not unusual to
find lapis lazuli, purple lavulite, diamonds, pearls,
malakite, jet stone, jade, melon shell and other stones,
shells and gems in contemporary Native American jewelry.
Working closely with
one of the leading contemporary Navajo jewelers, students
will learn the techniques used to create such pieces.
They will design patterns, cut, grind and prepare stones,
and set the stones into basic silver forms (rings, bracelets,
earrings, bolos, etc.) which they have created. Participants
without prior experience in silversmithing will also be
introduced to the basic concepts of shaping silver.
Tuition: $625
Lab fee: $35 (Includes the use of all
tools, equipment, and consumables such as solder and compounds.
An additional charge will be made for all silver and stones
used. A small selection of turquoise and other stones
will be available for purchase, but students are encouraged
to bring their own stones if they have preferences on
colors/stone types. Students may bring their own silver,
tools, stones, and a work lamp which must be clearly marked.)
Enrollment limited
to 10 students.
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Navajo Weaving: Beginning
& Intermediate
Barbara
Ornelas, Lynda
Pete
July 6–10
Course # NANW ØØ
July 13–17
Course # NANW Ø1
One or Two-week
session
Students will have
the rare opportunity to learn the art of weaving from
one of the Navajo Nation’s premier weavers, Barbara
Teller Ornelas from the Two Grey Hills region of the Navajo
Reservation. She will be assisted by her sister, Lynda
Teller Pete. While instructing and demonstrating, Barbara
and Lynda will share personal stories and experiences,
allowing participants the chance to gain fascinating insights
into the world of Navajo weaving.
Beginners:
Students will learn the traditional method of Navajo weaving
and will begin by learning how to prepare an upright Navajo-style
loom for weaving. The majority of the week will be spent
designing and learning how to weave a 16” x 24”
rug. In order to complete the rug and learn how to finish
the piece, it is recommended that students continue for
the second week. Beginning weavers may enroll for the
full two weeks or in the first week only. For beginners
wanting to weave only, pre-warped looms will be available
(must preorder).
Intermediate: Students
will learn more advanced weaving techniques and more intricate
patterns, and the rug may be any size. Students who have
begun a rug in this workshop in previous summers may bring
their rugs to complete. Intermediate students (those who
have taken this course before or have had previous basic
training in Navajo weaving on an upright loom) may enroll
for the full two weeks or in the second week only. Intermediate
students must bring their own loom and it must be set
up for weaving before class begins. If you wish to warp
your loom, you must come the first session, even if you
are a returning student.
Materials:
Students may wish to bring a seat cushion and small lamp.
Tuition:
$625 per week
Lab fee: $45 beginners (Includes warp
and weft materials and the use of a loom and all tools
in class. Looms, additional wool [6 skeens provided],
battens and combs will be available for purchase). An
additional $65 required if requesting a pre-warped loom-must
be preordered. (does not include purchase of loom).
Intermediate
students: no lab fee (wool and warp will be available
for purchase)
Enrollment limited
to 10 students per week.
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Native Plants for Food, Medicine & Utilitarian Uses
Barbara Drake
& Lorene
Sisquoc
July 11-12
Course # NANPØØ
Two-day session plus evenings
This workshop is devoted to the gathering, preparation,
and preservation of the native plants still used by our
Southern California tribes. Students will have the opportunity
to process cordage plants such as yucca, nettle, dogbane
and wild iris which were used to strengthen shelters,
make nets, lash a canoe, string beads to wear around the
neck and more. On the final day, students will help prepare
a native plant feast which will include processing acorns,
mesquite beans, pinon nuts and chia into edible dishes.
Many wild greens and medicinal teas will part of the menu.
Special highlights of the weekend will include: a presentation
by Katherine Siva Saubel, honored elder
and author of the Cahuilla tribe, who will have plant
samples and discuss their uses as food and medicine; an
evening outing to local rock art sites with Daniel
McCarthy, tribal liaison and forest archaeologist,
who will discuss the meaning, historical significance
and importance of preservation of these sites. Each participant
will receive a Native Plant Resource Guide and Cookbook.
Tuition: $195
Lab fee: $15
Enrollment limited to 20 students.
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Living
off the Land: Cahuilla Survival Technology
Kim Marcus
July 18-19
Course # NACS Ø1
Two-day session
In this “hands
on” course, students will be using various tools
and techniques to create traditional objects and structures
used by the the Cahuilla and Serrano people of Southern
California. Students will learn how to gather and process
the materials needed to create these traditional items.
Day one will focus
on the making of a Southern California Indian arrow and
quiver. Each participant will construct arrows using bamboo
cane and arrowweed, learn ancient techniques of knapping
obsidian into arrow points, make hardwood foreshaft arrow
points, and process deer tendon (sinew) for attaching
feathers and arrow points. Participants will have the
rare opportunity to construct a traditional Southern California
Indian quiver processed from the yucca plant stalk. This
process entails hollowing the stalk, processing the yucca
plant into fibers for the strap, and decorating the quiver.
On day two, students
will work together to construct a traditional Cahuilla/Serrano
willow-framed dome brush house. The day will include cutting
long willow poles, splicing willow bark and using yucca
plant fiber for tying the poles into a dome frame, and
thatching the brush house with either tule, wild grass,
or palm fronds. Students should expect moderate physical
activity throughout the workshop.
Tuition: $195
Lab fee: $35
Enrollment limited to 12 students.
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"I am
a professional artist ( a painter), an enrolled member
of a recognized Indian tribe, and an amateur silversmith.
My hopes for the class were to learn craftsmanship techniques
that would advance my developing interest in silverwork.
Those expectations were more than fulfilled: I felt
I had learned a whole new craft in one week! But the
unexpected part was the enormously supportive and nurturing
artistic environment created by the two (actually three,
counting the wonderful Mrs. Saufkie) instructors, and
the stimulating creative atmosphere at Idyllwild. I
never could have imagined that at the age of 65 I would
feel as creatively challenged and charged up as I did
back in my school days, but I did."
- Joseph Knowles, 2008 Summer
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