Keepers of the Tribal Arts

Take talent, rich cultural traditions, and a dedication to family and community and you have the essence of visual artists Marian Denipah and Steve Wikviya LaRance.

Denipah, a Navajo/Tewa painter, and LaRance, a Hopi stone sculptor, are both jewelers as well. The couple lives and works in Flagstaff, Ariz., with their four children.

Denipah’s studio is “the little yellow house behind the little purple house” on the south side of town. There, with music blaring, she dances to her favorite tunes and creates extraordinary oil portraits.

“I put as much time into it as I can,” she says, “especially now that the children are in school all day.”

The painter recently completed a 12-portrait series of children’s faces, titled In Your Face—each a sensitive study capturing the special qualities of the subject. All but one has sold. The one she is keeping is of her eldest daughter, Nizhoni—now studying premed at the University of Arizona—when she was 16.

LaRance began sculpting soon after he and Denipah met in 1981 in Santa Fe, N.M., where she studied at the world-renowned Institute of American Indian Arts. He had learned woodcarving from his uncles when he lived in the village of Moencopi on the Hopi Reservation, and Denipah has been his biggest booster.

Carving Kachina figures—wooden representations of the hundreds of messenger spirits to the gods—was one possibility, but LaRance wanted more freedom of expression. “Kachina carvings have to look exactly right,” he says, “with just the right clothing and colors.” So LaRance decided to work in stone, a medium rarely used by Hopis.

From alabaster, marble, and limestone, LaRance creates forms that are both distinctively Hopi and uniquely his own. He also carves exquisite tiny stone animals decorated with feathers and shells. He calls these “effigies” to distinguish them from similar carvings called “fetishes” made by Zuni artists. “I really respect the Zuni carvers,” he says. “They’ve created a distinctive art form, and I don’t want to ride on their coat tails.”

Together Denipah and LaRance make silver and gold jewelry, using a traditional Hopi technique called tufa casting. The design for the piece is carved in reverse into tufa, a soft volcanic stone, using precision dental tools. The two-part mold is assembled, then molten sterling silver or gold is poured in. The cooled casting is removed from the mold, bent into shape, finished, and polished.

Each painstakingly carved mold is good for only one try, and it is a delicate operation to get a good casting. “Sometimes the casting doesn’t take,” LaRance says. “Maybe the heat doesn’t escape, or maybe the tufa is dead,” meaning it may have gotten wet or be too old to be heat resistant.

Both artists see their work as a way to maintain a solid connection with their cultures. “Sometimes I’ll be working on a carving,” says the Hopi sculptor, “and I’ll call my mom to find out what she knows about the animal or what the Hopi word for something is.”

Denipah’s paintings come from a rich mix of current culture and diverse heritage. Her father is Navajo, while her mother is Tewa, from the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico. Denipah attends powwows and other American Indian events, where she photographs subjects that will later be used in her work. She and her younger children—Shon Dien, 9, and Cree, 8—go on hikes to find ancient petroglyph images that also find their way into her art.

The couple is devoted to passing on their traditions to their children. Nakota, 11, is already an accomplished hoop dancer, whose performances are scheduled into the family’s calendar of shows, museum demonstrations, and visits from collectors.

LaRance’s contributions go beyond his art. He has been nominated for the Community Spirit Award, given by the First Nations Fund to American Indian artists practicing traditional or contemporary native arts and who are involved in the community. He also serves on several boards of directors and is an adviser to the Heritage Program at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Denipah and LaRance are not only preserving traditions for the next generation but using their artistic skills to educate and delight people worldwide.

Tanya Lee writes and paints in Flagstaff, Ariz., where she lives with her husband and their two horses.

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