In 2010 NAFOA launched a new program to promote and support Native American artists. Please join us in celebrating and supporting these talented artists.

AVIS CHARLEY
The beautiful ledger artwork featured on our conference booklet and signs at the March 2011 conference was created by artist, Avis Charley. Avis is a proud Dakota and Navajo woman from the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota and the Naakai Dine' clan in New Mexico. She has been an artist her whole life and comes from a family of artists. Her paternal grandmother was a Navajo rug weaver, and grandfather a silversmith, and uncle a realist painter.

Avis is an accomplished ledger artist. She is one of the few women who create this type of art. Ledger art is best described as a transitional art form by Plains Indian as they adapted from using animal skin to discarded accounting ledger paper, where they told their daily stories of battle, hunting, and courting. This genre lasted approximately from 1860-1910.

Avis has been accepted and participated in prestigious art shows nationwide. Such shows include Phoenix Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Santa Fe Indian Market, Los Angeles Autry Indian Arts Marketplace, and NMAI Winter Art Market in Washington DC.

Avis currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she plans to continue her education at IAIA.

To learn more about Avis, or to purchase art please visit www.avischarley.com; call 818 428-7133; or e-mail avischarley@yahoo.com.

FAYE LONE Ed.D
NAFOA commissioned Faye Lone to design and make a one of a kind quilt for our 28th Annual Conference, September 2010.

Faye is from the Tonawanda Seneca reservation. She is a single mother to six children and has taught most of them how to sew, with a few of her daughters helping with the fabric art and apparel business over the years. Dr. Lone now lives in the DC area, working in Indian Education. In addition to advocating for the unique educational needs of Native Americans, she is a talented artist. Her works are currently in the collections of three museums and she has won numerous awards for her artistic skills. Dr. Lone is working toward expanding her business to include building a small assembly shop and shipping center for her art and apparel lines on her home reservation. She designs fabrics and creates unique treasures and apparel.

To learn more about Faye, or to purchase art please visit www.fayelone.com; call (716) 341-2479; or e-mail info@fayelone.com.

TODD LONGBOAT
In 2010 and 2011, Artist Todd Longboat sculpted the unique eagle awards from soapstone. Todd was born in Hamilton, Ontario where he lived for several years with his parents Clarence Longboat and Dorothy Thomas. Todd is a member of the Onondaga Nation. He inherited his wolf clan lineage from his mother Dorothy Thomas. Todd’s parents decided to move the family back to the Six Nations reserve just outside Brantford, Ontario and this is where Todd began developing his skills as a carver.

Todd began carving at age 11, but at this age his first medium of choice was wood. He learned to carve False Face masks, but was then introduced to Brazilian Soapstone a medium he excelled at working with. Todd comes from a family of carvers; both of his parents are carvers as well as his brother. His well-known grandfather, Chief Jacob Thomas was also a carver. Todd is grateful to have received his grandfather’s gift for carving.

Todd learned his carving techniques from observing family members and others from Six Nations carve. He then adapted and molded those techniques into his own over the past 20 years. When he carves a piece, he looks at the stone he has chosen and begins carving what he sees in that stone with a knife and file. Many of his ideas come from the clans systems of Six Nations, his favorites being the wolf and eagle. Several of his pieces also depict male and female spirits. He often creates unique abstract pieces and even carvings depicting a dream catcher within the piece. Todd continues to carve beautiful pieces that can be found all over the world.

To learn more about Todd, or to purchase one of his carvings, please call 519-717-4047.

UTE MOUNTAIN POTTERS
The beautiful pottery awards given during the March 2011 conference were made by artists with Ute Mountain Potters. The Pottery Factory lies in the valley formed by the Sleeping Ute Mountain on the west and the cliffs of Mesa Verde National Park to the east. These lands were once home to the ancient Anasazi people who mysteriously vanished several centuries ago. The ruins of the cliff dwellings and villages of the Anasazi have yielded many examples of roughened earthenware and finely decorated pottery.

The Utes, a nomadic tribe until the 1800's, now inhabit this beautiful and geographically diverse land. Their unique paintings contain elements of the geometric designs of the Anasazi. However, Ute artists have, over many years, adapted these designs and included their own representations of their land. To encourage the talents of tribal artists, the tribe formed the pottery enterprise in 1973. Ute Mountain Indian Pottery employs about 30 tribal members in all phases of production and management. The pieces of pottery are not only durable for everyday use, but are of museum quality for your collection. Pottery is poured by hand into ceramic molds, then turned and cleaned. Artists create their own original designs and sign each piece. The pottery is glazed by hand and fired in modern kilns. The result is a line of high-quality pottery that is one of the few truly Native American products available.

To learn more about Ute Mountain Potters please visit www.utepottery.com.

RAY VALDEZ
The beautiful painting featured on our conference booklet and signs at the September 2010 conference were created by artist, Ray Valdez.

Ray Valdez is of Nahua/Yaqui Indian ancestry. Ray’s earliest encouragement for his art was in junior high school from his father. Ray felt accepted for his talent when his father framed and hung one of his paintings in his office. This simple action has influenced him to persevere in the arts. Ray knew then that art would be an intimate part of his life.

Over the years he has created many beautiful watercolor and acrylic paintings to reflect his own personal experiences, as well as religious visions. Ray has been involved in gaining religious rights for himself and other Native American people. Teaching people to view Native philosophy as a legitimate religion allowed Ray and others to seek spiritual guidance, endure their right to gather, to smoke their sacred pipe and to pray to the Great Spirit.

Ray teaches art at Coral Academy of Science Charter School and with other community organizations. Valdez has produced acrylic murals for the city of Lompoc, California and various locations in Reno, Nevada. His works are currently displayed at the Fellowship Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Valdez Studio (Reno, NV), Sky Wolf’s Gallery (Teton Village, WY), Western Traders (Folsom, CA), Four Winds Trading (San Diego, CA) and the Lilly Vigil Gallery (Nevada City, CA).

To learn more about Ray, or to purchase one of his paintings, visit his on-line gallery at www.rayvaldezstudio.com.

Making a Submission
NAFOA will continue to support Native American artists and welcomes submissions year-round. Currently we seek (1) publishing rights to a picture of an artists work to utilize for our booklets and signage needs; and (2) artwork suitable to present as an award to honorees of our Lifetime Achievement and Financial Leadership Awards. Artwork that may be well suited for awards include, but are not limited to, stone carvings, wood carvings, pottery and statues.

If you are interested in making a submission, please email the following items to art.nafoa@gmail.com:

• Artist Biography
• Artist Photograph (optional)
• Photographs of sample artwork
• Artwork pricing structure

If your artwork is utilized, NAFOA will offer you the following:

1. Complimentary admission (not including travel and lodging) to the NAFOA event the artwork will be utilized at.

2. Complimentary booth to display and sell artwork at the event.

3. An introduction on stage at our Awards Ceremony at the event.

4. Your biography and contact information in our Awards Ceremony booklet distributed to all conference participants.

5. Your biography, photograph and link to your website on the NAFOA website.

If you have any questions, please e-mail christina@nafoa.org or call 602.466.8697.