Arvin Saufkie
Star Kachina
12 ½"
total height
"The Star [or Sohu] Kachina
is a strange mixture with his fringed hunting shirt and kilt
of radiating turkey feathers. He does not resemble the usual
Hopi kachina. He appears in the Mixed Kachina Dance but never
comes as a single kachina.
Normally the points of the
stars have red stained "warrior" feathers on the tips,
and the top of the head is covered with sheepskin dyed black,
rather than real hair."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (125)
Arvin Saufkie was born April
28th, 1977 at Tuba City.
His parents are Jenny Roy and Andrew Saufkie. His mother is of
the Coyote Clan and his father is from the Bear Clan. Murphy
comes from a family full of fine artists.
His mother’s family are
well known for their fine Kachinas. Her brothers are Coolidge,
David and Silas Roy. Andrew’s father is the famous Hopi
artist, Paul Saufkie.
Arvin has two other brothers who carve Kachinas. They are Murphy
and Ruben.
Arvin learned to carve by
watching his uncles carve. He says that he learned from Silas
Roy and that Silas gave him his first piece of wood. He use to
sand for Silas and began carving his own Kachinas in 1995.
Arvin says “You see a
little bit of my uncle’s dolls in my dolls.” Arvin
likes to try new things and his favorite Kachina doll to carve
is the eagle.
