Paul Sewemaenewa
Shalako
21 3/4"
total height
"The Hopi Salako Taka
towers seven or eight feet in the air, a long, slender, shoulderless
figure that bows and dips as he moves in a most graceful manner.
He is always accompanied by his sister, the Salako Mana, as wella
s Hahai-i Wuhti and the Tukwinong Kachinas.
"The two Salakos are
distinguisable only by a few details. The male has a pink face,
earrings that are pendant eagle plumes, and the turquoise-colored
moccasins of the men."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist Documentary (248)
Paul hails from Third Mesa
- the village of Hotevilla. He is a young carver at only 34 years
old, but has been carving since he was only 7 years old. Born
in Ganado, Arizona - he is of the Roadrunner and Greasewood clans
of Hopi.
He credits his uncles with
teaching him the kachina carving art. His favorite designs include
animals, morning kachinas, and maiden kachinas.
"This is a talent that
I have been fortunate to be taught by my uncles when I was very
young. Doll carving was a way to support myself with things that
I wanted when I was a child all the way to my adult life. This
has always been a means of supporting my family and myself.
"I enjoy carving because
every piece I create has a little piece of myself in it. Each
piece of cottonwood has a specific art form in it. When I start
carving the kachina, working within the wood, it will come right
out and show itself, but if I try to go against what is within
the wood, it takes longer and things don't usually work out the
way you want.
"I enjoy teaching my
carving talent to people who are serious about learning and who
are willing to make something out of being able to learn. My
carvings mean a lot to me. I don't make them just to make them.
I always think about how my carvings are and where they live
and how they are being taken care of.
"I am very grateful to
my uncles Bill & Willard Sewemaenewa for always pushing and
encouraging me to learn this art."
- taken from Paul's own autobiographical
statement
