This great example of the
towering Shalako Mana was carved by one of the finest Hopi carvers
today, Loren Phillips. Loren was born in Moencopi, Arizona in
1942. Loren consistently wins "Best of Show" awards,
especially at the annual Hopi Artists exhibition at the Museum
of Northern Arizona. Because Loren participates in the ceremonial
dances, he knows every symbolic detail that is significant to
each Kachina doll he carves.
Loren's tools for carving
are predominately pocket and hunting knives, from which he carves
the finer details of patterns, textures and decorative lines.
He is very particular about the sanding and finishing of his
dolls, especially the last steps of staining and painting. Loren
has developed his own method of applying stains to give the surface
a beautiful luster, through which the grain of the wood is still
visible. All of this is very evident when you look at his kachinas.
Loren is very meticulous about
the creation of his dolls, and his hallmark is the motion and
action he puts into every doll. This piece is another example
of the fluid motion that Loren is able to achieve with the wood.
The Shalako Mana was an appropriate choice for this piece of
wood, with its natural curved characteristics. You can easily
see how the hair, yarn, and feathers, flow gracefully along the
natural contours of the winding wood.
The Shalako Mana has all the
traditional Hopi features and is true to form. The kachina has
been carved out of a single piece of cottonwood, except for the
smallest accessories.
Loren Phillips is featured
in every book about Hopi carvers, including "The Art of
the Hopi" by Jerry & Lois Jacka, "Kachina Dolls"
by Helga Tiewes, "Kachina Doll Carving" by Erik Bromberg
and "Hopi Kachina Dolls and their Carvers" by Theda
Bassman.
Loren has signed the bottom
of the base: "Loren Phillips, Hopi, Moencopi Village."
"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)
