Cold Bringing Woman
by Kevin Pochoema

Click on Pic for Super Hi-Res Photo   16" Total Height with a 1 1/4" Base (approx. 10" avg. diameter) (Reg. Gallery Price: $18,000.00) Pre Show Sale: $14,500.00 (plus applicable shipping and handling fees) |  Back to Gallery  |

This Kachina was carved by Kevin Pochoema, who is dedicated to perfection and maintaining the traditional Hopi culture through his Kachinas. Kevin is recognized as one of the great Kachina doll carvers of his time. He is 34 years old and has been seriously carving since he was 15. His family is from the village of Paaqavi. By the time he was 26, Kevin was winning major awards at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial and O'Odham Tash Festival. He rarely enters his dolls for judging, as they are immediately purchased by serious collectors. (Kevin with a Work in Progress)

This particular version of the Cold Bringing Woman is one of the most spectacular renditions we've ever had (or even seen for that matter). Kevin has a knack for relief-carving some of the world's finest masterpieces. This carving is no exception. Obviously photos could never do justice to a piece like this.

Take special note of the flowing cape, the wind-blown hair, and the dangling rabbits, as the Cold Bringing Woman wanders through the village. This figure appears as though she is actually about to step right off the base. Truly, this kachina is a museum quality showpiece and would be the perfect center to any major collection.

More About Kevin Pochoema:

Kevin has an incredible ability to transform his dolls, it's almost as if the spectators are watching the Kachinas themselves. Kevin says: "I want to make my dolls flow...I like to show scenes that relate to the Kachina doll I'm carving." Kevin achieves this through natural looking movement and costuming. He is a master at elaborate detail and superior finish, which sets his work apart from other carvers.

Kevin is an expert at the use of oil-based paints and pigments. The allows him to create subtle variations and concentrations of color to enhance the very strong sense of reality. It takes much experimentation to get his color palette just right.

Kevin has carved this figure out of a single piece of cottonwood root. The items in her hands, the basket on her back, and the rabbit offerings are the only additions.

Even his bases are highly detailed. Kevin usually depicts his figures atop a village setting. According to "Art of the Hopi" "Detailed carvings in the bases of Kevin's wood sculptures often relate to the ceremony in which the Kachinas appear". This base was done in a more simple fashion, so as not to take away from the dramatic appearance of the Cold Bringing Woman. Small clusters of prickly pear cactus dot the desert landscape theme of this base.

Kevin Pochoema is featured on the cover of Art of the Hopi by Lois & Jerry Jacka and on page 67. He is also well represented in Kent McManis new book Hopi Katsina Dolls on many pages throughout the book. In it, Kevin states: "I keep trying to improve so I won't carve 'just another doll'."

Kevin is from Hotevilla, Arizona and has signed the doll: "Pochoema" on top of the base.

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The Cold Bringing Woman:

The Cold Bringing Woman, or Horo Mana, as she is called by Colton, is usually known by the name of Yohozro Wuhti.

Her most common appearance is on First Mesa during the Powamu. She carries a Hopi comb in her hand to muss up people's hair when she appears with Nuvak'china, her grandson.

As her name implies, she brings the whiteness of winter.

- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary (34)