Artistic DNA

In my DNA runs strands of artistry and I hope to pass that on down my genetic pipeline. For my contribution, I hope that it will be in the literary arts of creative writing as I have little (drawing) to no (jewelry-making) talent that has been manifested so far.

 

These three artists each have an item or items that are held by the Smithsonian at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

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My great uncle Harrison Begay (1914-2012) was a distinguished Dine (Navajo) artist. I never met him, but my mother tells me about him and how much he looked like her father. Her father died when she was in her early twenties. When she was older, Harrison would stop by to visit her and her first husband, Carroll Yestewa, when they lived in Phoenix. NMAI: 61 items (drawings and paintings)

 

Carroll Lewis Yestewa (1937-1995), or Cal as he was known, was the father of Cheryl, my half-sister. Cal was from the Hopi villages of Kykotsmovi and Oraibi. He was known for his Kachina carvings. NMAI: 1 item (Hano Clown kachina)

 

 Cheryl Yestewa (1958-2019) was known for her high quality handmade turquoise beads and stunning jewelry pieces. NMAI: 1 item (turquoise necklace with lizard pendant)

 

My niece, Piki Wadsworth, is now continuing the family tradition through her skilled craftmanship working with turquoise, silver, lapis, red spiny oyster and others.