Artrain USA—Native American art on rails<br>

Joe Maktima

Joe Maktima, is a contemporary native artist whose paintings are now an important component of many private art collections nationally and internationally as well as significant museums across the country.

His acrylic and metal leaf on paper painting, “Daybreak” is his contribution to the current Artrain USA collection. Maktima describes this mixed media piece as being a part of the Window Series.

He said that the concept evolved from the domestic ruins of the Anasazi, a culture, which is his ancestral lineage. He wanted to convey his impressions both sympathetic to and conscious of spirituality and nature.

The themes of his work are rooted in the culture and teachings of his father and grandfather, practitioners of traditional ceremony and life ways. He describes these window forms, which appear in his paintings, as views that can be interpreted as looking outward or inward, as inside one’s self.

Patrick Smith

Flagstaff-based noted Navajo silversmith and jeweler, Patrick Smith uses a variety of techniques to create his jewelry. Stamped motifs enhanced by engraving produce sandy textured surfaces and reticulation—a lengthy and technically challenging process utilized by Faberge and other 19th century jewelers. Smith uses this technique to render and interpret traditional native design motifs in his work.

The flared Crown Dancer ring, which travels with the exhibition, was inspired by the headdresses of Apache dancers. The ring is inlaid with turquoise and Australian opals. The motif on each side of the ring represents the power of lightning to bring life-giving water to earth.

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