Northern New Mexico is host to a wide variety of native american cultures. Because these cultures lived (and live) within the world of nature and intuited or recognized the personhood of plants, animals, weather elements and other natural phenomena, native american art reflected the flora, fauna, planets and topographical elements of the landscape. It also represented the energetic processes of nature such as lightning, rainfall, patterns of wind and bird flight, snake’s undulations and the unfolding spirallic pattern of plant growth. The following pages show the same forms appearing in the matrix of the mineral kingdom.
EAGLE
HUMMINGBIRD
OWL
BEAR
GRANDMOTHER OWL
ARROW OF INTENTION WHICH
SEEDS THE FUTURE
In geology the term “ventifacts” refer to abraided surfaces created by wind and blown sand. These flat or linear forms are striking as they reflect the inherent earth element forms as they meet the spirits of air.
“Caliche” is a white deposit on rocks or soil which is a product of organic putrifaction so these patterns are likewise a cross current of environmental affect on the pure creational forms.
WOLF ROCK with
ventifacted surfaces
QUETZALCOATL“Desert Varnish” is a deposit of iron and/or manganese which is tan/brown to black and also paints the rocks and soils here. Native american artists used flat sections of desert varnished surfaces to incise their designs or petroglyphs to expose the colored substrate underneath, thus lending drama and precision to their images.
EAGLE’S NEST
SPIRIT OF THE MOUNTAIN