Partnerships

Hopi Katsina carvings carried by Native Seed Search

As we continue our exploration through art, we have been fortunate to have other galleries / shops wishing to carry our artwork. As an artist, creating work for other businesses can be rewarding in having your creations shown in other places. Creating artwork for other businesses can also be a challenge in that you want to make sure that you are not only creating work they appreciate, but also ensure that it will appeal to their customers. Taking the extras steps in matting, packaging, and providing information with the artwork helps in presentation. Please check out our page listing our partnerships and also take some time to visit their websites, I think they are all interesting organizations.

Ledger Art

Ledger art or drawings are a unique creation among indigenous people. Evolving from plains hide drawings, ledger art refers to drawings created by the Native Plains people who began to have access to accounting ledger books and other papers they gathered from Missionaries, Traders, Government Agents, and the United States Military. This style of artwork continues today and is a unique creation among indigenous people of North America.

These books that early native people acquired were often already contained writing whether print or by hand. This did not discourage them to just draw over it and create what would become a unique form of art.

My grandfather once operated a general store in the Hopi village of Munqapi in the early 1950s until late 1970.s / early 1980.s when he closed the store. I helped in closing the store and was allowed to keep some of the items from the store including his store ledger book. For many of the younger readers, a ledger book pre-dates computers and accounting software and like the ledger book I have, is used to record sales and other records related to the store. As for my grandfather's ledger book, he also noted the passing of people in the village and when Hopi ceremonials occurred.

I have acquired several ledger books and I use these to create my artwork. I find it challenging in balancing the artwork on pre-written pages that I feel both work together. You can view original ledger art on the original art page.

G Dawavendewa

My grandfather’s ledger book listing daily sales and original artwork on ledger page written on in 1957.