Junior Youth Field Trip: The Arts in Gallup

We did a brave thing yesterday. We took 15 junior youth on a field trip to Gallup.

And you might imagine it being a crazy, out-of-hand, lets-never-do-this-again kind of trip….but I was astonished at the level of maturity displayed by the junior youth throughout the four hours. They let their nobility shine as the group learned about various art forms and the ways in which artists make a living.

We first visited the New Mexico Pottery Company, where the junior youth were given a tour of the pottery-making process, from making slip to firing. Then we were treated to a tour of Chester Kahn’s Mural of Light artwork at the Ellis Tanner Trading Post, led by the artist himself.
A little background: The Mural of Light is a painted strip of portraits encircling the inside wall of the trading post. It portrays Navajo leaders beginning with the long walk up to the present. The mural took 7 years to paint, and about 2 weeks per portrait. The portraits were first drawn free hand by Chester based on photos, some of which were in black and white. He then meticulously painted in acrylic and oil, and with incredible life and detail.

Junior Youth from the Querino group watch a demonstration on how to trim a pot and cut off unwanted or excess clay.

A selection of detailed pottery

This design is done completely by hand. The symmetry and straight lines look precise enough to be done by a machine.

A sampling of shapes and designs.

"Horse Hair" pottery. The curly lines are actually made with long horse hairs placed on the wet pottery and fired in the kiln. The horse hair is taken off later, leaving this pattern.

A Junior Youth from the Querino group and a child from a Children's Class in Sanders admiring the pottery.

A junior youth from the Houck group and a child from the Children's Class in Sanders.