Shane R. Hendren, Master Metalsmith, Artist of the Year 2007-2008

Shane R. Hendren was born in the fall of 1970 in Gallup NM, 30 miles south of his hometown of Tohatchi on the Navajo Nation. As a three year old his mother observed his desire and ability to draw. He drew what he was surrounded by - horses, cattle, cowboys, and indigenous people. As he matured, Shane continued to draw, paint and explore any creative avenue that was available to him.

Shane concentrated on art and agriculture while attending Moriarty High School at Moriarty NM. In the summer of 1987, the Marie Walsh Sharp Summer Art Institute at Colorado College, recognized his work and dedication to the arts, so he was selected to study and improve his skills at the institute.

Shane studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe NM, graduating with a degree in Museum Management. In 1991, the Governor of New Mexico, Bruce King, recognized Shane for his artistic and academic accomplishments at IAIA.

Shortly after graduation, his creativity, design skills, and sensitivity to the handling and display of art and artifacts was recognized by the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of the American Indian in New York City. Shane was contracted to assist in the installation of their very first exhibit. Upon returning to New Mexico, he completed the installation of the inaugural exhibit at the new IAIA Museum.

Although still involved in the arts, the museum work did not satisfy Shane's personal creative needs. Therefore, he enrolled at the University of New Mexico where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts Degree in Studio Arts. Shane was simultaneously riding bulls professionally and producing jewelry. He became proficient at advanced metal smithing techniques such as marriage of metals, mokume, and various forms of casting.

Shane has won countless awards at the New Mexico State Fair including Best of Show 2002. He has received awards at the juried shows at the Eitlejorg Museum's Indian Market, the Heard Museum's Indian Market, and Santa Fe Indian Market.

Shane has continued to produce winning work. However, his focus remains on his children: his son, Cody, also an artist, and his daughters, Kateri, Casey and Kyra. Shane continues to push his art to the limits to show his children and the world what is possible. Shane is a true example of art imitating life.

Jerry Rousseau (top)

Born in Farmington, New Mexico, J. Rousseau is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe. He is a descendent of a Lakota Sioux clan chief, and his great-grandmother (Marcella-"Unchi" Grandmother in Lakota) was honored at the 1976 United States Bicentennial. An artist for the past 30 years, Rousseau studied art St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas, and studied leathercraft privately with master leather carver Bill Gomer. Rousseau works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and leather pictorial sculpture.

Rousseau focuses on Native American and Southwest topics, particularly those with a spiritual theme. A regular participant in Native American religious ceremonies-- both as a drummer and sweat lodge leader-- Rousseau has a deep alliance with Native American spiritual ideals. His personal spiritually has also been enhanced by his training, since a child, in Eastern philosophies, meditation, and martial arts.

Rousseau's martial arts experience relates to another major theme in his work: the Native American warrior path. Rousseau is a world class martial arts expert and has a background in the military. Rousseau has traveled extentively overseas. These two seemingly divergent topics-- spirituality and the hard-edged emotions of conflict--create a powerful tension in Rousseau's work that is evident in his strong use of color and his striking images.

To learn more about Jerry Rousseau, click here.

Joe Belt (top)

Artist, Joe Belt, grew up in west Texas with an eye for composition and a love of the outdoors. He trained in the fine arts at Texas Tech University. His art has been shown nationally and collected in half a dozen foreign countries.

Joe works with many subjects such as wildlife, portraits and ranch life, but is best known for his highly detailed pencil drawing of American Indian subjects throughout North America. Texas Tech published some of his earliest work in The Pencil Drawings of Joe Belt. In addition to his pencil drawings, his work in pastels, charcoal and watercolors have been featured on movie posters, book covers, album jackets and architectural murals.

Joe currently lives in Columbus, GA. His most recent drawings have concentrated on the native cultures of the Southeast. He is a charter member and on the board of directors of the National Western Art Association and a member of the American Academy of Fine Arts.

To see more of Joe Belt's artwork, click here.

Donald Vann (top)

The images of full blood Cherokee artist Donald Vann speak of peace and tranquility, of solitude. They speak of yesterday's tradition and tomorrow's promise. Through his work, Donald takes the viewer to a place that is as real to him as the tangible world. To see his paintings is to feel the crunch of snow beneath one's feet, to hear the wind whisper through the aspen trees, to smell the wood smoke and buffalo hide tipis. It is to know the soft-spoken man behind the paper and paint.
Donald Vann

"All my life," Donald explains, "I have had this desire to paint. With images I can express thoughts and feelings I could never put into words. Through my art I am able to transcend the limitations of the spoken word."

But it is more than just his Native American heritage Donald strives to share. Warriors on horseback, a medicine man greeting the dawn, young maidens gathering wood are only the means of conveying moods that are much more universal. He uses those images to tell how he feels about the unseen forces that influence life. Donald draws his greatest inspiration from the earth and sky, from the rhythms of nature. His creations have a mystical quality that allow the viewer to share some of the inner facets of the Indian soul. "In our world, there is an unspoken quality, a feeling that touches and flows through everything--all of us as well as all things of the earth. If one listens to these forces, he will find himself painting instinctively with the feeling of his heart, about his ancestral beliefs and the way people live today."

These spiritual elements have been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. "Growing up, I was always a loner," Donald recalls. "I spent a lot of time hunting, but that was really just a way of being by myself out of doors. That is where I felt the most comfortable and in tune with the natural spirits evident in all things."

When he wasn't camping with his grandfather or hunting in the woods near his boyhood home outside Stillwell, Oklahoma, Donald remembers painting--or trying to, anyway. "I didn't fit in too well at school. Even the one art class I took, I flunked. But then, I always thought education got in the way of learning. I was much more interested in the teachings of the holy man for my clan and in the survival and herb skills my grandparents taught me."

By combining his love for art and his Cherokee heritage, Donald is able to create moving images that speak of the Indian way of life and capture the hearts of art collectors worldwide. He is recognized for his haunting images of his people's heritage, especially his portrayal of the Trail of Tears. He was proclaimed "one of the best known Indian artists working in this century" by the Cherokee National Historical Society. The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian honored him with their top painting award for watercolor painting. He has also won first place ribbons in juried competitions at Oklahoma's Red Earth Exhibit, the Colorado Indian Market and the National American Indian Arts Exposition.

More than 50 different editions of his signed and numbered prints are now collectors items. He has taken top honors at shows from Texas to Ohio, and Minnesota to North Carolina. And yet, public acceptance is what matters most to Donald.

"Through my images," Donald says when asked of his success, "I hope people will be inspired to learn more about the customs and values of America's native people. Our traditions teach many things that can help all people. In today's fast-paced world, it is too easy to get cut off from one's heritage and lose sight of the things that are truly important. If I can make people see with their hearts instead of their eyes, then my art has spoken. Then I have succeeded.