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| Photo copyright Aji, 2014; all rights reserved. |
It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, and we've gone all the way back to southern New Mexico in the late 19th Century. With a few detours to Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma.
The featured piece is a stunning pastel of incredible depth by an Isleta Pueblo artist, a portrait of Goyathlay, who the rest of the world knows as Geronimo. The post itself is about the man and his history.
A few words about things I didn't cover there: Toward the end of the post, there's an embedded link that takes you to history brochure published by The Inn of the Mountain Gods, the casino and resort of the Mescalero Apache Nation, where Goyathlay's descendants live. If you're even in New Mexico and have a chance to get down there, do: It's stunningly beautiful country, in the shadow of the second-highest peak in the state, their sacred White Mountain (Sierra Blanca, on the maps). Great ski country, too. The Inn itself features very good food, incredible Native art, and at certain times of the year, performances by the Apache Crown Dancers. If you've never seen them, put it on your list of things to do.
Second, there's a bit in there about the history of his name[s], and some discussion of Saint Jerome. In an odd confluence, Taos Pueblo's Catholic patron saint is Saint Jerome, and the big celebration at the end of each September is the Feast of San Geronimo.
Third, the artwork: It looks like a watercolor, but it's pastel, and incredibly realistic. It's done on kaba paper, a kind of paper made from the compressed wood of a kind of Japanese birch tree, and it's perfect for this particular piece. It's fully matted and framed, and the frame itself is similarly suited: It's reclaimed barn wood, rustic but very strong, just like the heart of the subject within its boundaries.
So please go take a look. If you like it, please share via the social-media buttons at the bottom of the post, and at the bottom of Wings's main page.
P.S. You can
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