The virtual exhibition, Masked Heroes: Facial Coverings by Native Artists, is broken into themes based on subject matter. Four-Leggeds includes the mammals and an amphibian, many of which are culturally significant, especially the horse, bison, and canines.
- Lily Hope (Tlingit), "Chilkat Protector," thigh-spun merino and cedar bark warp, merino weft yarns, tin cones, ermine fur. Finger-twined and three-strand braids on an upright frame, with tension controlled by fingers/hands only. ... That’s what art means. It means our teachers don’t die. It means the spirit of all things lives on in us, in our art. We have a responsibility to honor and carry on the teachings, to keep creating, to share our version of spirit with others, so when we pass, we’ve left the world more beautiful, through our weavings and through a joyful spirit.
- Michelle Tsosie Sisneros (Santa Clara Pueblo), "Strength," cotton linen fabric mask, hand-painted with acrylic paint, designed and sewn by artist. This elegant mask challenged our classification system since it features birds and abstract elements, but it was placed in Four Leggeds due to the prominence of the bear claw.
- Elizabeth Stephens (Caddo Nation of Oklahoma), "Horse Girl," four layers of tightly woven, 100% cotton fabric and interfacing, machine-sewn, elastic hairband ear loops.
- LeAndra Madalena (Navajo), "Heroes Just for One Day" (series), cotton fabric, lightweight Pellon, pipe cleaners, and elastics. 50 masks to help nurses and doctors in New Mexico.
- Heather Levi (Kiowa/Cheyenne/Arapaho) and George Curtis Levi (Cheyenne/Arapaho/Lakota), "Blue Buffalo Run Mask," cotton fabric designed by my husband George Levi with accent fabric, wire nosepiece, pocket sewn in to add additional filter.
- Heather Levi (Kiowa/Cheyenne/Arapaho) and George Curtis Levi (Cheyenne/Arapaho/Lakota), "Red Buffalo Run Mask," cotton fabric designed by my husband George Levi with accent fabric, wire nosepiece, pocket sewn in to add additional filter.
- Heather Levi (Kiowa/Cheyenne/Arapaho) and George Curtis Levi (Cheyenne/Arapaho/Lakota), "Black Horse Ledger Mask," cotton fabric designed by my husband George Levi with accent fabric, wire nosepiece, pocket sewn in to add additional filter.
- Howard La Fortune (Tsawout First Nation), "Bear Snout," yellow cedar and leather, hand-carved, sanded inside and front, hollowed by hand with curved knife. Photo: Sydney Woodward. Best of Show.
- Catherine Kasler (Cherokee Nation), "Native Prairie," Pendleton banana and brown flannel, side view.
- Yvonne Jolley (Yurok), "Yurok Frog Hand," 100% cotton batik fabric, Yurok medicine design, pieced together.
- Carolyn Calvin (Navajo), "SPAM 4ever," SPAM cotton fabric designed by Michael Miller. The masks were created for a family whose love of SPAM is forever much like its shelf life. In days of quarantine, SPAM makes life and breakfast burritos and potatoes and tortillas and frybread so much better.
- Catherine Esquivel (Diné), "Masks made in a hurry and of desperation," 100% cotton fabric, thread, 20-gauge craft wire for nose area, used sewing machine and pair of scissors.
- Carol Wren (Curyung Tribal Council, Iñupiaq), "Pretty Kitty," cotton with fleece earpiece.
- Carol Wren (Iñupiaq, Curyung Tribal Council), "Dog Mushing," cotton with fleece earpieces.
- Nasuk Ahyakak (Native Village of Barrow, Iñupiaq), "Mask: Polar Bears," 100% cotton and elastic.
- Nancy Brown-Garcia (Narragansett), "Wolf Mask," seed beads and other beads on wool
Abstraction | Four-Leggeds | From the Water | Plant World | Two-Leggeds | Winged Beings
2 Comments
I’d like to order your black and white MMIW mask how can I get one ,thank you
Hi Lottie, if you check out the artist listings on the main page, you can find social media links for the artists so you can contact them directly. If an artist doesn’t have a link listed, you can email us, and we’ll forward your email directly to the artist in question. Thanks for your interest! —FAAM Team