Embrace hunger, thirst of curiosity
Jul. 30—Lining the walls of the Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, paintings incorporating artist Lee Sekaquaptewa's cultural identity fill the space — depictions of an owl, a coyote and a salmon showcase the importance nature and the land have among his people and their history.
The Dahmen Barn in Uniontown is hosting Sekaquaptewa, a multi-tribal Native American artist, during its newest exhibit, "Art by Lee Sekaquaptewa."
The exhibit can be viewed at 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday at the barn. The artist will be attending the exhibit at 1 p.m. Sunday to answer questions and talk about his art.
Lee Sekaquaptewa is from Phoenix, Ariz., but grew up mostly in the Yakima Valley. He is a tribal Native American, who is an enrolled Yakama member and a descendant of the Navajo and Hopi tribes.
Sekaquaptewa was interested in making art since he was a child, but has been taking art seriously for the past decade. When he first attended Washington State University, he studied music composition and piano, but Sekaquaptewa said he felt like he wasn't excelling in his classes and dropped out. Later, he came back to pursue a degree in art when everything clicked. Sekaquaptewa recently graduated from Washington State University in December with a bachelor's degree in fine arts.
Julie Hartwig, a director at the Dahmen Barn, said she met Sekaquaptewa at an entrepreneur start up and was impressed with his work. She asked him to do a show at the barn of his growing portfolio and give him experience putting together an exhibit.
Sekaquaptewa said his most used medium is acrylic paint. He said he enjoys it because it's quick and easy to use. Sekaquaptewa also likes using a sketchbook and has a tiny collection on his bookshelf full of doodles. Recently he's been creating art digitally and says he has more than 1,000 drawings on his iPad.
Along with the art Sekaquaptewa creates, he said he has always been interested in design and architecture. His grandma said this interest is because of his grandpa, who was interested in buildings and design. Sekaquaptewa also enjoys photography and cooking. He said his mom went to culinary school, and although she never finished, cooking still played a big part in his family and it came naturally to Sekaquaptewa.
A lot of Sekaquaptewa's art in the exhibit comes from cultural identity and dreams. He said creating is a weird process, that he can't control his creativity but when it comes, it flows.
Sekaquaptewa said creating art is a mix of what comes naturally and what is forced. He said he enjoys using his Yakama or Navajo dictionary to find inspiration and learn meanings to different themes.
Pieces in Sekaquaptewa's exhibit have significant cultural meaning. His work is inspired by legends, myths and stories he was told growing up. Metaphors and symbols are common in his art — in the exhibit, viewers can see the owl, both a wisdom-keeper and disciplinarian, and the coyote, who is a trickster and a teacher. He also painted salmon from the Columbia and Snake rivers, in honor of the creature his tribes relied on for sustenance.
Sekaquaptewa's advice to young artists is to continue to learn and embrace the hunger and thirst of curiosity.
"A lot of times we fail, but we're learning from those failures," Sekaquaptewa said. "Accept that and know you've accomplished something. It may not be a good day but it's going to be a better tomorrow. Have the perseverance and keep moving forward."
Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce
