CORTEZ – The Navajo for generations have created sand paintings for use in sacred ceremonies. Diné artist Bento Yazzie has a unique take on the art form, but he struggles to describe what it’s like to paint in his style.
“To me, it’s like more flavor, more – I don’t know how you would explain it,” Yazzie said. “It’s just unique. That’s what I like about it.”
Instead of painting on sand on the ground, Yazzie glues layers of sand onto canvas, creating a textured surface.
On Saturday at the Cortez Public Library, Yazzie shared his art form and method at a workshop on texture painting in sand.
Like Yazzie, the amateur artists who attended couldn’t quite find the words to explain how it feels to paint on a textured surface.
“I don’t know,” Cortez resident Barb Headley said. “It just feels different.”
She painted a fox underneath tree branches. As she painted, she found it was difficult to create straight lines and sharp edges on the sand-covered canvas.
Max Harrison, who traveled to Cortez from Norwood to attend the workshop, said he liked how Yazzie combines aspects of Native American spirituality with Christian messages.
“Benton’s artwork has a depth that a lot of artists aspire to with the creativity of it,” Harrison said.
Yazzie, who lives in Cortez but is from New Mexico, often includes Bible verses in his paintings as well as birds, lions, tigers and messages of peace and unity. He said he has been volunteering for the past two years at the Christian Discipleship Center in Cortez.
For Yazzie, art is a way to give back to the community, help people and bring an open-minded attitude. He began painting as a child, he said, and it helped him deal with life.
“It was therapeutic for me because I grew up in an environment with alcohol ... it was kind of an escape for me,” Yazzie said.
At the workshop, he said he wanted to give people the freedom to paint anything they desired. He said he wanted to let them get a feel for the textured canvas.
For the 20 or so people who attended Yazzie’s workshop, it was a worthwhile affair.
“I love it,” Dolores resident Sissy Pittenger, who painted a sailboat, said. “I absolutely love it.”
sdolan@the-journal.com
