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Community Corner

Cabot's Pueblo Museum hosts first Hopi Kachina Weekend on April 11-13

DESERT HOT SPRINGS (April 1, 2014) -- Kachinas are more than simple toys – they are the representations of the spirits that live on the peaks of Arizona’s San Francisco Mountains, given to teach children of the spirits place in the lives of the Hopi people.

 

On his travels throughout the country, Cabot Yerxa became entranced by the architecture and the Kachina of the pueblo dwellers. When he built the sprawling structure that is now Cabot’s Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs, he painted Kachinas on exterior walls his home.

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In hosting its first Hopi Kachina Carving Weekend, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 11-13, Cabot’s Pueblo Museum will honor the tradition of Kachina carving and Yerxa’s love of the art itself.

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Three carvers – Sandra Suhu, Darance Makwesa Chimerica and Eric Kayquaptewa – will work in the courtyard and their work will available in the Trading Post.

 

Most Kachina carvers are men, but Sandra Suhu began carving in the 1990s and is one of few women carvers. She is known for her traditional Kachinas.

 

After watching the men of his family carve Kachinas throughout his life, Eric Kayquaptewa began making the flat Kachina made for young children at 15. Now in his mid-30s, Kayquaptewa’s Kachina are highly prized and can be found in galleries from Arizona to Europe.

 

Darance Makwesa Chimerica has carved Kachinas for the past16 years. His work has been recognized in art shows and galleries across the country and was showcased in Japan in 2012. He is known for his use of natural pigments and the shape of the feet of his Kachinas.

 

Cabot’s Pueblo Museum is at 67616 E Desert View Avenue in Desert Hot Springs. For more information, call (760) 329-7610 or www.cabotsmuseum.org.

 

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