Sharing the craft
Artist teaches mosiac at Hubbell Trading Post

Philander Begay's yei bi cheii mosaic is almost near completion. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

GANADO — Historically, Hubbell Trading Post was a hub of communication and information for the Ganado community and it continues today with the artist-in-residence program.

This summer, Robin Brailsford came out from Dulzara, Calif., to teach Navajo artists a new technique for making mosaics.

“What a fantastic place to work!” she exclaimed as she was putting out glass tiles to clean and work with. “As an artist in residence, this is heaven on earth.”

Brailsford is a public artist, which means she does large scale projects working with communities and professionals to create art mostly in public spaces.

She applied for the program to train a few artists in the technique that she discovered. She is staying at the guest hogan for visiting artists-in-residence at the trading post until Saturday.

“I invented this new technique that I think Navajos would be really good at,” she said.

One of the artists who took her up on the offer to train in the new technique is Philander Begay, who has been making the trip to the trading post from Round Rock for the past few days.

Begay sells jewelry to the store. Brailsford saw his work and thought he would be a good candidate to learn the technique. Begay typically makes silver tufa cast jewelry with Yei Bi Chei figures, but with the mosaic, he is able to make his creations on a larger scale.

His work on a large Yei Bi Chei figure was nearly complete Thursday morning. He needed to complete the feet and add stars in the background, he said.

This is Begay’s first time working with mosaics and he said he is enjoying the work so far.

“I like it. It kind of reminds me of inlay. It’s almost the same but blown bigger and a little easier,” he said.

The mosaic will have to be taken to Phoenix for the casting.

“The idea is we’re going to connect him up with Mike Riggs and they’ll cast this in concrete,” Brailsford said.

Begay can’t wait to see the end result.

“I’m thrilled to see how it’s going to come out when it’s in concrete,” he said.

Begay said he plans to continue working in the medium.

“I would like to even try one and put it on my doorstep — maybe a rug design,” he said.

Brailsford brought glass tiles to give away for people that want to try the technique.

She was enjoying her time at the national historic site Wednesday afternoon.

“What they put on their Web site about what it is and what you have to do are two completely different things. It’s far better than what they put on the Web site,” she said. “Your bench is a 10,000 pound slab of sandstone, your seat is a petrified log.“

Not only that, but you get to live in a national historic treasure, she added.

One thing that Brailsford noted was that there are no Native Americans applying for the artist-in-residence program at Hubbell.

“They have this fantastic program, and a disappointment is no Native people have signed up,” she said.