This is December and every city and town and museum in the area is holding markets, art shows, and other opportunites to shop and get a unique gift for someone else or a personal gift. One of the nicer markets in the area is the annual Indian Market at the Pueblo Grande Archaeological Park in Tempe. We’ve gone for several years now and, since this is our last time in this area for a few years, we wanted to go again this year. It was established in 1977 to give native artisans representing many tribes an opportunity to sell their paintings, sculptures, jewelry, baskets, pottery, carvings and more, and also benefit the museum. But, not only are there several hundred artists with every kind of art, there is also entertainment, childrens activities and opportunites to explore the Native American culture. And, did I mention that there was fry bread?
We started the day at the Mesa Art Festival and enjoyed the entertainment by a young string quartet,
the juggler who is swinging a large knife under his legs while juggling two lit torches.
We also enjoyed seeing all of the various artists with their art. We met this potter who was demonstrating her craft.
We then parked our car and boarded the light rail into Phoenix. Now, since we had forgotten to bring any food along with us, we were excited to see a Circle K convenience store and gas station which had bananas and some fiber bars. A marvelous lunch, NOT. But at least it was somewhat nutritious and did its job of quelling the stomach pangs and quieting the runbles. A short walk across the street and into the Indian Market. We could hear the drumbeat of the entertainment as we walked through the parking lot but also smelled the aroma of Navajo fry bread and, since we had already had lunch, we indulged in dessert and shared a piece of this lucious treat. First things first.
We headed first for the entertainment stage where Derrick Suwaima Davis, a world renown hoop dance champion was dancing. We were privileged to see him before and were excited that we could see him dance again. A native of the Choctaw and Hopi nations, he began hoop dancing at the age of 3. He is now a 5-time winner of the World Champion Hoop Dance contests. And, the only one to have won 5 times. He also is one of the few who can hoop dance with 5 hoops. How does he not get lost in all those hoops?
What a privilege to see someone of his abilities and caliber here. He is amazing.
The art that was displayed here was exquisite, the colors were stunning and the range of artistic styles was huge, traditional, modern and everything in between. What a marvelous art show and what a great opportunity to purchase a unique intriguing gift for someone else or for yourself. And, judging by the crowd, there were many who were doing just that.
When the market closed, we wandered over to the light rail and took the steps to the airport connector which was built after the light rail was finished. Obviously the goal was to enable airport passengers to access the rest of the city using the light rail. We were intrigued by all the tiled art work in the floor. It was designed by Daniel Martin Diaz and called the Tree of Life. It is 500’ long and 40’ wide and was created from 34,398 lbs of aggreagate that includes abalone shell, native desert stones and recycled glass combined. It was poured into the outlines of the design made out of 36,740’ of aluminum, and then polished to a smooth surface that an withstand thousands of people walking on it. Practical and artistic.
But who can understand my description. Here’s the finished product.
We then hopped into one of the cars which runs along the track to see where it went. We thought it circled the airport and that we would end up where we started. It actually circled half the airport and then we had to get out and board the returning train. But it was a fun ride (luckily we are easily entertained) although being in front was a bit dizzying as we hurtled around the curves and up and down the rails.
Finally, we had see it all, boarded the light rail and headed on home.
We certainly had seen many different forms of art from physical to mechanical to traditional. But, then, art is all around us and makes our world more than just mundane.
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