Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 52

a member of the well-regarded Ortiz pottery family. But in New York City, known as one of Donna fabric designers. always been involved in Ortiz said. in the day we afford the couture fashions, so we made our His favorite to knock off was out-there designer Alexander McQueen, and Ortiz made his own goth skirts and corsets. In 2002, however, while showing some of his pottery and clothing at his booth at Indian Market, he met Bebe Monnahan, who was at the time one of top creative assistants.

job was to find different influences for next line. I had my pottery, and my goth skirts with my patterns on Ortiz said. that caught Karan was working on her spring 2003 line, he said, and used designs for some of her ready-to-wear clothes for her Donna Karan The Collection line. For his own clothing and used designs that are inspired by his traditional pottery designs. was able to put my traditional designs on he said.

sun, moon, the river, corn designs, whatever. I just tweaked them a little For several months he lived the high-fashion life in NYC with Karan who he still talks to occasionally and partied his way as a VIP through Fashion Week. He got the bug. Now, in the second year of marketing his own brand of fashions under the Indigene label. There will be a show of his new V.O.

label jewelry and Indigene label handbags at La Posada de Santa Fe on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 7:30. moving to mass manufacturing. my second year of he said. His high-end T-shirts paved the way for his leather handbags and accessories.

Stressing tradition If Ortiz represents the high- fashion end of the Diverse Arts category, Austin Box keeps tradition alive. Box, a Southern Ute from Colorado Springs, makes traditional war shirts, leggings, vests and jackets that sell for more than $3,000 at Indian Market. kinda got started Box said. 75 now. I was into Oriental culture for over 40 years, and I just thought to myself, am I doing this when I have my own rich At first, he said, it was hard to sell his work at Indian Market because, used to that.

The buyers that would come in were more interested in But now he has several collectors who buy his beaded, hand-tanned, leather goods. whole thing is, beading is what takes so long. You bead the strip over the shoulder, down the arm, and that takes a couple of Box said. it together, that only takes a couple of For inspiration, however, he has to travel to museums with exhibits of traditional wears. made friends with many at museums who let him carefully check out the clothing.

try to get a chance to get a close look at it and talk to the he said. Box has taken a special interest in authenticity, and has learned where he can find ermine and horse hair, or red and blue trade cloth, than going to a store and getting red Coats and mor coats For artists like Ferrara, however Indian Market is the best place to sell their works. Nearly 25 years ago while Ferrara was in fashion-design school in Arizona she got a job at the chic boutique Regatta in Scottsdale. had to make portfolios. The store owner let me have a little stand to sell my she said.

make coats. I use fine wool blankets and fabrics. Most of the blankets I use are all out of private She also has her own line of coats with custom blankets. She sells a Geronimo coat a tribute to the Apache leader, and this year a blanket a tribute to Santa Ana Pueblo called For makes its debut. Her coats are form-fitting tailored jackets.

long, short and everything in between. Long coats start at $375; short ones, $325. The business keeps her busy, too. For Indian Market prepared two roller racks of jackets, each with 40 coats. the golden she said of the market.

And the egg has been good to her. In 1999, Ferrara won the prestigious Challenge A ward at the Clothing Contest. so many wonderful native fashion Ferrara said. scattered around the market like everybody else. all amongst our peers.

We all respect each other so much and just But not all native designers are Southwestern. David, from Seattle, is one of the favorites at Indian Market for her exquisite lamb shearling coats. For 13 years sold her jackets that are hand-painted with designs from Northwest Coast tribes at Indian Market. many Northwest Coast she said. brings something different to Ironically, David said, her booth is too busy during market to participate in the Clothing Competition, but she does show her jackets at Eldorado Hotel before and after market.

Fully half of her jackets are bought by New York fashionistas who are looking for a warm, yet different, jacket. Her jackets range from $1,400 to $4,500, and nearly sell out every year at Indian Market, she said. timeless. My coats will never go out of David said. art, beautiful.

just, we focus on the beauty of something. We just want to get that certain beauty out AR TS F2 HE UNDAY OURNAL A LBUQUERQUE UGUST 14,2005 AN AYFIELD Journal Staff Writer I hard to put yourself in J.D. shoes. For decades now, Challenger has made a name for himself as a painter of portraits of Native Americans. Head-on, the images show expressions and colors that are remarkable, and that have made his work collectible and pricey.

So why, after making a name for himself doing something so recognizable and profitable would J.D. Challenger change? like General Motors all of a sudden making airplanes, or Colgate making chocolate bars. have to change. You have to he said. And sometimes, you have to take chances as an artist.

His new work, which will be on display for the first time at a solo show at the Thomas Moxley Gallery on Friday, Aug. 19, shows more of an understanding of symbolism and a message in his work, something shied away from in the past. The work really fits with personality. When you talk to him about his traditional, or older, works, he always talks about the people behind the images, the models worked with. He tells the stories told him.

It only makes sense that Challenger, of Taos, would paint those stories. thing of it Challenger said, are still real people. The models are real people and these are their stories and facts and things shared with His new work is more involved in telling a story than his previous acrylic paintings, which were more about an expression or wardrobe detail. In many ways, they were hyper-realistic. For the first time, incorporating in-your-face symbolism and meaning and a bit of abstract expressionism in the work, disregarding much of the realism grown to rely on.

Ta ke the painting A model looms over bloody tepees and gold hills, holding a bleached buffalo skull. gold is symbolic of the gold he said. the symbolic gold of the Black Hills, they were supposed to be protected under He gives you enough clues in each painting so you get the statement he wants to make. leaving nothing to chance. historical, but he said.

me, this is cutting Through the years Challenger has broken his own molds and has changed his style. But never strayed too far. are things that have been rattling around up there for some he said. think sometimes a change, a always afraid But, at the same time, he admits he is a bit afraid. After all, collectors have been commissioning him to do work, and they expect something.

Something Challenger. a little he said. the years, done work close to this, but this is the first time 90 percent of the work in a show looks like ironic that started on new work when a book, a retrospective of his work called Walker: The Art of J.D. is being released. The book, which will be hot off the presses when he signs copies at the opening, features 120 of his traditional images his older work.

Regardless of his butterflies about showing the new work, Challenger said that for the first time in 10 years felt rejuvenated. just all of a sudden, I feel like I got my batteries charged. I want to be limited by he said. more I do this, the more ideas I Challenger expands work beyond portraits from PAGE F1 Latest show is heavy on symbolism Taos artist J.D. Challenger is taking some chances with his new work.

me, this is cutting Challenger said. For pieces like Challenger is incorporating strong doses of symbolism and expanding his canvasses beyond the portrait. Austin Box, shown here in one of his traditional war shirts, said it takes two months just to do the beadwork on one of his $3,000 designs. Fashion may be hottest category at Indian Market ADOLPHE Jeanette Ferrara said she prepares all year to sell dozens of her handmade coats at Indian Market in Santa Fe. If you go WHAT: Indian Market show reception for J.D.

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