Star Liana York - Cloud Dancer

Fewer than 5 in edition, please call for availability. In a recent interview with a freelance arts writer, Star said, "I don't work from models. Often I don't even have an image in mind of what the figure is supposed to look like when I start. The process has more to do with a peripheral vision, and recognizing and eliminating what's wrong to get at what's right." Before she began sculpting this piece, Star had been thinking about the situation confronting many Indian people today regarding their place in the modern world, and how that connects to their participation in rituals honoring traditional beliefs. "Cloud Dancer" was the result. There is a chill in the morning air at San Juan Pueblo, where the Cloud Dance, which is usually held in early spring because of its associations with agriculture, weather control and fertility, is about to begin. The women who will perform, some having thrown a blanket over their shoulders to stay warm, all wearing elaborate headdresses made of twelve eagle feathers in a fan on top of their heads and carrying ears of corn, slowly make their way toward the plaza where the male dancers are waiting. In that contemplative moment this young Pueblo woman takes the opportunity to reflect on the contentedness that follows from participation in an activity that will reinforce her sense of tribal belonging. In the serene expression that Star has given her, a wholeness radiates from within that is derived from having found a balance between past and present in her life.