Diné (Navajo)
Daily Living
This collection is focused on the Navajo, or Diné, tribe of the American Southwest, drawing inspiration from historic photographs that showcase their daily lives.
Original.
Inspired by historic photographs, each piece is hand-drawn on archival-quality paper, preserving the raw, expressive detail of charcoal.
This 18x24-inch artwork is made with the highest standards of preservation in mind. Each piece has the option to be set within a custom frame, complemented by a 2-inch acid-free mat to enhance its presence. Protected by conservation-grade UV protective glass, this museum-quality framing ensures the longevity of the artwork, safeguarding it from fading and environmental damage for generations to come.
Joy Marie Curtis Interview on this collection and her thoughts on the creative process.
Diné (Navajo)Daily Living
Originals & Limited Edition Prints
If you have ever caught yourself thinking that another culture is rude, you know a culture or an entire "different" group of people who live and die and love and laugh and celebrate and dance and sing and work and eat and sleep and cry and hug and exist for hundreds to thousands of years. Yes, if you ever catch yourself thinking an entire culture is rude—they might not be rude, but you might just not be a part of their culture.
And that is okay. Accepting that things exist whether you are or you are not a part of them is object permanence. Thinking that cultures are only kind if you are in the culture is like believing the sun only rises if the light graces "your" skin.
The sun always rises.
Cultures always exist, even if you are or are not a member of that specific group.
You have missed my point if you feel an extreme reaction to knowing that people live with or without you involved in their lives, want to pounce on a different culture until they embrace you as one of their own, or have you already convinced yourself no one likes you.
Slow down.
Sit in a moment of silence.
Take a soft breath.
You do not enjoy sunrises because the sun lifts you off the earth and into the clouds. Sunrises are beautiful just as they are. The serenity I feel when I think of sunrises invites me to be a respectful observer of another culture.
I know I always belong somewhere, but that does not mean I always belong everywhere. I can let "other" people exist.
Let their light shine.
Let them be their beautiful.
Even without my permission, people, like sunrises, will always exist.
This image of a Navajo family brushing each other's hair is one of my favorites. It makes me feel like a complete outsider—peacefully watching a family getting ready at sunrise.