Ever since Grandmother Spider spun her first web, the spider has been an important part of Native tales and oral histories.  Weaver, protector, creator of the stars in her dew drop covered web, she has been a part of many lives throughout the millennia.

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Fleet, resourceful – sharp of wit, rabbits are sometimes considered a symbol of the Southwest.  The, long-eared Jackrabbit and soft rounded Cottontail are often favorite characters in Native American handwork. 

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The flash of fire against the glossy black plumage were captured by the Native Artists who made this brightly stylized pot and the tiny attentive Red Winged Blackbird coral and onyx fetish.

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The striking polka-dot patterns of the male Long Nosed Leopard Lizard are an almost irresistibly fascinating pattern to see in the desert – so improbable that it makes one feel that the spirits must have had a special role for one so decorated. 

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Juror's Award Winner, touring with the Paint the Parks Exhibition - 2015

Tiny children's moccasins are decorated with bright black, yellow and red beaded stripes -- could they have been inspired by Monarch butterfly caterpillars? 

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Juror's Award Winner, Paint the Parks Exhibition 2012

The agile mountain sheep of the Grand Canyon were a spirited part of the Havasupai's world.  Tiny reed prayer figures were woven for millenia, and their portraits woven into everyday items, as seen in this basket. 

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition - 2012, representing Grand Canyon National Park

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Two egrets stand beside a Hohokam bowl that's decorated with a pattern of water swirling swirling around planted fields -- perhaps meant to resemble the ancient Hohokam irrigation canals?  The Hohokam's complex of irrigation brought life to the Sonoran desert, and were a haven for migrating waterfowl in ancient times. 

Touring with the Paint the Parks exhibition, 2015

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Frogs were thought of as "rain bringers" -- their songs were prayers for good rain, and with it, successful harvests.

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Rain and water are vital for desert survival -- and the creatures and plants that are associated with that life-bringing moisture had special meanings for them. Toads come out of hibernation in those tiny windows of rain, joyously sharing their songs while ferns unfurl their graceful fronds to catch the raindrops. This pot celebrates the fern's graceful leaves, while a green desert toad hides in the lichens, waiting...... 

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition -- 2014

We think of the Southwest as grand vistas and far-off mountains on the horizon. But the tiny jewels are there at our feet -- the intricate patterns on butterfly wings, bright sparkles of tiny wasps and beetles -- these inspire imagery and weavings for the artists' hands.

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition -- 2011, representing Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

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Guardians of the night, whose image is seen in the moon -- the graceful (and improbably huge eared) Black-Tailed Jackrabbits are perfectly adapted to the hot desert environment.  Their grace and speed make them favorite subjects of the ancient peoples of the Southwest. 

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" national exhibition

The wonderful bold banded patterns of a corn snake, the delicate geometry of a Sphinx Moth's wings grace a bright woven blanket and a deep rich hand-sculpted pot.

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition - 2009, representing Old Spanish National Historic Trail.

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Vibrant outstretched wings, iridescent blue on black -- patterns which flickered in the winds are repeated in this Mimbres bowl.

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition - 2011, representing Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

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Bold stripes, dots and patterns -- lizards and grasshoppers were close companions of ancient peoples. This Collared Lizard's vibrant scale patterns both helped him blend in, and yet stand out to the sharp eye, as he himself sharply eyes a boldly patterned grasshopper.

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition, representing Gila Cliff Dwelling National Park - 2007

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A Blue-tailed Skink and a tiny Blue Spot butterfly -- with their namesake blue as deep and bright as the sky -- have climbed up onto the wall where an Anasazi dipper has a tiny pool of water still in it, just enough for these two to sip.

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" national exhibition

Summer rains bring a rare, yet bountiful crop -- the fruit of the prickly pear cactus -- a treat greatly enjoyed by the desert tortoises, who are portrayed on these Mimbres and Casas Grande pots.

Tiny pitter patter of little feet in the depth of the night, as the little night creatures help themselves to some of the vibrant colored corn harvest.

Toured with the "Paint the Parks" travelling exhibition, representing Grand Canyon National Park.

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The intricate patterns of desert Fritillary butterflies and the geometric camouflage of Leopard sand gecko's could have been the inspiration to the Salado potter's hands.

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Magpies, with their brightly patterned plumage, striking patterns and bold personalities -- bring life into the quiet desert open spaces.  They capture the imagination as they did for the artisans who captured their likenesses in this pot and hand carved onyx and mother of pearl fetish.

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Colorful, improbable in their brightly patterned masks, ancient artists added their portrait to this Mogollan spirit bowl.

Seemingly precariously balanced -- yet stable -- this pot creates dynamic shapes and shadows frozen in time.

Vibrant green and orange spots decorate Sonoran toads, thought to be bringers of rain.  This pot celebrates these colorful toads and the delicate butterflies who drink from the rain-moistened gravels and sands after a rare summer storm.

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