Artist Dan Namingha comes from a succession of historically significant artists, and he continues that tradition with his own work. Born and raised in the Hopi village of Polacca, Arizona, located at the base of First Mesa, Dan now lives surrounded by the sky and...
Mark Kelso is an artist’s artist: he’s one of those rare and talented people who’s good at everything he does, which some might find annoying if he wasn’t also one of the most charming and engaging personalities you’ll ever meet. Hailed as one of the...
“Getting lost so you can find your way back” has been a theme, both professionally and personally, for architect Larry Yaw. And his adult children like to remind him of this regularly, he says, recalling the many adventures the family took in the backcountry around...
When Max Baucus’ term as ambassador to the People’s Republic of China ended in 2017, he and his wife, Melodee Hanes, had a decision to make — though it really wasn’t much of a conversation. “We wanted to live in Montana. We knew we wanted...
Had David Frederick Riley kept growing beyond 6 feet, 2 inches tall in 10th grade, he figures he might have pursued an NBA career. Fortunately for the world of Western art, however, his height had maxed out. “Around my junior year of high school in...
How perfectly apt that Wayne Delyea, maker of heirloom-quality Western contemporary furniture, should live and work in what was once the largest pecan orchard in Texas, in the community called Pecan Plantation, southwest of Fort Worth. About 80 of those trees still grow on his...
Lisa Gleim has loved portraying the natural world’s denizens for as long as she can remember. “When I was 6, I drew a picture of a clown with a lion, and it won a ribbon at the county fair. I still have it framed on...
To label Vanessa Compton’s artwork as “collage” may at first cause some people to erroneously imagine the sorts of projects done by weekend crafters. One look at The Lives of Man, however, quickly puts such preconceptions to rest. At more than 3 feet wide and...
In one of America’s most spectacular holiday displays, the Mission Inn presents its annual Festival of Lights for six weeks starting the day after Thanksgiving. More than four million electric bulbs decorate the square-block property in an extravaganza that includes upwards of 400 animated figures,...
Susan Kates, my favorite English professor at the University of Oklahoma, had just moved to the state from the Midwest when I was her student in the 1990s. I admired the way she embraced her new home. Often, she wore cowboy boots to class and...