Always featuring something new and exciting, each month Tohono Chul Park’s Artist of the Month mini-exhibit shows recent work created by a different local artist. Displayed just inside the entrance of the Exhibit House, the artworks are affordable and available for immediate purchase, supporting both the Park and the artist.

August artist of the month is Robin Chlad

Robin has resided in Tucson for 26 years. Coming from New York State the girl welcomed the weather as we all do. Immediately taken by the southwest culture, the flora, the fauna, the influences of folklore from Mexico and the Native Americans, she began to create, in clay, things that spoke to her heart. Much of her work is self taught but she did attend Pima Community College to learn the basics. Then following college, she created her company Art & Clay Designs and began manufacturing designer clay pieces that were functional art.

Robin’s recent works has evolved blending mosaics with sculpture; hand built “inspirational” box forms, house forms, and images of nature.

You may have seen her work in past events such as:
Harlow’s Gardens Spring Art Show
Chris Bubany Show
Tucson Museum of Art Craft show and Gift Shop
St Phillips Craft Show

Log on to her website to see other items and archives.
www.artclaydesigns.com

Collection piece of the month
Apache Fiddle and Bow
By Chesley Wilson, Western Apache
agave stalk, paint, string, shell, turquoise
Dimensions of fiddle: H: 12 ¾” W: 4 ¾” D:2”
Dimensions of bow: H: 15” W: 1” D: ½”
Gift of Vicki Donkersley and Peggy Hazard
2007.9.1ab

Musical instruments have been created in most, if not all civilizations across the world. A culture’s music helps them express who they are as a people, and are often strongly attached to ceremonies or important cultural beliefs. The Western Apache of the American Southwest are known for their unique instrument: a one stringed fiddle made from the stalk of an agave plant. Played with a wooden bow, with strings made from either horsehair or modern violin strings, it is known as Tsii’edo’a’tl which translates to “wood that sings” or “wood singing.” Interestingly, this instrument is unique to the Apache people, and the only stringed instrument of the kind is produced by the Seri people of northwestern Mexico. The two instruments are often compared due to their individuality among their neighboring cultures and the similarities of the two styles of one-string fiddles.

Artist Chesley Wilson, one of the last makers and players of the Apache fiddle, is an activitst for the continuation of the tradition. He was born in the village of Bylas on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in the White Mountain area of Arizona in 1932, and was raised in the traditions of his people. He learned the skill of Apache fiddle making from his uncle Albert Goseyun at a young age. He is truly a diverse individual who has served his country in the Korean War, has worked as a silversmith, and is now an active medicine man, a singer, dancer, and artist. He is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild, has appeared in television shows that highlight the Western Apache people, and has been a featured model for Wrangler Western wear.

Over the years Chesley has been honored with several awards drawing awareness to his culture and the unique fiddle. He was the recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities National Heritage Fellowship award in 1989 and contributed to a musical cd compilation, produced by the Museum of the American Indian, titled “Wood that Sings” which featured traditional native-made instruments from Guatemala and Mexico to America and Canada. In the book “When the Earth Was New,” he discussed Apache fiddle and flute making. In 1990, Chesley was extended the honor of performing The Blessing Song for Earth Day at the 20th Earth Day celebration in Washington D.C. played on the traditional Apache fiddle. Two years later, he received the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award and was named an “Arizona Indian Living Treasure.” Chesley’s fiddles are part of museum collections in Arizona, the Smithsonian Institution, and others across the U.S.

The fiddle itself shows how nature, art, and culture are closely linked. It is cut from a section of the agave, known also as a century plant. The likely subgenus used would be Agave chrysantha, Agave palmeri, or Agave parryi. These plants feature a shoot that may reach 15 – 20 feet high and can attain a base thickness of 10 inches. Though some agaves bloom several times, most subgenus simply bloom before they die. The stalk eventually dries out and becomes hard. After it falls to the ground, the fiddle maker has the perfect material to create the instrument. The stalk is split lengthwise, and completely hollowed out. The two ends are then reattached and holes are drilled into the sides for the string and tuning peg. The bow is made of flexible wood and attached to a string of black horsehair or a modern violin string. Before 1920, the violins featured simple decorations with geometric designs in black paint. After 1920, the decoration became more colorful and complex. Chesley’s work, for example, includes painted designs in black, red, yellow, white and blue.

Fiddle music is part of important ceremonies throughout the year. It enlivens gatherings with its buzz buzz-type sound, which may be described as being a cross between a dulcimer and a soft flute. It is played by placing the lower end against one’s chest, using one or more fingers from the left hand to hold the string while moving the bow with the right. Usually played by itself, its distinguishable sound is a characteristic of Apache melodies.

Recently, Apache fiddles have become a popular collector’s item. The fiddle in our collection was donated by Exhibit Curator Vicki Donkersley and former Assistant Exhibit Curator Peggy Hazard in 2007, after it was featured in the Park’s Music to My Eyes exhibit. It may be currently seen in Tohono Chul’s educational exhibit 25 Milestones of Tohono Chul Park at the Desert Discovery Education Center.

Buckley, Daniel. “Wilson Has A Face of A Model, Mind Of An Educator.” Tucson Citizen. 7 August 1993.
Dittemore, Diane Dean. “A Comparison of Seri and Western Apache One String Fiddles.” An Abstract of a Thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences University of Denver, August 1978.
Ferg, Alan. (ed.) “Western Apache Material Culture.” Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1987. pg. 162 – 163.
Griffith, James. “Southern Arizona Folk Arts.” Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1988. pg. 120 – 124 and 153 – 163.
Griffin-Pierce, Trudy. “Native Peoples of the Southwest.” Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000. pg. 361 – 393.
Marshall, Ann. “Rain.” Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 2000.
McAllester, David. “An Apache Fiddle.” Ethnomusicology. September 1956. Vol. 1 no. 8.
Negri, Sam. “Chesley Goseyun Wilson Plays The Wood That Sings.” Arizona Highways Magazine. November 1996. pg. 22 – 23.
Seymour, Tryntje Van Ness. “When the Rainbow Touches Down.” Phoenix: The Heard Museum, 1988. pg. 27 – 62.
Reichling, Jessica and Jessica Glick. “About Chesley Goseyun Wilson” The University of Arizona Music of the Southwest website. 14 November 2002.
Welch, Jill Ellen. “Singing Wood.” Arizona Highways Magazine. November 1990. pg. 46.