Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Butterfly Dancer

 


I was at the Heard Museum on Saturday for another one of their members 'Artful Mornings' lectures.  As usual I enjoyed the presentation very much.

Of course I couldn't leave the museum without a stop in the gift shop.  That's where I saw this small painting by PJ Payestewa. It's called "Poli Mana Poli" which I believe translates to Butterfly Girl. I'm not sure why this image grabbed me but, I love this piece.

Payestewa is of Hopi heritage and that tribe performs a ritual dance to celebrate the late summer harvest of corn.  Back in 2017, I photographed some Butterfly Dancers who were performing at the Desert Botanical Garden.  You can see them here.

5 comments:

Travel said...

Such rich cultural and artistic traditions in that corner of the country. If we had the money and the space, the wonders we could collect.

RedPat said...

I love it too, Sharon.

Diaday said...

Butterfly Girl is beautiful.

Steve Reed said...

Beautiful work! And it's interesting that you could connect it to the butterfly dancers that you've seen in the past.

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

This is lovely, Sharon!