Oreland C. Joe’s heritage is Diné/Navajo and Southern Ute. He says proudly, “I find strength, faith and dignity through my heritage.” Travels to Europe exposed him to Greek, Roman, Renaissance and Baroque art and a later trip to Japan provided yet another influential perspective. He comments, “In my humble opinion, I’m just an artist who happens to be Native American. I find myself in a unique place of having the blessing of both worlds. And my goal and desire is to have more Native American artists to be in this place.”
Holy Men of the Bear Pipe, oil, 30 x 30”
Known primarily for his prize-winning stone sculpture, he is constantly experimenting, producing complex paintings and, more recently, color pencil drawings on paper that recall the 19th-century ledger drawings of his Southern Ute ancestors. The drawings come from his 15 years of research into traditional ledger drawings and the ten sketch books of ideas he has recorded over the years.
Dancing Under the Sun, colored pencil, 4 x 3”
Influences from his years as a sand painter and the songs his grandfather sang to him while tapping his fingers on his knee bring a sense of living history and spirit to his work—work with which he hopes to enrich the tribal awareness of young people.
His latest work will be shown in an exhibition at InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, December 3 through 24.
He describes his sculpture as being about shadows and highlights while color brings the spice to his drawings and paintings.
His 4-by-3-inch pencil drawing Blue Bird Sunrise is as full of impact in its simplicity as the complex 30-inch-square oil painting Holy Men of the Bearpipe, based on a tale of a Ute boy stolen by the Southern Cheyenne. 
Blue Bird Sunrise, colored pencil, 4 x 3”
In addition to his research into ancient stories and history, his research into ledger drawings led him to scour the countryside for paper. He did find a ledger from the time of gold and turquoise mining in Cripple Creek, Colorado, which he bought for $10. Following traditional practice, he says, “I left it for four days. When you get back to it, you bless it and smudge it, and it becomes yours.”
Joe’s work is rich not only with references from his own Diné and Ute heritage but stories from a period of cultural interchange that occurred when the federal government moved tribes to other tribal lands. —
Oreland Joe
December 3-24, 2021
InSight Gallery
214 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624, (830) 997-9920
www.insightgallery.com
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