Artist shares his heart-opening journey with depression

For Steve Marti, overcoming obstacles in his life all began with the simple art of making things out of clay and other materials since he was a child. The love of pottery making began in high school, but soon this love affair fell to the wayside amongst the array of a busy life.

With fear being his biggest enemy, and having gone through his own traumatic ordeal, he quickly rekindled his passion for the arts. He realized that fear had stopped him from doing things and going places, but since becoming an accomplished pottery artist – fear no longer has a place in his life and he now passes this healing trade to others.

Marti calls his art “Hope Pottery & Arts” because he uses his art to give hope to those who may suffer from depression which may ultimately lead to suicide. Marti says it’s not too common to find that art opens a person’s inner self or pathway to experience some healing. He emphasizes that pottery opens a person’s heart and this is what people need.

“People working in art are able to focus and it opens them up,” he said. “Here’s all this trauma and stuff that is holding them shut … because of them focusing it loosens them up. Now they can see into something better where they couldn’t before, it opens up their heart.”

Marti says creating in an atmosphere of love can bring with it a sense of hope, and can destroy “hope-killers,” which are abundant in this area—violence, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, domestic violence.

“Without hope, an individual can easily resort to bad choices that make even daily life difficult,” he said.

His adventure fully began in 2009 when he was the chief financial officer for Western Indian Ministries, a Christian organization. Marti says he was working so much that he was hardly ever home. Ultimately, due to his tedious schedule, he wound up in the hospital.

“I thought I was having a heart attack. I couldn’t breathe, my chest was tight, but it was stress,” he said. “I told myself this was enough and decided to just quit. It was then that at that time I received a little money from my mother’s estate and bought my first potter’s wheel deciding that I wanted to do something with this.”

With support from his wife, and his faith in God, he decided to brush up on pottery skills and began to practice on it, so maybe he could someday teach this this newfound art of his. This is what brought Marti to Gallup.

“I am a potter. I am an artist. The results of the creating are not what is important, but the experience of the creating in an atmosphere of love, touching God and being touched by God,” he said.

He made some friends because of his art and one of them was the Laura Jijon, director of UNM-Gallup North Campus. She invited Marti to set up a studio at the campus to integrate art and the healing aspect of it with the adult education program.

“I work with adult education at the UNM-North campus and find that a lot of my students, about 85 percent, come from some sort of trauma life,” he said. “Alcohol, drugs, violence – all that kind of stuff in their lives makes it very difficult for that individual to talk about it. Overall, it’s been coming along nicely and now I have four potter’s wheels to teach the students.”

Marti says when the students are in a loving environment they become to come alive and begin to thrive.

THRIVING IN GALLUP

Since moving to Gallup, a little over four years ago, he’s opened his own makeshift small pottery studio and gas kiln. He’s become an active potter, displaying his work in ART123 Gallery, Makeshift Gallery, Gallup Coffee Company, as well as in the ArtsCrawl.

Marti helps students prepare to for their high school equivalency diplomas. He’s also studied the Navajo language for many years, teaching reading and writing to Navajo speakers, and Navajo language introduction to non-Native speakers.

Marti says Hope Pottery & Arts exists to provide a creative environment in a community of love that can lead to the transformation and healing of those in the area. HPA will be a place for classes, workshops, and seminars in pottery and other arts for people of all ages.

For more info on Hope Pottery & Arts contact Steve Marti at (505) 409-7973 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.hopepotteryandarts.com., facebook.com/hopepotteryandarts

By Dee Velasco
For the Sun

The temperatures outside were chilly but the discussions were filled with a heated determination inside the Calvin Hall at the University of New Mexico-Gallup on Dec. 3, when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham welcomed guests to a Public Safety Town Hall where she was joined by local and state officials for an open discussion on safety across New Mexico.

Crime and public safety remain a key issue for Gallup residents, and some of them got to ask the panel about the city and state’s efforts to confront these issues.

OFFICIALS ON HAND

Lujan Grisham thanked the efforts of Sen. George Muñoz, D-N.M., and Rep. Patty Lundstrom, Dist. 1, in her opening remarks where she acknowledged the immense challenge of strengthening public safety.

“We need the resources to make good on our commitments,” Lujan Grisham said. “Public safety is an issue, frankly, across America. It’s in every community, in every corner. It’s powerful to recognize that we have an issue.”

Despite the challenges that the state and country face, the governor said that there are also many groups in place that face those challenges for the people.

“You’ve got the judicial system that includes district attorneys and public defenders,” she said. “We have an attorney general, special prosecutors, city police, county sheriffs, state police, federal police, and partners including the DEA and FBI and more. Then there are the policy makers; the legislators can make, change, amend, and repeal the laws.”

One of the challenges that these entities can all face, however, is a lack of communication that makes some processes more time-consuming than they should be.

“A lot of these jurisdictions do not work very well together,” Lujan Grisham said.

However, the governor praised the local police jurisdictions stating they have gone for every grant opportunity for retention and recruitment and have met their goals every time.

SCHOOL SAFETY

One of the first questions mentioned funding for school safety, which the governor replied to by speaking to the new resources being obtained such as cameras, fencing, and high-tech response alarms to protect students, teachers, and administrators in schools.

The funding sought for these resources must first go through two state entities before it goes directly to public schools: the Department of Finance and the Public Education Department.

“I will personally find out where all the allocations are and make sure they get over the finish line,” Lujan Grisham said. “We’ve been very interested in making sure our schools have the equipment, technology, and efforts that make them safer.”

One of the questions directed to the panel brought up the Aug. 15 shooting of a Hozho Academy student. When the Sun spoke to the victim’s family after the incident, they cited the speed in which law enforcement alerts the public of an incident, which is often too late.

Lujan Grisham voiced her concern on the matter and mentioned how the public can blame local officials for these issues but that the stalling is not deliberate.

“This was never the intention of any of the policy makers. I don’t think there is effective training, [communication], it’s gotten completely upside down,” The governor said. “Your legislators are very interested in hearing where you think the pressure points, the policy changes, are accruing. We are asking for clarity on where to go and take responsibility when it’s not right.”

PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE

Amid the bevy of questions, the governor stated that one of the key priorities continues to be protecting the most vulnerable people. These include domestic violence victims and children who are struggling to stay in school.

Some of them deny the services that are offered for various reasons, sometimes due to not wanting to be put in a place where they can be found, but Lujan Grisham said that it is important they do not falter on their goals to provide for them and used a parent and child from Espanola as an example.

“You do not give you, you stay the course. You provide respect, empathy, compassion. We used evidence-based trauma-informed strategies,” she said, adding that the pair is now in housing and the child has returned to school. “I don’t need that to be a one-off, I need this to be the example for everywhere.”

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

The town hall stretched out for several hours and included questions that covered many areas that are not unfamiliar to Gallup residents: substance abuse, injuries to homeless people and their impact on residents, and violence on the streets.

Lujan Grisham summarized one of her points by stating that this was the entire reason for hosting the town hall: that enough is enough with these issues. They may persist, but she shared some of the progress that has been made with all of them and residents should be encouraged to do more.

“We need to do more with gun violence, a lot more, but we’ve done a ton. And I’m interested in more,” she said.

The full town hall can be viewed online at the governor's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Life in the 1940s was not even close to the politically correct society of today. It was rough, and tumble, especially for the four brothers who grew up in Dilkon, AZ.

Their mother was from the Oneida Tribe of New York state, while dad was Dineh, and fighting quickly became a past time for all of them, even though there was seven years difference between the oldest and the youngest. But it is the life of the oldest, Gordon, that is the center of this story.

By 1940, the 15-year old House had won the first of three consecutive Golden Gloves championships in three different states, NM, AZ, and NV. Gordon even appeared on a fight card for the Third Annual 20-30 Club Boxing Tournament in Gallup, in 1941, fighting in the 105-pound experienced class against a T. Otero of Crownpoint. The fight card listed 22 bouts in 10 weight classes with a variety of experience, officiated by Dave Jackson and Sam Service, and judged by Wade Duffey and Guido Zecca of Gallup and Lloyd White of Cortez.

House was living in Ft. Defiance at this time and after of couple more years of amateur fights – over 159 - joined the Marine Corps. Before that his official biography listed his schooling at Phoenix Indian School and Ft. Wingate High.

The Marines sent the young scrapper to the South Pacific but he returned in 1945 to become the All-Service Champion after being wounded on Tinian, one of the island hops the Marines captured. He returned to pro boxing in 1946 and started fighting as a pro at the young age of 20.

Gordon faced off with the best of the Lightweights in his short career, including Sandy Saddler, who he knocked out in their fight only to see him recover after Saddler was saved by the bell in January, 1050. Saddler recovered well enough during the break to earn a TKO over House in the following rounds. A newspaper headline at the time blasted the news to sports fans by declaring, “Champion Saddler avoids scalping at the hands of an Indian.” House is described in the 1981 program for the Navajo Nation Golden Gloves Tournament as the first and only Navajo/Oneida Indfian to fight a professional World Champion and is enshrined the the World Hall of Fame. House was never knocked out in any of his pro fights.

Gordon was written about in several magazines and quite a few newspapers of that era, described as a “Lightweight with a Heavyweight punch.” And pictures of him in a feathered headdress helped build his reputation. Boxing records in that era are sketchy at best, but Gordon fought between 50 and 70-plus times in the five years between 1945-50, earning three professional state titles in 1948 - all within 10 months of each other - in Texas, Nevada and Arizona.

Once Gordon was married, he moved with his Anglo wife to her hometown of Baytown, Texas so she could be near her family and they produced a son and a daughter. It became his ultimate error in life as he was shot and killid by his wife’s mother and brother in 1950 at the age of 25. No charges were ever brought against either shooter.

Gordon left behind a powerful legacy. His professional record is listed among Professional Greats for his percentage of KOs he delivered. These better known names include: Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Willie Pep and others.

By the time of his death, his three younger brothers, Johnny, Lloyd and Oscar had stepped into the ring and had varying experiences. All served in the Far East, where Johnny became the Armed Forces Korean champion, while Lloyd also won the All-Service Championship at 145-pounds. Oscar, almost seven years younger, served in Korea, too, but that conflict was coming to a close. Oscar is better known these days as a terror on the pool tables at both the North and South side Senior Centers in Gallup, and provided all the material for this article.

Johnny retired from Transwestern Pipeline Co. and with his wife produced five boys and four girls. He named one of his sons after his older brother. Lloyd earned a Doctorate in Education and has three daughters and a son. Oscar was married for 40 years and his wife gave him four sons. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from SW Oklahoma and a graduate degree from A.S.U. and retired from the Navajo Nation. Oscar was also the first Native American named as a Production Supervisor with General Dynamics before he worked for the Nation.

For those who are tired of the Gallup to Grants commute on a regular basis, or even farther, the news about Fox Run Golf Course is good, and getting better.

Although not up to the highest standards, or even to previous ones, the work at Fox Run is improving and laying a solid foundation for future years. It has taken months of planning and preparation, but just in the month Max Johnson and Troy Kyle have been in Gallup, the course has improved. Water pumps in the lake areas are working well, the greens are growing back in, and contours and bunkers have been adjusted to provide a more playable course.

“We started on the back side, making the greens more receptive,” said Kyle, a senior in NMSU’s Professional Golf Management course and a 25-year Army veteran. “As the top dressing continues with adequate aeration, the greens will slowly grow better grass. We still have some artificial greens, but hope to have most of them in order by August 15.”

The greens will be softer, too, so the ball will not continue running as some golfers have experienced. At the same time, the surface will provide a quicker run for the putts. The effect will be similar on all greens so the player does not have to drastically change his putt on every hole.

The course is a work in progress after several years of trying to patch the problems as they occurred.

“It’s a great experience for us,” said Johnson, who was a kicker for the Aggie football team. “The practice area has improved and lessons are available. The Free Kids Camp is scheduled for August 3-6, but if demand warrants it, another will be scheduled for July.”

The main concerns for a total approach to are drainage and irrigation of the course. The money for the front nine has already been allocated by the City Council for 2016 at a cost of over a million dollars. The total cost could be almost $2.5 million, if not more due to unforeseen problems or inflation.

Discussion with Johnson about the use of Astro-turf brought him quickly back into the conversation.

“There is no benefit to the use of Astro-turf on a golf course,” said the tall blonde senior in Turfgrass Science. “Some golfers can stick the approach, but balls have a tendency to bounce higher and run longer on that surface. That is not a good thing in golf.”

Fresh water supply is not at maximum for now and will not be until the pipeline in finished in several years. Effluent water will necessarily be used in the meanwhile, but if tender care is given to the course, it may not make much of a difference.

Both Kyle and Johnson work under the direction of their individual directors, Pat Gavin of the PGA Golf Management Program, and Turgfrass Program Director Ryan Goss. Minimal wages to these directors are paid by the city with per diems and expenses attached. Johnson and Kyle receive $17 per hour and are provided with housing adjacent to the course, with utilities paid.

Kyle mentioned that interest is picking up and wanted everyone to know the pro shop stll offers club repairs and grip replacents, and has been bringing in the latest gear from Callaway, Titleist and Taylor Made. He’s also selling older merchandise at discount prices to make room for new inventory.

Monthly fees for golfers have also been reduced in order to entice them to play Fox Run with quite a few others that have opted for a local course, regardless of the less than standard conditions. When you consider the price charged in Grants, the cost of driving over and back, and the almost two additional hours of lost work time for the trip, only the pro golfer would reasonably choose that hardship.

Even Tiger Woods, in his early days on the pro circuit, admitted playing on some truly terrible courses to make his game better. It seemed to have worked!

There are no bleachers at Fox Run, but I will be around for the Big Brothers Big Sisters tournament in August, so I will have to sign off on this column with, I’ll see you at Fox Run and we’ll talk.

For more info: www.gallupnm.gov or call (505) 863-9224.