Group seeks grant; WPA art widespread in McKinley County

McKinley County Attorney Doug Decker decided several years ago that the Works Progress Administration art that hangs in the Old McKinley County Courthouse at 201 W. Hill Ave. is there to stay — as is the art in the new courthouse at the same address.

The WPA art collection that hangs in both court houses is part of what Decker says may be one of the largest WPA collections in New Mexico.

“I don’t have a lot of concrete facts on it, but I have heard that [McKinley County has] about as much WPA hanging on some of our walls as any other county in New Mexico,” Decker said. “The pieces that we have at the county are some very nice ones.”

The Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration was part of the New Deal cultural program instituted by then-president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It funded visual arts in the U.S. and was a relief measure to employ artists. Artists from around the country were commissioned under the program to do a specified number of paintings.

One of those artists was the prolific Lloyd Moylan, who would travel Arizona and New Mexico to sketch and paint Native American and Hispanic peoples during the early 1900s.

On Sept. 7, the McKinley County Board of Commissioners approved a letter of support for gallupArts’ proposed National Endowment of the Humanities grant to create a website featuring Gallup’s collection of WPA-era art. The resolution received the full support of the Board of Commissioners.

The letter of support followed a similar letter from the Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce.

“The Chamber is in support of what gallupArts wants to do,” Chamber CEO Bill Lee said. “We’re talking about rare art. Gallup has its share of it. As soon as I heard what they were doing, I knew it was a very worthwhile idea.”

Created a couple of years ago, gallupArts is an entity that focuses on creativity and development for artists.

Rose Eason, the executive director of gallupArts, told commissioners that a letter of support is crucial to grant approval. She said the support letters, which she’s sought from governmental entities like the city of Gallup, are part of the process of obtaining the grant.

“This is just one step in that process,” Eason said of the letters. “There is still a lot of paperwork yet to do.”

Eason, who was named gallupArts’ executive director several months ago, told the commissioners there are quite a few WPA pieces on the second floor of the courthouse. Like Decker, Eason said she’s heard Gallup may have New Mexico’s largest such collection.

“The [ultimate] exhibit will bring together all of Gallup and McKinley County’s WPA art collection,” Eason said. “I think this is a really unique thing.”

In 2011, a WPA painting was discovered inside the roof of Gallup City Hall. At that time, Mayor Harry Mendoza said someone may have hidden the art in the roof area in an effort to steal it. Workers turned the art over to city officials, and the piece was hung inside the city manager and mayor’s office at City Hall.

McKinley County Commission Chairman Tony Tanner said the WPA art in the county’s possession is indeed rare.

“I think [the grant for a website] is a very good idea,” Tanner said. “That art is rare, no matter where you’re talking about. For us to have some of it is a big plus.”

Both Tanner and Lee noted the collection could boost tourism around McKinley County, and both said they’re committed to assisting Eason and gallupArts in the coordination of the website.

“Whatever kind of help they need, the Chamber and county are all in,” Lee, a former McKinley County manager, said.

Martin Link, a local historian and former professor at the University of New Mexico-Gallup, archived the WPA art that is housed at the old and new McKinley County courthouses. He said late city Librarian Octavia Fellin is the primary reason why there’s so much WPA art around Gallup and McKinley County.

Fellin was the library’s director from 1947 to 1990, and upon her retirement, the library was named in her honor. She was instrumental in getting WPA art to Gallup, Link said.

The Old Courthouse and the Larry B. Mitchell Recreation Center along east Montoya Boulevard are considered WPA edifices. Both buildings were constructed through WPA-oriented labor, Link said.

“Gallup definitely has one of the largest, if not the largest, WPA art collections in New Mexico,” Link said. “That is an undisputed fact.”

You don’t have to live in Gallup long to notice the important role art plays in the community. Whether it’s the monthly second-Saturday “Arts Crawl” or the frequent dances and performances outside the courthouse, there’s always art to be appreciated by locals and tourists alike.

Ira Custer is a local artist who makes silver jewelry out of his home in Gallup. He runs a business known as Custer Designs and works with other local artists, among which are members of his own family.

For Custer, working with silver has been a family affair since he began as a small child.  His father casted silver jewelry, and eventually trained his son in the art.

“I’m only going to show you once, and if you can’t learn it once, then you have no business doing it,” Custer’s father told the young Custer, who quickly learned the traditional way to make silver jewelry.

Tradition and art seem to run in Custer’s family. One of his grandfathers was a silversmith, and his other grandparents were, respectively, a medicine man and rug weaver.

Custer is quick to express gratitude for those grandparents, Frank and Annie Apache, who helped raise him and teach him Navajo while he lived in a Hogan during his formative years.

Growing up in the area and graduating from Gallup High School in 1984 has deeply connected Custer to his community.

“Gallup is a lot like Mayberry [in the Andy Griffith Show], you can’t turn a corner without shaking someone’s hand,” he said.

At the age of 10, Custer had his first run with silverwork, which ended in a burn after he had been told to not go near the work area.

A small wound, though, could not burn up Custer’s curiosity for the art. He soon grew competent in both sand-casting and tufa-casting silver.

Tufa casting may well be the more difficult method. It involves making a mold out of hand-picked volcanic rock that goes through a process of sawing, cutting, grinding, and then finely carving details. The hot liquid silver is poured into the mold, and takes its shape. The silver can be further decorated with inlaid turquoise, coral, and other materials at the artist’s discretion.

When silverwork became a career in the late ’80s and ’90s, Custer made many connections at art shows throughout the Southwest.

“Cellphones weren’t as popular back then,” the artist said, referring to the difficulty of building a network of art-buying connections.

Nevertheless, Custer now has a suitcase full of prize ribbons from art shows, and he’s even been a judge at competitions.

Custer continues his work locally and travels to art shows like the upcoming Kewa Pueblo (formerly Santa Domingo) Annual Arts & Crafts Market held Sep. 3-5.

Custer is also passing his torch to the next generation, as the tradition of silver work continues in his immediate family. He’s proud, he said, of his daughters — and even one of his daughters’ boyfriend’s is making beautiful silver creations.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of youth out there waiting for their parents or grandparents to get their next check instead of going out and working,” Custer said. “I knew of a blind older man that made broomsticks because he found a way to work and provide.”

Custer hopes others will, like him, find creative ways to provide for themselves. Still, he said, the required travel and tight schedules of artists are demanding.

“I was fortunate to be able raise my family with this career,” Custer said.

If you are interested in purchasing Custer’s work, you can reach him by email at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

By Andy Gibbons III

Sun Correspondent

Photos by Tom Hartsock

A new contribution to a Gallup tradition

Artist Nani Chacon of Albuquerque was commissioned by COPE to paint a mural beside their office at 210 E. Aztec Ave., and she completed the project on Feb. 23. Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment, is a nonprofit organization which focuses on increasing health across Navajo Nation through clinical and preventative care. The mural is an illustration of their logo, featuring a hogan, birds, mountains, and corn. “I worked with COPE on coming up with the design. It’s a reflection of what they do,” Chacon said.

Chacon has been drawing since age 15 and painting murals for five years, including one at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, several in Albuquerque, and even one in Russia. Though she paints on canvas as well, murals are her medium of choice when weather allows. “It suits my personality; I like being outside,” Chacon said.

The COPE mural is her first in Gallup, but she mentioned that she would “love to do a bigger piece in Gallup at some point,” and that “Gallup has a really neat mural tradition.”

COPE was glad to have Chacon in town, and Sarayl Shunkamolah, operations manager, enjoyed working with her throughout the process.

“Seeing people stopping to get out and acknowledge her is really amazing,” she said.

Casey Smith, cancer care project coordinator, said the mural “very much represents our work in a symbolic and powerful way.”

He noted that “the hogan shows our connection with the Navajo community and that the community is truly central to all our work. The corn represents our food work and also represents the sacredness of the land and food to the community. I think the birds very much symbolize our growth as a team, our constant evolution, how our work is developed and shared with the community, the introduction and growth of new projects, and the progression towards a healthier Navajo Nation.”

The completed mural is 40 feet long and can be seen on the east-facing wall at the corner of east Aztec and Strong. Stop by and check it out.

To see more of Chacon’s work, follow her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nani.chacon1) and Twitter (@Nanibah).  To learn more about COPE visit their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/COPEProject/) or call (505)722-2185.

Story and photos by Shepherd Waldenberger
Sun Correspondent