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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 128170, member: 45&quot;]Just to save some time searching through all those Begays, Tom Begay, from Sweetwater, is the noted sand painter.&nbsp; I&#039;ve sold some of his work, I think the last one was a framed piece, about 16 x 20, that went for around $250.&nbsp; His work is distinctively different from the usual sand paintings found on the secondary market, and is shown in the book &quot;Navajo Folk Art&quot; by Chuck and Jan Rosenak.</p><p><br /></p><p>As to the images on these, the first picture appears to be an Apache Gaan dancer, or Crown Dancer.&nbsp; The two figures in the middle photos are Navajo Yei figures.&nbsp; They are the holy figures of the Navajo culture/religion.&nbsp; Not to be confused with the Yeibechai, who are the masked Navajo dancers who portray the Yei in ceremonies.&nbsp; The last sand painting depicts a Navajo Yeibechai dancer.&nbsp; Yeibechai are usually shown in profile, with blue heads, representing the masks they wear.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like in their other craft work, the Navajo feel free to borrow images from other cultures in their sand paintings made for the souvenir market.&nbsp; I&#039;ve seen sand paintings of Acoma pottery, Zia sun faces, Taos pueblo, and Mickey Mouse...so the image depicted isn&#039;t always connected at all with the Navajo.&nbsp; But as far as I know, other cultures haven&#039;t started producing &quot;sand paintings&quot; for sale (although I wouldn&#039;t be surprised to see some from China showing up, if there would be a market for them!)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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