May 1, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode of The Real Santa Fe, Bunny Terry sits down once again with renowned bronze sculptor Star Liana York — a true icon in Santa Fe’s art world. From her early days cutting wooden animal shapes in her father’s basement to becoming one of the Southwest’s most collected artists, Star shares the story of a life shaped by art, animals, and the power of place.
They dive deep into how Santa Fe’s foundries, cultures, landscapes, and generous community have influenced her decades-long career. You’ll hear stories about her creative process, the personalities behind her animal sculptures, her spiritual connection to Maria Martinez, and the quiet discipline it takes to let inspiration come through. Whether you’re an art lover, a Santa Fe local, or someone dreaming of a life rooted in creativity, this episode is rich with insight and soul.
🎧 Listen in to discover why Star believes that Santa Fe is more than just beautiful — it’s deeply generous, quietly powerful, and endlessly inspiring.
Original Music by: Kene Terry
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hi, this is Bunny Terry and I wanna welcome
everybody back to the RealSanta Fe podcast where we talk
about all things Santa Fe.
Today we have , uh, one of myfavorite guests , um, I've done
a podcast before with thisguest, but she is somebody who
early, early in life , um,figured out what she loves. And
(00:29):
the amazing thing is that shenever had to veer off that
course. And I was, the veryfirst time that I had lunch
with this guest , um, I thoughtit's, it is so cool to hear a
story where somebody had anadult in their life who
recognized their talent andtheir passion and allow and,
(00:52):
and helped , um, this artist togrow that to the point where
she is now one of the mostpopular sculptors in the
southwest. I want to introduceeverybody to my friend and
somebody I admire , um, withoutreservation Star York . Star
Leonna York, right? Is that howyou want us to introduce you?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
That's great. Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So Star is, we met because she is one of the most
generous artists I know aswell. Every year she gives a
major piece to the CancerFoundation for New Mexico
Sweetheart Auction. So one ofthe coolest things about being
on that board and then servingas the board chair was that I
(01:36):
got to meet people. Like youstarted . As I recall, we sat
down at Yin Yang to have lunchand, and the conversation never
slowed down from that moment.
Is that how you remember it?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I was so fun. It was really great to share with
somebody. It was like, we'veknown each other a long time.
It was very easy to , um, tocarry on conversation 'cause
there was so much to share,both having creative lives and
interesting lives that , uh,had to do with the arts. And
our interests were similar too,
Speaker 1 (02:10):
And books. I recall that we talked a lot about
books where we were
Speaker 2 (02:15):
.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It was like, oh , have you read this? Yes, yes,
yes. . So, I , I wantyou to know that , um, star is
not intimidating at all, eventhough her the depth of your
work is amazing. So, before we,we always create this outline
before we meet with guests, butI want people to know how you
(02:36):
began, how you came to thislife as a sculptor, because I
love that story.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well , um, I did have , uh, two parents that
were , um, uh, connected to thearts. My mother had been a
professional ballerina, and ,uh, my father , um, though he
was an engineer, he just waspassionate about his
woodworking. So he always hadstuff going on in the basement
and he would allow me to cut ,go down there, and when I was
(03:05):
just, I don't know , 5, 6, 7,and I could draw an animal on a
piece of wood and cut it out onthe jigsaw and then I could
paint it. And so that kind ofstarted it. And even though my
mother was a little concernedthat I was going into the arts,
'cause she knew how hard itwas, she was a dancer back in
(03:26):
the thirties, you know , so upin New York. So the
competition, and it was just avery hard life. But , um, I
think my parents coming fromthat age, they just assumed,
oh, I'll probably just getmarried and have kids anyway,
so it didn't matter. I couldgo. So they didn't get in my
way. They didn't discourage me,and I felt very lucky about
(03:48):
that so I could go on with mywork. So I just started doing
various art things young, andbecause of that time with my
father in the basement, I thinkI always had kind of a draw to
, uh, sculpture. And , um, thatwas , uh, further encouraged by
(04:10):
, uh, class I took when I wasjust in junior high. Uh, we had
an arts and crafts class, andthe teacher , um, was very
excited and, and understood alot about casting. So he had us
do pieces that we couldactually cast ourselves with
the centrifugal cast, caster,miniatures. So, pretty early on
(04:33):
I was casting myself. I boughtmy own caster and started doing
these little miniatures , um,that I sold at a gallery in
Chevy Chase, Maryland. So Istarted my , uh, art career
showing in galleries prettyearly. And it just, the
work got bigger and bigger.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
So how, how old do you think you were when you
sold your first piece?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Uh, I think it was probably 16 or 17 years old.
But , um, the, the owner ofthat , uh, gallery had
purchased a lot that he kepthimself over the years. But ,
um, yeah, it was, it started meon that path for sure. So I was
(05:21):
very grateful for that kind ofencouragement and support too.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yeah. Because I, that's, you know, so many times
I hear artists say, you know,everybody suggested that I, you
know, get, get a real job , um,in the middle of creating. Um,
and it , and I don't get theimpression that you ever , um,
I mean, it was your, it is it ,it was your life's work, right?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
It was. And so were the horses, and that was
something when I was going touniversity, I gotten a , um,
scholarship, which was good,but I still had to support
myself and do other things. SoI not only was making these
little, little , uh, sculpturecreatures, but I had a horse
boarding business , uh, that Iwas working with too. And I was
(06:07):
doing some training at thatpoint because I've always been
very passionate about my horsesas well.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So you didn't start your artistic life in Santa Fe,
but you ended up here. Yes. Howdid that happen?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Because I wanted to get bigger in terms of the
sculpture. I was , uh,sculpting and on the East
Coast, they were like threefoundries on the whole coast,
and they were not very good.
The one that was really goodwas so backed up that if you
took them a piece, they said,well, it'll be a year
before they get it cast, andyou can't run a business like
(06:45):
that. So , no . Um, I startedlooking around and Santa Fe had
five major foundries back then,five. And so I found one that
had , um, been doing castings ,uh, a little bit larger than
what I could cast with mycentrifugal caster. So I
(07:05):
decided to come out and visitthem. And I hadn't traveled
much in my life. I'd been onthe east coast at that point
all my life. And it, so in myearly twenties, I flew out to
see Santa Fe and go see afoundry and got one that I
thought would be good for me.
And , um, I just was amazed atwhat the area was like. And so
(07:31):
spent the next two years beforeI could actually move out here.
Um, learning about the area,flying back and forth to the
foundry and , um, uh, gettingto know the surrounding area.
And I absolutely felt this wasmy heart place. I had to move
(07:53):
out here. It , it was such aneducation and , uh, and an
amazing discovery for me. Sothose first few years out here
particularly, I spent a lot oftime learning about my area and
the different cultures and ,um, so much was accessible out
(08:15):
here. That was inspiring andexciting. So I couldn't wait to
move and did and wound up , uh,uh, near Santa Fe just because
of my interest in horses. Ithad to be outside of Santa Fe.
Right. So I started in Jupi ,which is next to Tesuque ,
where I had a little ranchitoand , uh, then eventually wound
(08:37):
up in Abcu where I have a muchlarger ranch when I decided to
start raising and traininghorses.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
That . So I want people to know, because we, I I
never wanna assume that peoplewho are listening have ever
been here. But , um, when youtalk about ABA q , that's , um,
can you explain to folks wherethat is in relation to Santa
Fe?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yes, it's , uh, where we are is only 36 miles
north, but we're on the , uh,south, we're south of ABA q .
Um, but it's the area thatGiorgio O'Keefe loved so much
and made quite famous by herpaintings. Uh, she has a , they
have a house, her house therenow, right in Aku Town that ,
(09:24):
um, is on the museum tour. Theyhave for people to see which
she'd collected. But she also ,uh, had places she went to out
at Ghost Ranch, which isincredibly beautiful. It's all
the Red Rock and it's justgorgeous out there. But flows
us here where we can ridepretty regularly. Only a couple
(09:45):
miles, a few miles away isCopper Canyon. That's amazing.
Like that. It's so colorful.
Um, it's, it's just a gorgeous,amazing area. And at Ghost
Ranch, one of the other thingsthat's exciting about it for me
is I've always been interestedin ancient history and the ,
the prehistory that'saccessible there is quite
(10:08):
remarkable. Many of the oldestdinosaurs, biggest dinosaurs
they found in the country, inour country are from Abaki in
that area that they found up inthe Bisi as well. So they have
a little prehistoric museumthere, dinosaur museum they
call it. And uh, again, it'sjust , um, amazing how , uh,
(10:34):
many cultures and ancienthistory is accessible in this
area, which is another thingthat fascinates me. So
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I had no idea. Um, I, I mean, I didn't know the,
the, the prehistoric historythat , um, I didn't have any
idea. How did I not know that?
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Oh, you can still find dinosaur bones when you're
just walking around out thereand Nautilus and shark's teeth
and. It's, it'sremarkable.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Wow. Wow. So you came to Santa Fe , um, because
of the foundries. I , I'm , I'mjust gonna be really , um,
transparent. I know so littleabout the actual process of how
you create, but I mean the, thefoundry is the last step,
right? Is that
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yes, yes. So I spend most of the time just creating
a piece in clay. Then when Ifinish that, I take it to a ,
um, mold maker who makes themother mold. And it's a two
molds process, lut waxprocesses where you, you can
(11:44):
make a mold in a siliconrubber, so you can reuse it by
injecting melted wax into themold. And then that can be put
into the ceramic shell moldthat's destroyed each time a
casting is done. So it's a longlaborous process to, to do
(12:06):
bronzes. And we haven'timproved on it much since the
Egyptian times except thesilicon rubber. That's
probably our best ad uh,advance in terms of the
process.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
And you do, I mean , uh, so I got really familiar
with your work because I hungout all the time at Sorel Sky ,
which is, is it the onlygallery where you show in Santa
Fe?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Um, yeah. And most galleries , uh, insist on
being, having an exclusive withan artist. So , uh, but I do
have another gallery with SorelSky up in Durango, and I have
three galleries in Arizona.
I've limited my galleries nowas I'm aging to , uh, galleries
(12:53):
I can get to in a day. So thegalleries that I used to have
in California or New York orwhatever, I , I don't wanna
deal with anymore. I justprefer them to be I accessible
to me in a , that I can driveto
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Drive . Well, I , um, you know, we would, when we
lived downtown, we would walkdowntown on Friday evening and,
and hang out in a gallery,which is one of my favorite
things to do. Oh , nice . In ,in Santa Fe. And so I want
folks to know that when theywalk into Sol Sky, you, you're
really prolific. I mean, youhave a lot of pieces there. Is
(13:30):
that years and years of work,or, I mean, you're just, you
create so much.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Oh , well, I, I've , uh, always been fast
with the things that I've , uh,sculpted knowing a lot, having
a lot of friends, and justcomparing. But , uh, that's one
thing. But also, I've beendoing this a long time and ,
(13:56):
um, uh, I have a show this yearat Medicine Man , medicine
Man's , um, art of the WestMuseum, that's a 50 year
retrospective. So I've beendoing it a long time..
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Well, and you do , um, your subjects are quite
frequently animals, largeanimals, I mean all , all
sizes. But talk, talk aboutthat animal piece because I'm
you, whether you're doing ahorse or a bobcat or a , an
owl, the detail is amazing. Idon't even know how you make
(14:36):
that happen.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Oh, well, thank you.
Um, I actually, if anyone looksclosely, I pretty loose in
terms of the detail. I, I tie ,especially with my animals, I
tend to agitate the surfacemore to give them energy.
'cause I really like doing theanimals in repose. Like you
(14:57):
just capture a moment when yousee a , a , um, some wildlife
relaxing like a bobcat orwhatever. Um, but what I really
like to focus on is theexpression and the, the, and
making the personality or thecharacter of that animal be
(15:21):
what is , um, convincingly realin the sense of, excuse me, in
the sense of a , um, apersonality or character that's
there. And it , it , that to meis the most fun about
(15:41):
sculpting, is seeing what kindof character comes out. And
when I first moved to the area,I started doing a lot of the
Native American subject matter,particularly women, because it
was just so exciting to me tosee these cultures that I
(16:02):
wasn't familiar with comingfrom the East Coast. And , um,
even then, when I would do apiece, I wouldn't try to be
copying a particular person. Imight use archival photos to
get a real understanding ofbone structure and stuff. But
(16:23):
what was fun was waiting forthat personality to emerge when
I'm sculpting. And so I had tobe familiar with how they would
look if I was doing aparticular like Navajo or
Pueblo Indian. They'redifferent. So, so , um, I had
(16:44):
to be familiar enough withthat, but then I just let it,
it's almost like you feel likeyou're a vessel and maybe you
notice this about your writingwhen you understand a subject
enough that you can let it goand let it come through you in
some way that , um, makes youfeel like you're connected to
(17:04):
that collective consciousness.
Or, and, and also at the sametime, reaching down to yourself
, uh, to the subconscious levelof your experience with a
character that's emerging.
Like, I've often seen my motherin this piece. It may have been
a Navajo piece, doesn't looklike , um, my mother in any
(17:25):
way, shape or form, but it's asensibility or it's a, a
personality that I , I wasreminded of when I saw a person
that inspired me. Like the onewith my mother, for instance,
was , um, a woman who oversaw,she was a medicine woman in the
(17:47):
Navajo reservation who wasoverseeing a kada ceremony. I
was involved , uh, I wasinvited to, and a kada is the
coming of age of a young girl.
So it's , uh, it's like a fourday ritual ceremonies and that
sort of thing. And this , um,medicine woman came in to
oversee it. And I, and I didn'tdo that sculpture until a
(18:11):
couple years after that , um,experience. But so when I did,
it could really be acombination of what it was
about that woman that inspiredme to sculptor. And it helps me
discover myself, what it isabout that person that I could
(18:35):
connect with for whateverreason. So , um, I feel the
same way about the animals. Ireally want them to, a lot less
important than making sureevery hair is right on their
body. And I tend to be reallyloose with that. Mm-hmm
. Is that theyhave a credible personality and
(18:56):
character that you canrecognize.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
So that's just like the piece that you, that you
donated last year, which wasthe, I think it's Distance
Thunder, which was the motherwith the baby with the basket.
Now I can't remember the nameof the basket, but it was, you
know, there was , um, so muchpersonality in both her and the
(19:20):
baby in their faces. I mean,that's one of my favorite
pieces ever. There's so muchmovement. Um, I I, some , uh,
we're gonna have to, we'll haveto show people a , a photo of
it, if that's okay. Be becauseit's so , um, I mean, it's just
a such a lifelike piece , butthey all are.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Well, thank you.
Thank you. And with thosepieces, I tended to be much
more careful and accurate aboutthe clothing and stuff than
what I'm doing now with theanimals. But again, she's
moving and, and it's, I don'tknow, I just feel like when you
get too detail oriented, it canstagnate a piece of the piece
(20:06):
itself is not in a dynamicmode, you know? So a reclining
, um, mountain lion forinstance.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
A little more energy and it's , uh, in its body in
terms of the wave sculptcompared to like the distant
thunder, which you can do muchmore careful detail. 'cause
she's in action, she's movingand the wind is blowing and all
that. So
Speaker 1 (20:33):
She's a little, she's a little anxious, a
little. Yeah. There's
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Thunder coming and she has her
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Patch . Yeah , she's coming . Gotta get it . Right.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
And maybe the thunder of hooves could be even
be more dangerous thanlightning. Uh, but she's, but ,
uh, what I wanted to get withthe baby is that she, the
little baby is just likeexciting . Uh , she's seeing
coming and oh, mom's allexcited, you know, . So
I wanted them to have differentexpressions.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
So we, I mean, we are, it is the real Santa Fe
podcast. Is there any piecethat's really inspired
specifically by the city or by,or , or are , is there just a
piece of it in everything youdo?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Well, I'd have to say the latter is correct. I
think when we expose ourselvesto things that really grab our
interest and we really lookinto them, then it becomes part
of , um, how I view the world.
So it winds up being in a lotof what I can't help but being
a lot of what I do. But , um, Ithink there are two pieces
(21:46):
really that I could say thatwere specific to the Santa Fe
area. And , um, they're both ,uh, pieces that , um, only
happened because I, I had theexperience of being in living
in Santa Fe, and one was acalled, the series , uh, was
(22:07):
called The Fabric of Life. Andit was my taking on the , um,
process of creating weavings ofthis Navajo woman that started
when she was a child takingcare of sheep. And that
sculpture was called Spring.
She has sheep that she's , um,tending. And then the next one
(22:28):
was , um, summer spinning. Andthat was her as a mother
learning to spin and having herown children, she's teaching.
And then , um, the next one was, um, Granada Red, where she's
throwing out, she's an olderwoman now , uh, at the prime of
her life doing incredibleblankets. And she's proudly
(22:52):
throwing one out it to shake itout to show it to people. And
then I know
Speaker 1 (22:57):
That that's an amazing,
Speaker 2 (23:01):
It was like to market . And this is , um, the
, a woman again in her prime,and she's taking the blankets
to market on the back of ahorse. And then the last one is
winter warmth , where it's theold woman , uh, with her
husband who's being wrapped andsheltered by one of her
blankets as they enter theirelderly years. So that was,
(23:25):
without a doubt, totally frommy experiences, we've, we used
to go out to the reservation ona regular basis, for instance,
which is why I saw the Candaceremony and , um, and go to
some of the Crown Point rugauctions and things. So came
from that. But then the otherone that I thought I should
(23:46):
mention was of , um, MariaMartinez, who is very famous ,
uh, Samuel Defonso Potter, whowas born in 1887 and , uh, died
in 1980. So she became reallyfamous during her peak years
(24:09):
here for her black owned blackpottery. Well , Melissa Rogers
collected a lot of her work. SoMelissa Rogers was doing an
expansion of their museum andasked me to do a portrait of
Maria in three dimensions. And, uh, I was nervous about that
for two reasons. One is that Ijust injured my right hand by
(24:31):
overs, sculpting on a, on alife-sized piece, and I had it
in a cast and one, and then thesecond one is, I don't usually
work that way. I usually workon what I pull up for myself
and, and the collected , uh,knowledge of a particular , um,
type of person I'm sculpting.
(24:52):
So to do a portrait was justnot what I've done. So , uh, I
gave myself a lot of time. Isaid, look, if you can show me
tons of photographs so I candecide what I can learn her
expressions and stuff, and seesomething where she really
opens up to the camera, which,you know, a Pueblo woman bought
(25:15):
, uh, born in that time, Imean, they would grow up being
very closed right to publicmm-hmm . Because
it wasn't that accepted that,that anyone, male or female be
picked out as special becauseof what they do. It just isn't
, was not acceptable in theirculture. Mm-hmm .
(25:37):
So it's very hard to find outof hundreds of pictures where
she actually looks at thecamera with an expression that
, um, shows some of herpersonality. But I found some.
And so I said, I just need alot of time because of my hand.
And they said, okay. Uh, and Istarted the piece, and I think
(26:00):
the reason this is important totell you is that , um, and
this, because it was such a biglearning experience for me ,
uh, and it couldn't havehappened had I not been given
this , um, commission. But Istarted working , um, and I
work a lot at night. And , uh,as I started working, being
(26:24):
very concerned, like, I have tosculpt this with my left hand,
which I never do, and I'm doinga portrait , which I never do
. So I start this thing,and lo and behold, it's like
one of the fastest births I'veever given to a sculpture. And
(26:44):
what would happen is I'd be inmy studio working, and I can
only tell you the feeling. It'sno way, other way could I
convince anyone. But I reallyfelt her presence and I felt
that she was there and workingwith me. There have been other
times in my life where I havefelt like I don't know where
(27:07):
something's coming from that'shappening, it's as if I'm just
being a vessel for something oran image, a subject. But this
was super clear to me, andI've, I've never been that
convinced about that sort of ,um, existence of other spirits
that can connect with us. Thatmade me a believer. And , um,
(27:33):
it wound up being a superimportant , um, piece that I'll
always remember of the hundredsof sculptures I've done in my
life. Because of that, becauseof that help I really felt I
had. Um, and she, when youthink about it, to do what she
had done back in a period wherethat was not very acceptable
(27:55):
for women to rise to thatprominence. Uh, she had to be a
pretty determined , uh, lady.
And so I, I just felt it was anamazing experience to have that
connection with her. So thatwas definitely from being here
(28:17):
, ,
Speaker 1 (28:18):
You, you, it gave me a chill when you were say ,
talking about that, because Iknow that, I mean, I believe
too that , um, we're if, ifwe're creative that we
sometimes just have to sit andknow that there's something
bigger than us that isinforming everything that's in
(28:41):
the middle of what we're doing.
I mean, and , and sometimes itshows up and sometimes it
doesn't, but , um, it's, Imean, you're, you are such a
hard worker that , um, youalways make the time and the
space for that to, to show up.
I don't, I don't , and I don'teven know if I'm conveying it
clearly, but that's,
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Oh, I, I totally understand and agree. We have
to be able to be quiet enoughto listen. And I think that's
why my studio is such animportant aspect of me and my
life, is that it puts me inthat , uh, for lack of a better
word, zen mode, where youreally can , uh, quiet your
(29:26):
mind. And I have a very busymind. So to be able to quiet it
long enough to listen is , um,what my studio allows me to
have in my day as a habit. Andit's easy to let that go and
just be like, run through yourlife, like whack-a-mole, you
(29:48):
know, you just go from onething to another, to another,
to another. Everything pops up.
We live in a society that's so, um, information accessible,
you know, so much coming at usall the time. Right . Uh , but
to have those quiet times Ithink are pretty critical if
you , um, are interested in thecreative process,
Speaker 1 (30:12):
I , I , um, well, we, we could talk about this
process for a long time becauseI'm so fascinated by it, and
I'm so, you know, StephenPressfield says, I just go out
to the studio every morning andsit down and begin the work.
And, and that's where the, Imean, the magic happens in the
hard work and sitting in theseat, standing in the studio ,
(30:35):
um, Noona Burgess says the samething. He says, I just have to
go and be in that studio eighthours every day. Oh , wow .
Yeah . And the art will showup.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah. Uh , I do believe you have to have that
head clearing space and timeand uh , and I don't, I'm not
rigid in my hours. I go, when Irealize I have to do this, I
have to go to my studio, . And , uh,
because life can get so busyotherwise, you know, it's , um,
(31:09):
yeah. So when I really have togo, it's like my respite. It's,
it's a very important time thatI spend there. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Well , when you're out and about, I would love for
folks to hear what you like todo best when you're in, in
town, when you're in Santa Fe.
I mean, I know Sorel Sky , um,is one of my favorite
galleries. Is it , is it yoursas well??
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And , uh, I have old connections
with family there. ShannonCampbell, who owns the gallery,
is the daughter of Ben KnightHorse Campbell. And when , um,
uh, well, I'm still showingthere , uh, when I was showing
in Durango, we had showstogether every year. So I got
(31:56):
to know Ben and Linda verywell. And , um, when Shannon
said she was opening a galleryin Santa Fe, I was very excited
to go with her. 'cause I thinkshe's extremely dynamic and
understands , um, so much ofthe whole picture for artists,
because her dad was, and she'stold me about, told me stories
(32:18):
about remembering coming downwhen she's just a little girl
with her dad to Indian marketbecause he's a jeweler and ,
um, very accomplished. And soshe really got a sense of what
it was like , um, from theartist's point of view as well
as from the gallery points ofview. And , um, I think that
(32:41):
shows in how she presents , um,the work in her two galleries.
And she's also a lot of fun towork with.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
I would say to folks, if you're only gonna be
in Santa Fe for a couple ofdays and you're looking for a
gallery, that's, that's onewhere , um, not only do you, I
mean, you see , they have a a,I mean, they've got jewelry,
they've got sculpture, they'vegot the amazing contemporary
art and traditional art. I, I,it's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
I think so too. And she doesn't limit her idea of
what is good art to a , a typeof art. She really just goes
for good art, no matter whetherit's even abstract. It's, you
know, she, she has a good eyefor that. And that , uh, I
really appreciate too, becauseI enjoy doing a lot of
different styles. Uh ,explained a little bit about
(33:37):
the different approach I dowith the human figures and with
the wildlife. But then I reallygot into the rock art imagery,
which came from going aroundand, and hiking to see
petroglyphs and pictographs inthis area, which led me to then
go to even more ancient , uh,cave paintings like in Europe.
(34:00):
So it , uh, it's been theinitiation initiator of so many
creative excursions I've goneon that , um, just continues.
It's, it's never ending. Alifetime isn't long enough,
.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
No, it's not. It absolutely isn't. Well, I have
so many more questions. Can wedo this again,?
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Oh , sure, sure.
Yeah .
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay. I, I , um, because I'm, I'm so inspired by
how hard you work and what youcreate, but I want, I want
folks to know about you and tofind you and , um, someday I'm
gonna own my own Star Yorkpiece.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
My pleasure. And Johanna, thanks so much for
switching to Zoom, so I can Oh
Speaker 3 (34:55):
Yeah, no problem.
I'm glad I was like, it's, it'sbetter than we don't have any
issues, but yeah. I love your,I love your work too. It's so
nice to, to talk to you in , inperson, .
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Well , there is one thing, and Johanna can edit
this in. I, I really was , um,we've told where they can see
your work locally, but what,what do you wish that more
people knew about Santa Fe? Um,
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Well, it's a super generous community. The, the
amount of nonprofits here areamazing for such a small town,
and that's always beenimportant to me. Uh, I have a
small business. I can't , um,uh, afford to donate as much as
I'd like to, to these importantcauses. But I can give a piece
(35:41):
of art and I can be involved inother ways. Like, we've done
fundraisers for charities hereat the ranch, and , um, one was
the trailer painted ponies and,and the main event, and that
helped a therapeutic ridingprogram. So those things are
hugely important to me, and Ican't imagine being in a
(36:04):
community that's more generousand supports that so much. I
mean, that , geez , theSweetheart Ball is one of the
biggest, most fun events of theyear in Santa Fe .
Speaker 1 (36:19):
It is . And I, and that's, that's interesting
because I've thought about thata lot of , um, you know, what
is different about Santa Feother than, you know, the sky
is amazing, the art is amazing,but it's really , um, the
generosity, the, the big heartsof the people that I meet here
that I , you know, when peopleare moving here, that's what
(36:42):
they wanna know. They don'twanna know , um, where they're
going to eat dinner on aWednesday night. They really
wanna know what it's gonna feellike to be part of something
bigger and better. I think,
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, it's, it that really is gratifying. I think.
Um, I think most creativepeople have a more of an
altruistic view of the world,and not all for sure, but , uh,
certainly many. And Ithink that's really reflected
in , um, the people who aredrawn to Santa Fe.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
I like that. Love it here. So thank you again to
everybody who took time tolisten to this really amazing
conversation that I just hadwith, with sculptor and artist
star Leona York. You can findher work at the Sorel Sky
Gallery here and also inDurang. I'm , yes. In Durango
and , um, in a couple of placesin, I know in Scottsdale,
(37:41):
right?
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Scottsdale and Tucson. Yes. Mm-hmm
.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
And, and I, I just, I want you to know that Star is
indicative of the people wholive and create in Santa Fe.
Generous, kind, thoughtful, andreally respectful of the
cultures where she findsherself. So if you're ever more
curious about what's going onin Santa Fe, give us a yell and
(38:09):
um, go to the , go to the SolSky Gallery over on Palace and
check out her work. Thank youso much.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Me too .
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Thank you so much.
Oh ,
Speaker 4 (38:20):
Thank you, star .
Speaker 5 (38:22):
See you .
Hi, this is Bunny Terry and I wanna welcome
everybody back to the RealSanta Fe podcast where we talk
about all things Santa Fe.
Today we have , uh, one of myfavorite guests , um, I've done
a podcast before with thisguest, but she is somebody who
early, early in life , um,figured out what she loves. And
(00:29):
the amazing thing is that shenever had to veer off that
course. And I was, the veryfirst time that I had lunch
with this guest , um, I thoughtit's, it is so cool to hear a
story where somebody had anadult in their life who
recognized their talent andtheir passion and allow and,
(00:52):
and helped , um, this artist togrow that to the point where
she is now one of the mostpopular sculptors in the
southwest. I want to introduceeverybody to my friend and
somebody I admire , um, withoutreservation Star York . Star
Leonna York, right? Is that howyou want us to introduce you?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
That's great. Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So Star is, we met because she is one of the most
generous artists I know aswell. Every year she gives a
major piece to the CancerFoundation for New Mexico
Sweetheart Auction. So one ofthe coolest things about being
on that board and then servingas the board chair was that I
(01:36):
got to meet people. Like youstarted . As I recall, we sat
down at Yin Yang to have lunchand, and the conversation never
slowed down from that moment.
Is that how you remember it?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I was so fun. It was really great to share with
somebody. It was like, we'veknown each other a long time.
It was very easy to , um, tocarry on conversation 'cause
there was so much to share,both having creative lives and
interesting lives that , uh,had to do with the arts. And
our interests were similar too,
Speaker 1 (02:10):
And books. I recall that we talked a lot about
books where we were
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It was like, oh , have you read this? Yes, yes,
yes.
not intimidating at all, eventhough her the depth of your
work is amazing. So, before we,we always create this outline
before we meet with guests, butI want people to know how you
(02:36):
began, how you came to thislife as a sculptor, because I
love that story.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well , um, I did have , uh, two parents that
were , um, uh, connected to thearts. My mother had been a
professional ballerina, and ,uh, my father , um, though he
was an engineer, he just waspassionate about his
woodworking. So he always hadstuff going on in the basement
and he would allow me to cut ,go down there, and when I was
(03:05):
just, I don't know , 5, 6, 7,and I could draw an animal on a
piece of wood and cut it out onthe jigsaw and then I could
paint it. And so that kind ofstarted it. And even though my
mother was a little concernedthat I was going into the arts,
'cause she knew how hard itwas, she was a dancer back in
(03:26):
the thirties, you know , so upin New York. So the
competition, and it was just avery hard life. But , um, I
think my parents coming fromthat age, they just assumed,
oh, I'll probably just getmarried and have kids anyway,
so it didn't matter. I couldgo. So they didn't get in my
way. They didn't discourage me,and I felt very lucky about
(03:48):
that so I could go on with mywork. So I just started doing
various art things young, andbecause of that time with my
father in the basement, I thinkI always had kind of a draw to
, uh, sculpture. And , um, thatwas , uh, further encouraged by
(04:10):
, uh, class I took when I wasjust in junior high. Uh, we had
an arts and crafts class, andthe teacher , um, was very
excited and, and understood alot about casting. So he had us
do pieces that we couldactually cast ourselves with
the centrifugal cast, caster,miniatures. So, pretty early on
(04:33):
I was casting myself. I boughtmy own caster and started doing
these little miniatures , um,that I sold at a gallery in
Chevy Chase, Maryland. So Istarted my , uh, art career
showing in galleries prettyearly
work got bigger and bigger.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
So how, how old do you think you were when you
sold your first piece?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Uh, I think it was probably 16 or 17 years old.
But , um, the, the owner ofthat , uh, gallery had
purchased a lot that he kepthimself over the years. But ,
um, yeah, it was, it started meon that path for sure. So I was
(05:21):
very grateful for that kind ofencouragement and support too.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yeah. Because I, that's, you know, so many times
I hear artists say, you know,everybody suggested that I, you
know, get, get a real job , um,in the middle of creating. Um,
and it , and I don't get theimpression that you ever , um,
I mean, it was your, it is it ,it was your life's work, right?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
It was. And so were the horses, and that was
something when I was going touniversity, I gotten a , um,
scholarship, which was good,but I still had to support
myself and do other things. SoI not only was making these
little, little , uh, sculpturecreatures, but I had a horse
boarding business , uh, that Iwas working with too. And I was
(06:07):
doing some training at thatpoint because I've always been
very passionate about my horsesas well.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So you didn't start your artistic life in Santa Fe,
but you ended up here. Yes. Howdid that happen?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Because I wanted to get bigger in terms of the
sculpture. I was , uh,sculpting and on the East
Coast, they were like threefoundries on the whole coast,
and they were not very good.
The one that was really goodwas so backed up that if you
took them a piece, they said,well, it'll be a year
before they get it cast, andyou can't run a business like
(06:45):
that. So , no . Um, I startedlooking around and Santa Fe had
five major foundries back then,five. And so I found one that
had , um, been doing castings ,uh, a little bit larger than
what I could cast with mycentrifugal caster. So I
(07:05):
decided to come out and visitthem. And I hadn't traveled
much in my life. I'd been onthe east coast at that point
all my life. And it, so in myearly twenties, I flew out to
see Santa Fe and go see afoundry and got one that I
thought would be good for me.
And , um, I just was amazed atwhat the area was like. And so
(07:31):
spent the next two years beforeI could actually move out here.
Um, learning about the area,flying back and forth to the
foundry and , um, uh, gettingto know the surrounding area.
And I absolutely felt this wasmy heart place. I had to move
(07:53):
out here. It , it was such aneducation and , uh, and an
amazing discovery for me. Sothose first few years out here
particularly, I spent a lot oftime learning about my area and
the different cultures and ,um, so much was accessible out
(08:15):
here. That was inspiring andexciting. So I couldn't wait to
move and did and wound up , uh,uh, near Santa Fe just because
of my interest in horses. Ithad to be outside of Santa Fe.
Right. So I started in Jupi ,which is next to Tesuque ,
where I had a little ranchitoand , uh, then eventually wound
(08:37):
up in Abcu where I have a muchlarger ranch when I decided to
start raising and traininghorses.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
That . So I want people to know, because we, I I
never wanna assume that peoplewho are listening have ever
been here. But , um, when youtalk about ABA q , that's , um,
can you explain to folks wherethat is in relation to Santa
Fe?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yes, it's , uh, where we are is only 36 miles
north, but we're on the , uh,south, we're south of ABA q .
Um, but it's the area thatGiorgio O'Keefe loved so much
and made quite famous by herpaintings. Uh, she has a , they
have a house, her house therenow, right in Aku Town that ,
(09:24):
um, is on the museum tour. Theyhave for people to see which
she'd collected. But she also ,uh, had places she went to out
at Ghost Ranch, which isincredibly beautiful. It's all
the Red Rock and it's justgorgeous out there. But flows
us here where we can ridepretty regularly. Only a couple
(09:45):
miles, a few miles away isCopper Canyon. That's amazing.
Like that. It's so colorful.
Um, it's, it's just a gorgeous,amazing area. And at Ghost
Ranch, one of the other thingsthat's exciting about it for me
is I've always been interestedin ancient history and the ,
the prehistory that'saccessible there is quite
(10:08):
remarkable. Many of the oldestdinosaurs, biggest dinosaurs
they found in the country, inour country are from Abaki in
that area that they found up inthe Bisi as well. So they have
a little prehistoric museumthere, dinosaur museum they
call it. And uh, again, it'sjust , um, amazing how , uh,
(10:34):
many cultures and ancienthistory is accessible in this
area, which is another thingthat fascinates me. So
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I had no idea. Um, I, I mean, I didn't know the,
the, the prehistoric historythat , um, I didn't have any
idea. How did I not know that?
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Oh, you can still find dinosaur bones when you're
just walking around out thereand Nautilus and shark's teeth
and
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Wow. Wow. So you came to Santa Fe , um, because
of the foundries. I , I'm , I'mjust gonna be really , um,
transparent. I know so littleabout the actual process of how
you create, but I mean the, thefoundry is the last step,
right? Is that
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yes, yes. So I spend most of the time just creating
a piece in clay. Then when Ifinish that, I take it to a ,
um, mold maker who makes themother mold. And it's a two
molds process, lut waxprocesses where you, you can
(11:44):
make a mold in a siliconrubber, so you can reuse it by
injecting melted wax into themold. And then that can be put
into the ceramic shell moldthat's destroyed each time a
casting is done. So it's a longlaborous process to, to do
(12:06):
bronzes. And we haven'timproved on it much since the
Egyptian times except thesilicon rubber
probably our best ad uh,advance in terms of the
process.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
And you do, I mean , uh, so I got really familiar
with your work because I hungout all the time at Sorel Sky ,
which is, is it the onlygallery where you show in Santa
Fe?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Um, yeah. And most galleries , uh, insist on
being, having an exclusive withan artist. So , uh, but I do
have another gallery with SorelSky up in Durango, and I have
three galleries in Arizona.
I've limited my galleries nowas I'm aging to , uh, galleries
(12:53):
I can get to in a day. So thegalleries that I used to have
in California or New York orwhatever, I , I don't wanna
deal with anymore. I justprefer them to be I accessible
to me in a , that I can driveto
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Drive . Well, I , um, you know, we would, when we
lived downtown, we would walkdowntown on Friday evening and,
and hang out in a gallery,which is one of my favorite
things to do. Oh , nice . In ,in Santa Fe. And so I want
folks to know that when theywalk into Sol Sky, you, you're
really prolific. I mean, youhave a lot of pieces there. Is
(13:30):
that years and years of work,or, I mean, you're just, you
create so much.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Oh , well, I, I've , uh, always been fast
with the things that I've , uh,sculpted knowing a lot, having
a lot of friends, and justcomparing. But , uh, that's one
thing. But also, I've beendoing this a long time and ,
(13:56):
um, uh, I have a show this yearat Medicine Man , medicine
Man's , um, art of the WestMuseum, that's a 50 year
retrospective. So I've beendoing it a long time.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Well, and you do , um, your subjects are quite
frequently animals, largeanimals, I mean all , all
sizes. But talk, talk aboutthat animal piece because I'm
you, whether you're doing ahorse or a bobcat or a , an
owl, the detail is amazing. Idon't even know how you make
(14:36):
that happen.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Oh, well, thank you.
Um, I actually, if anyone looksclosely, I pretty loose in
terms of the detail. I, I tie ,especially with my animals, I
tend to agitate the surfacemore to give them energy.
'cause I really like doing theanimals in repose. Like you
(14:57):
just capture a moment when yousee a , a , um, some wildlife
relaxing like a bobcat orwhatever. Um, but what I really
like to focus on is theexpression and the, the, and
making the personality or thecharacter of that animal be
(15:21):
what is , um, convincingly realin the sense of, excuse me, in
the sense of a , um, apersonality or character that's
there. And it , it , that to meis the most fun about
(15:41):
sculpting, is seeing what kindof character comes out. And
when I first moved to the area,I started doing a lot of the
Native American subject matter,particularly women, because it
was just so exciting to me tosee these cultures that I
(16:02):
wasn't familiar with comingfrom the East Coast. And , um,
even then, when I would do apiece, I wouldn't try to be
copying a particular person. Imight use archival photos to
get a real understanding ofbone structure and stuff. But
(16:23):
what was fun was waiting forthat personality to emerge when
I'm sculpting. And so I had tobe familiar with how they would
look if I was doing aparticular like Navajo or
Pueblo Indian. They'redifferent. So, so , um, I had
(16:44):
to be familiar enough withthat, but then I just let it,
it's almost like you feel likeyou're a vessel and maybe you
notice this about your writingwhen you understand a subject
enough that you can let it goand let it come through you in
some way that , um, makes youfeel like you're connected to
(17:04):
that collective consciousness.
Or, and, and also at the sametime, reaching down to yourself
, uh, to the subconscious levelof your experience with a
character that's emerging.
Like, I've often seen my motherin this piece. It may have been
a Navajo piece, doesn't looklike , um, my mother in any
(17:25):
way, shape or form, but it's asensibility or it's a, a
personality that I , I wasreminded of when I saw a person
that inspired me. Like the onewith my mother, for instance,
was , um, a woman who oversaw,she was a medicine woman in the
(17:47):
Navajo reservation who wasoverseeing a kada ceremony. I
was involved , uh, I wasinvited to, and a kada is the
coming of age of a young girl.
So it's , uh, it's like a fourday ritual ceremonies and that
sort of thing. And this , um,medicine woman came in to
oversee it. And I, and I didn'tdo that sculpture until a
(18:11):
couple years after that , um,experience. But so when I did,
it could really be acombination of what it was
about that woman that inspiredme to sculptor. And it helps me
discover myself, what it isabout that person that I could
(18:35):
connect with for whateverreason. So , um, I feel the
same way about the animals. Ireally want them to, a lot less
important than making sureevery hair is right on their
body. And I tend to be reallyloose with that. Mm-hmm
(18:56):
character that you canrecognize.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
So that's just like the piece that you, that you
donated last year, which wasthe, I think it's Distance
Thunder, which was the motherwith the baby with the basket.
Now I can't remember the nameof the basket, but it was, you
know, there was , um, so muchpersonality in both her and the
(19:20):
baby in their faces. I mean,that's one of my favorite
pieces ever. There's so muchmovement. Um, I I, some , uh,
we're gonna have to, we'll haveto show people a , a photo of
it, if that's okay. Be becauseit's so , um, I mean, it's just
a such a lifelike piece , butthey all are.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Well, thank you.
Thank you. And with thosepieces, I tended to be much
more careful and accurate aboutthe clothing and stuff than
what I'm doing now with theanimals. But again, she's
moving and, and it's, I don'tknow, I just feel like when you
get too detail oriented, it canstagnate a piece of the piece
(20:06):
itself is not in a dynamicmode, you know? So a reclining
, um, mountain lion forinstance.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
A little more energy and it's , uh, in its body in
terms of the wave sculptcompared to like the distant
thunder, which you can do muchmore careful detail. 'cause
she's in action, she's movingand the wind is blowing and all
that. So
Speaker 1 (20:33):
She's a little, she's a little anxious, a
little. Yeah. There's
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Thunder coming and she has her
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Patch . Yeah , she's coming . Gotta get it . Right.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
And maybe the thunder of hooves could be even
be more dangerous thanlightning. Uh, but she's, but ,
uh, what I wanted to get withthe baby is that she, the
little baby is just likeexciting . Uh , she's seeing
coming and oh, mom's allexcited, you know,
I wanted them to have differentexpressions.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
So we, I mean, we are, it is the real Santa Fe
podcast. Is there any piecethat's really inspired
specifically by the city or by,or , or are , is there just a
piece of it in everything youdo?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Well, I'd have to say the latter is correct. I
think when we expose ourselvesto things that really grab our
interest and we really lookinto them, then it becomes part
of , um, how I view the world.
So it winds up being in a lotof what I can't help but being
a lot of what I do. But , um, Ithink there are two pieces
(21:46):
really that I could say thatwere specific to the Santa Fe
area. And , um, they're both ,uh, pieces that , um, only
happened because I, I had theexperience of being in living
in Santa Fe, and one was acalled, the series , uh, was
(22:07):
called The Fabric of Life. Andit was my taking on the , um,
process of creating weavings ofthis Navajo woman that started
when she was a child takingcare of sheep. And that
sculpture was called Spring.
She has sheep that she's , um,tending. And then the next one
(22:28):
was , um, summer spinning. Andthat was her as a mother
learning to spin and having herown children, she's teaching.
And then , um, the next one was, um, Granada Red, where she's
throwing out, she's an olderwoman now , uh, at the prime of
her life doing incredibleblankets. And she's proudly
(22:52):
throwing one out it to shake itout to show it to people. And
then I know
Speaker 1 (22:57):
That that's an amazing,
Speaker 2 (23:01):
It was like to market . And this is , um, the
, a woman again in her prime,and she's taking the blankets
to market on the back of ahorse. And then the last one is
winter warmth , where it's theold woman , uh, with her
husband who's being wrapped andsheltered by one of her
blankets as they enter theirelderly years. So that was,
(23:25):
without a doubt, totally frommy experiences, we've, we used
to go out to the reservation ona regular basis, for instance,
which is why I saw the Candaceremony and , um, and go to
some of the Crown Point rugauctions and things. So came
from that. But then the otherone that I thought I should
(23:46):
mention was of , um, MariaMartinez, who is very famous ,
uh, Samuel Defonso Potter, whowas born in 1887 and , uh, died
in 1980. So she became reallyfamous during her peak years
(24:09):
here for her black owned blackpottery. Well , Melissa Rogers
collected a lot of her work. SoMelissa Rogers was doing an
expansion of their museum andasked me to do a portrait of
Maria in three dimensions. And, uh, I was nervous about that
for two reasons. One is that Ijust injured my right hand by
(24:31):
overs, sculpting on a, on alife-sized piece, and I had it
in a cast and one, and then thesecond one is, I don't usually
work that way. I usually workon what I pull up for myself
and, and the collected , uh,knowledge of a particular , um,
type of person I'm sculpting.
(24:52):
So to do a portrait was justnot what I've done. So , uh, I
gave myself a lot of time. Isaid, look, if you can show me
tons of photographs so I candecide what I can learn her
expressions and stuff, and seesomething where she really
opens up to the camera, which,you know, a Pueblo woman bought
(25:15):
, uh, born in that time, Imean, they would grow up being
very closed right to publicmm-hmm
it wasn't that accepted that,that anyone, male or female be
picked out as special becauseof what they do. It just isn't
, was not acceptable in theirculture. Mm-hmm
(25:37):
So it's very hard to find outof hundreds of pictures where
she actually looks at thecamera with an expression that
, um, shows some of herpersonality. But I found some.
And so I said, I just need alot of time because of my hand.
And they said, okay. Uh, and Istarted the piece, and I think
(26:00):
the reason this is important totell you is that , um, and
this, because it was such a biglearning experience for me ,
uh, and it couldn't havehappened had I not been given
this , um, commission. But Istarted working , um, and I
work a lot at night. And , uh,as I started working, being
(26:24):
very concerned, like, I have tosculpt this with my left hand,
which I never do, and I'm doinga portrait , which I never do
one of the fastest births I'veever given to a sculpture. And
(26:44):
what would happen is I'd be inmy studio working, and I can
only tell you the feeling. It'sno way, other way could I
convince anyone. But I reallyfelt her presence and I felt
that she was there and workingwith me. There have been other
times in my life where I havefelt like I don't know where
(27:07):
something's coming from that'shappening, it's as if I'm just
being a vessel for something oran image, a subject. But this
was super clear to me, andI've, I've never been that
convinced about that sort of ,um, existence of other spirits
that can connect with us. Thatmade me a believer. And , um,
(27:33):
it wound up being a superimportant , um, piece that I'll
always remember of the hundredsof sculptures I've done in my
life. Because of that, becauseof that help I really felt I
had. Um, and she, when youthink about it, to do what she
had done back in a period wherethat was not very acceptable
(27:55):
for women to rise to thatprominence. Uh, she had to be a
pretty determined , uh, lady.
And so I, I just felt it was anamazing experience to have that
connection with her. So thatwas definitely from being here
(28:17):
,
Speaker 1 (28:18):
You, you, it gave me a chill when you were say ,
talking about that, because Iknow that, I mean, I believe
too that , um, we're if, ifwe're creative that we
sometimes just have to sit andknow that there's something
bigger than us that isinforming everything that's in
(28:41):
the middle of what we're doing.
I mean, and , and sometimes itshows up and sometimes it
doesn't, but , um, it's, Imean, you're, you are such a
hard worker that , um, youalways make the time and the
space for that to, to show up.
I don't, I don't , and I don'teven know if I'm conveying it
clearly, but that's,
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Oh, I, I totally understand and agree. We have
to be able to be quiet enoughto listen. And I think that's
why my studio is such animportant aspect of me and my
life, is that it puts me inthat , uh, for lack of a better
word, zen mode, where youreally can , uh, quiet your
(29:26):
mind. And I have a very busymind. So to be able to quiet it
long enough to listen is , um,what my studio allows me to
have in my day as a habit. Andit's easy to let that go and
just be like, run through yourlife, like whack-a-mole, you
(29:48):
know, you just go from onething to another, to another,
to another. Everything pops up.
We live in a society that's so, um, information accessible,
you know, so much coming at usall the time. Right . Uh , but
to have those quiet times Ithink are pretty critical if
you , um, are interested in thecreative process,
Speaker 1 (30:12):
I , I , um, well, we, we could talk about this
process for a long time becauseI'm so fascinated by it, and
I'm so, you know, StephenPressfield says, I just go out
to the studio every morning andsit down and begin the work.
And, and that's where the, Imean, the magic happens in the
hard work and sitting in theseat, standing in the studio ,
(30:35):
um, Noona Burgess says the samething. He says, I just have to
go and be in that studio eighthours every day. Oh , wow .
Yeah . And the art will showup.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah. Uh , I do believe you have to have that
head clearing space and timeand uh , and I don't, I'm not
rigid in my hours. I go, when Irealize I have to do this, I
have to go to my studio,
because life can get so busyotherwise, you know, it's , um,
(31:09):
yeah. So when I really have togo, it's like my respite. It's,
it's a very important time thatI spend there. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Well , when you're out and about, I would love for
folks to hear what you like todo best when you're in, in
town, when you're in Santa Fe.
I mean, I know Sorel Sky , um,is one of my favorite
galleries. Is it , is it yoursas well?
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And , uh, I have old connections
with family there. ShannonCampbell, who owns the gallery,
is the daughter of Ben KnightHorse Campbell. And when , um,
uh, well, I'm still showingthere , uh, when I was showing
in Durango, we had showstogether every year. So I got
(31:56):
to know Ben and Linda verywell. And , um, when Shannon
said she was opening a galleryin Santa Fe, I was very excited
to go with her. 'cause I thinkshe's extremely dynamic and
understands , um, so much ofthe whole picture for artists,
because her dad was, and she'stold me about, told me stories
(32:18):
about remembering coming downwhen she's just a little girl
with her dad to Indian marketbecause he's a jeweler and ,
um, very accomplished. And soshe really got a sense of what
it was like , um, from theartist's point of view as well
as from the gallery points ofview. And , um, I think that
(32:41):
shows in how she presents , um,the work in her two galleries.
And she's also a lot of fun towork with.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
I would say to folks, if you're only gonna be
in Santa Fe for a couple ofdays and you're looking for a
gallery, that's, that's onewhere , um, not only do you, I
mean, you see , they have a a,I mean, they've got jewelry,
they've got sculpture, they'vegot the amazing contemporary
art and traditional art. I, I,it's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
I think so too. And she doesn't limit her idea of
what is good art to a , a typeof art. She really just goes
for good art, no matter whetherit's even abstract. It's, you
know, she, she has a good eyefor that. And that , uh, I
really appreciate too, becauseI enjoy doing a lot of
different styles. Uh ,explained a little bit about
(33:37):
the different approach I dowith the human figures and with
the wildlife. But then I reallygot into the rock art imagery,
which came from going aroundand, and hiking to see
petroglyphs and pictographs inthis area, which led me to then
go to even more ancient , uh,cave paintings like in Europe.
(34:00):
So it , uh, it's been theinitiation initiator of so many
creative excursions I've goneon that , um, just continues.
It's, it's never ending. Alifetime isn't long enough,
Speaker 1 (34:17):
No, it's not. It absolutely isn't. Well, I have
so many more questions. Can wedo this again,
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Oh , sure, sure.
Yeah .
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay. I, I , um, because I'm, I'm so inspired by
how hard you work and what youcreate, but I want, I want
folks to know about you and tofind you and , um, someday I'm
gonna own my own Star Yorkpiece.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
My pleasure. And Johanna, thanks so much for
switching to Zoom, so I can Oh
Speaker 3 (34:55):
Yeah, no problem.
I'm glad I was like, it's, it'sbetter than we don't have any
issues, but yeah. I love your,I love your work too. It's so
nice to, to talk to you in , inperson,
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Well , there is one thing, and Johanna can edit
this in. I, I really was , um,we've told where they can see
your work locally, but what,what do you wish that more
people knew about Santa Fe? Um,
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Well, it's a super generous community. The, the
amount of nonprofits here areamazing for such a small town,
and that's always beenimportant to me. Uh, I have a
small business. I can't , um,uh, afford to donate as much as
I'd like to, to these importantcauses. But I can give a piece
(35:41):
of art and I can be involved inother ways. Like, we've done
fundraisers for charities hereat the ranch, and , um, one was
the trailer painted ponies and,and the main event, and that
helped a therapeutic ridingprogram. So those things are
hugely important to me, and Ican't imagine being in a
(36:04):
community that's more generousand supports that so much. I
mean, that , geez , theSweetheart Ball is one of the
biggest, most fun events of theyear in Santa Fe
Speaker 1 (36:19):
It is . And I, and that's, that's interesting
because I've thought about thata lot of , um, you know, what
is different about Santa Feother than, you know, the sky
is amazing, the art is amazing,but it's really , um, the
generosity, the, the big heartsof the people that I meet here
that I , you know, when peopleare moving here, that's what
(36:42):
they wanna know. They don'twanna know , um, where they're
going to eat dinner on aWednesday night. They really
wanna know what it's gonna feellike to be part of something
bigger and better. I think,
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, it's, it that really is gratifying. I think.
Um, I think most creativepeople have a more of an
altruistic view of the world,and not all for sure, but , uh,
certainly
in , um, the people who aredrawn to Santa Fe.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
I like that. Love it here. So thank you again to
everybody who took time tolisten to this really amazing
conversation that I just hadwith, with sculptor and artist
star Leona York. You can findher work at the Sorel Sky
Gallery here and also inDurang. I'm , yes. In Durango
and , um, in a couple of placesin, I know in Scottsdale,
(37:41):
right?
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Scottsdale and Tucson. Yes. Mm-hmm
Speaker 1 (37:46):
And, and I, I just, I want you to know that Star is
indicative of the people wholive and create in Santa Fe.
Generous, kind, thoughtful, andreally respectful of the
cultures where she findsherself. So if you're ever more
curious about what's going onin Santa Fe, give us a yell and
(38:09):
um, go to the , go to the SolSky Gallery over on Palace and
check out her work. Thank youso much.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Me too .
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Thank you so much.
Oh ,
Speaker 4 (38:20):
Thank you, star .
Speaker 5 (38:22):
See you .
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