Smartest Artist Night at the Museum Research Study Guide
Topic: Navajo Sand Painting
good website: www.navajopeople.org/navajosandpainting
History of sandpainting from http://gosw.about.com/od/nativeamericanculture/a/sandpainting.htm
Where Did Sandpainting Start?
It is widely believed by historians that Navajo people learned sand painting from Pueblo Indians, who
came to live with them after the Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The Navajos, however, credit the
knowledge of sandpaintings to the “Holy Ones” who instructed them in the healing ways. As the “Holy
Ones” can’t be seen by human eyes, the instructions were relayed through spirits such as the Wind
People who taught ceremonial songs and chants. Sacred paintings were revealed on sheepskin scrolls
with instructions to do the painting with colors of Mother Earth and to pass on the knowledge to those
in future generations who had the patience and ability to learn it
Outsiders Discover Sandpainting
Sacred designs were hidden from outsiders until the late 1800’s when a Navajo woman used a sacred
design in a rug, the first time the ceremonial design was used in a non-traditional manner. In the early
1900’s many traders and historians reproduced designs of ceremonial sandpainting on paper. The actual
capability to make permanent sandpaintings was initiated by David Villasenor who developed a simple
“How to Sandpaint” kit around 1960, intended for school children. Fred Stevens is believed to be the
first Navajo to use the Villasenor method for making permanent sandpaintings. Until 1975, most
sandpaintings were rather crude and dull in appearance done with a limited number of simple designs.
They have only been commercially available for about 25 years, although a few examples of earlier
efforts have been found.
SOURCE: http://gosw.about.com/od/nativeamericanculture/a/sandpainting.htm
The knowledge of sacred painting in sand was given to the Navajo by the Holy People as a way to
invoke the power of these deities to restore balance and harmony in their lives. The images that were
passed on to the people were powerful, and the Navajo were instructed that the images be created in
coloured sand and destroyed before sunrise to avoid the possibility of accidental misuse, or purposeful
abuse by witches. Ceremonial sandpaintings depict images from religious events. The Medicine
man passes on the knowledge the sand paintings used in each chant to an apprentice. Medicine men
would reproduce parts of the sacred images on cloth or hide as memory aids and teaching tools. A
medicine man named Hosteen Klah is credited with the first sandpainting images reproduced as art,
which he wove into rugs.
Source: http://www.camerontradingpost.com/navajo-sandpaintings.html
2. A. STYLE OF ART: The style of the artwork is abstract. The figures are recognizable, but not
realistic.
B. The purpose of sand painting is ceremonial and narrative. This means, it is used on
ceremonies to communicate with spirits and ask for blessings and healing. Narrative means the
pictures tell a story. Originally, sand paintings were
3. Sand paintings are made of sand and natural pigments used to dye the sand. They tell the stories
of the people and communicate prayers for healing and blessings from the people to the spirits.
4. Sand paintings have a lot of lines and geometric shapes to create the images. Neutral (browns,
grays) and warm (orange, yellow, red) colors are most common, but turquoise and black also
show up in many Navajo sand paintings and textiles (woven rugs). Texture is also an important
element because the sand has an actual texture.
5. Pattern is made with lines and shapes and for decoration on the figures. Balance is an important
principle of design because the composition and figures are often symmetrical. Contrast is
another principle that shows up when a dark color and a light color are place next to each other.