(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, August 11, 2012 ) SANTA FE, NM -- More than 100 Native American tribes from across the country come to sell their traditional arts and crafts at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market. All of the artists at the market are eager teachers, but only one man can show you how to spin an animal out of solid volcanic glass.
Mark White’s newest artist John Kessler will be giving carving demonstrations on Saturday from 12 – 5 and Sunday from 12-4 at Mark White Fine Art. A meet and greet for Kessler will be held at Mark White Fine Art on Friday, August 17th from 5-7pm.
Kessler is a descendant of the Kispoko Shawnee Tribe of Ohio. He selects pieces of expanded obsidian from a quarry near Yellowstone and then sets about carving them into animals that his ancestors would have known.
The process is a long one, as John uses a variety of tools to form curves and planes in the beautiful swirling stones. Eventually a soft bear or muscled mountain lion takes shape. The final products are so natural that real bears sometimes approach and swat at their stony grey doppelgangers.
Kessler says that sculpting is his way of “possessing the animals that I love so dearly without compromising them in their natural environment.”
Come learn about Kessler’s art and his ancestors with a visit to Mark White Fine Art, located on historic Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
About Mark White Fine Art:
Mark White Fine Art is open 7 days a week from 9:30 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. Anyone can contact the gallery at 505-982-2073, or can go to www.markwhitefineart.com for more information.
