How to set up an RSS feed, and what you are missing if you don’t.

One our customers responded to my earlier mystification as to why more people don’t subscribe to the blog instead of or in addition to the email newsletter.

Her answer was that she didn’t know how to.

So, here are some instructions.

First, you have to set up a blog reader. It’s easy and it does not require any of your hard drives storage capacity.

There are several. I will recommend the one I use because I “know” it.

It’s Bloglines.

Simply go to http://www.bloglines.com.

When the page comes up, click on “register”.

You will receive a “Create an account” page that will ask for your email address, a password, a time zone and your language preference.

Click on the register button.

You will see a page that asks you to confirm your sign by responding to an email message.

You will also see a panel to the left of the page. It has four tabs at the top. You may want click on any of them, but the one you want for blog feeds is “feeds”.

When you click on that after you have confirmed your sign-up, you will get a list of all the blogs to which you have subscribed. The number in bold type will represent blog messages that you have not yet read. When you click on the blog link, the blog text will appear in the right-hand panel. Clicking on the headline will open the actual blog for you.

But first, you can click on “Download Notifier”. You will see a page that says you can download the notifier to your computer based on your browser. Click on the appropriate browser download.

You will receive some choices and warnings. I recommend you choose save (to your desktop).

After download, the “B” icon will appear on your toolbar. When a red nib appears on it, it is telling you there are unread new blogs among your chosen feeds. If you click on the “B” icon, you will go to the Bloglines page with the feeds panel.

Sounds complicated but it is not. Congratulations!! You now have a blog reader.

Next step is subscribing to a blog.

You do this by clicking on the orange RSS icon on any blog to which you want to subscribe. You will get a panel with several blog readers to send your subscription to. Click on the Bloglines icon. You will go to a Bloglines page that will allow you to subscribe to that blog.

An alternative way to subscribe is to click on the “subscribe” button and enter the address of the blog you want to subscribe to. In the case of Tribal Artery, enter http://tribalartery.blogspot.com .

Tradition vs. Innovation - What's up in Tribal art?

One of the hallmarks of tribal art is that it is rooted in tradition. Whether in Africa, where standards for authenticity are quite rigid among collectors, or Native American art, where styles and techniques often are required for acceptance into certain prestigious competitions.

On the other hand, in most other art disciplines, innovation, break-through, new looks and techniques have a premium attached to them.

Now, a new show, "RE: Generations, Legacy & Traditions", at a Minneapolis gallery explores this apparent difference. According to the Star-Tribune newspaper, gallery owner Heid Erdrich stated, "I wanted to show that, yes, there is tradition, but there is a bridge too."

Included in the show are ledger-style paintings on paper and on deer hides and beaver pelts. This brings to mind two paintings that we have in the TribalWorks online gallery. Both are paintings on rabbit pelts, with paintings portraying Southern Cheyenne scenes including a courting scene. Both were painted by Carlisle, are framed in shadow boxes and carry notation cards.

"Young Howling Wolf" on white rabbit skin 18" x 22"

"Courting" on white rabbit skin, 18" x 22"

Both are on display more extensively on our web site, which may be accessed by clicking on the images above. To visit the home page for our TribalWorks website click here.

How much does an auction cost you?

by William Waites, co-proprietor of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person gallery

If you think auctions don't cost buyers anything more than their bids, find out by checking out the next Inuit art auction announced by Waddington's.

It's an online auction on Monday, February 18, 2008 through Thursday, February 21,2008. Online viewing runs February 11 through February 15 at www.waddington's.ca/ONLINEAUCTIONS.

Actually, we like auctions and we like Waddington's, especially for their support of Inuit art. And we have no problem with them making money in return for the labors.

Nevertheless, if you have never entered into the deep water of an online auction, be careful.

Most auctions include a "buyer's premium". We don't know how much the Waddington's auction's will be.

Be sure to check before bidding. Otherwise, your winning high bid could end up costing you significantly more than you bargained for.

For more information about the impending auction visit Waddington's web site.

Three new African art masks added.

Tribal Artery is a periodic blog about tribal art brought to you by William Waites and Susanne Waites of TribalWorks.com.
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Dipping into our personal collection, we have dusted off three masks that had not previously been offered on our TribalWorks website.

Here they are, one from Liberia's Bassa people and two from the Kuba tribe of the Congo:Bassa Bundu Society helmet mask

Kuba helmet mask with raffia collar

Kuba mask with raffia coiffure

If you are an African tribal art collector or curious about African tribal art, pay a visit to TribalWorks.com, Aboriginals Gallery's web site featuring African tribal art in the context of tribal art from Australia, the Arctic, Navajo folk art, Pueblo pottery and Eastern tribal carvings.

Dee Edaakie returns. More Zuni fetishes.

Tribal Artery is a periodic blog about tribal art from William Ernest Waites, tribal art collector and trader.
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The phone rang. We didn't get to it in time.

So we placed a return call to the number.

It was Dee Edaakie, one of our favorite Zuni carvers.

Actually, he had hit the wrong number on his speed dial. When he realized he wasn't dialing his uncle, he had hung up.

We figured it was karma, since we had it on our "to do" list to call Dee about new carvings.

So we ordered and he mailed.

Now there are a handful of beautiful new Dee Edaakie carvings on our ZuniLink website.

Here are some examples:Lapis Lazuli bear by Dee Edaakie

Lapis Lazuli parrot by Dee Edaakie

Hematite bear by Dee Edaakie

Ivorystone bear by Dee Edaakie

Zebra rock bear by Dee Edaakie

Visit the web site at ZuniLink.com to see more and get more information about these and other exciting Dee Edaakie Zuni fetish carvings.

CYA - Cover Your Arts

By William Ernest Waites and Susanne Waites

As collectors, we tend to gather our treasures bit by bit. Before we know it, we have a substantial amount of money invested in our objects d'art.

In the frenzy of collecting, or the excitement of a new acquisition, we often forget to protect that investment.

We're talking keeping an inventory and insuring your collection.

Let's talk insurance first.

No, the probability is that your home owner's insurance does not cover your collection. Even if it does, it probably covers just a limited portion of it.

We occasionally hear complaints from people who have trouble finding an insurance company that does cover art and collectibles.

We recently learned of a company that claims to specialize in such insurance.

Collectibles Insurance Services, LLC, is their name. We have never used them and therefore have no recommendations pro or con about them, their policies or their service. They do have a web site (www.collectinsure.com) and it would make sense to check them out.

One of the statements they make on their web site is that appraisals are unnecessary, so you do not need to have an inventory before insuring. They recommend, however, that you maintain an inventory, complete with photos in order to expedite your claim in the event of a loss.

We would add that an inventory will help you keep track of what you own, what you paid for it, where you acquired it and when it came into your possession. Not only will it help in the event of a loss but it also will be helpful in keeping track of your "net worth." Should something happen to you, you will want your heirs to have this information.

We have seen cases where heirs inherited collections of items about which they knew nothing. Not withstanding the hours of loving time that may have gone into the collection, the entire inheritance may end up in a garage sale. Remember the last time you picked up a steal on an item at an estate sale that you knew the value of but that the seller did not?

Our advice? Create an inventory and insure your collection.

By the way, if you are recording your collection photographically, we recommend that you do it in a moving video instead of, our in addition to, still photography. One of our friends in the disaster clean-up business warns that insurance companies are very familiar with what can be done with photoshop. The often challenge the authenticity of still photographs.

Finally, if you know of other insurance companies that cover collectibles and fine arts outside of normal homeowner's policies, please add that information to the blog through a comment.
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Tribal Artery is brought to you by Susanne Waites and William Ernest Waites in a continuing effort to inform lovers and collectors of tribal art. William and Susanne are the proprietors of four web sites that feature quality tribal art, including ZuniLink.com, Native-JewelryLink.com, Native-PotteryLink.com and TribalWorks.com. Thank you for the time you have spent with us.

Seminole Indian Exhibit Opens Friday Night

Anyone in the greater Fort Myers, Florida, area will want to be certain to visit the Lee County Alliance for the Arts Gallery in Fort Myers for the opening of a stunning new exhibit of photographs from the collection of Woody Hanson.

Covering every wall are photographs taken of the Seminole village in the Florida Everglades and their inhabitants.

Hanson's father was a medical doctor who ministered to the Seminole sin their home villages and became trusted as a friend and ally. Hanson grew up with the Seminoles and he too came to be known as trusted friend and councillor. These photographs from his personal collection provide a unique insight into a culture that is deeply secretive. The exhibit is entitled, " A Photographic Journey with the White Medicine Man."

The exhibition opens Friday night with a special reception from 5 to 7 PM. All are invited to attend. Woody Hanson also will lecture on the culture of the Seminoles on Wednesday, January 23 and February 27. (Mark your calendars.)

The Alliance campus is located on the southeast corner of Colonial Boulevard and McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. Enter 10091 McGregor Blvd in your GPS unit, or take the Colonial Boulevard exit from I-75, travel west until the Cape Coral Bridge, stay in the right lane to turn left under the overpass onto southbound McGregor. The campus will be on your left.
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Tribal Artery is brought to you by Susanne Waites and William Ernest Waites, who are members of the Alliance for the arts and who provide support through their online tribal art galleries, including TribalWorks.com, featuring examples of authentic Seminole dolls and baskets.

African Art takes off - well, almost

The T. Terminal of the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is home to an impressive exhibit of African art. Entitled "Symbolic Use of Animals in African Cultural Arts", the exhibit features the cultural unity of humans and animals, with numerous masks including masks of west and central Africa.

Exhibit sponsor, Herman Bigham claims, "this presentation may be the largest, most widely viewed exhibit of World Class African Traditional Sculptural Art ever displayed in a public place." Bigham advised that the exhibit was successfully presented at the Main Branch Library in Philadelphia, where approximately 25,000 visitors viewed it.

With 35 million travelers annually, the exhibit is bound to spread awareness of the beauty of African art and the rich culture of the African art tradition to millions more before it concludes its run in October, 2008.
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Tribal Artery is brought to you by William Ernest Waites and Susanne Waites, proprietors of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person online gallery, including the web site at TribalWorks.com. Numerous examples of authentic African Tribal art will be found for sale at the site.

Maidens of the Corn, a Zuni Carving Tradition

As long time collectors and dealers in Zuni fetish carvings, Susanne Waites and William Ernest Waites continue to be surprised by new collectors who are unfamiliar with Zuni corn maiden carvings. Perhaps it is because, unlike animals such as bears, frogs and turtles, a smaller group of Zuni carvers create corn maidens, almost as a specialty.

Corn maidens reflect the agricultural and ritual importance of corn to native culture. Small stands of corn are nurtured in the harsh environment to provide the pueblo with corn to be ground for flour and ceremonial purposes.

Corn maidens are emblematic of this respect for corn as a sustainer of life and spirituality.

Not all Zuni carvers carve corn maidens, although most may have done so at one time or another. As carvers mature in their ability and their marketability they tend to specialize in certain carving subjects.

Among those who specialize in corn maidens are members of the famed Quandelacy family.

Green snail shell corn maiden by Stuart Quandelacy, Zuni

Sandra Quandelacy has a long tradition of carving corn maidens, and Kateri Sanchez-Quandelacy is following her example. More recently , Talia Quandelacy has been carving corn maidens in a distinct style.

Todd Westika is another corn maiden carver, usually using shell, but occasionally othre materials such as this turquoise carving..

Todd Westika, Zuni, corn maiden from
Sierra Madre turquoise, silver inlay

Fernando Lawakete and Ron Laahty also carve corn maidens in styles that are unique to them.

Dolomite corn maiden with white marble
butterfly by Ron Laahty, Zuni

Gabe Sice also carves corn maidens, as does Daniel Chattin.

Daniel Chattin, Zuni, corn maiden of fossil
ivory with turquoise and malachite

When discussing corn maidens, it is impossible not to include other figures carved by Zunis and even Navajos. Freddie Leekya carves fascinating Zuni figures. and Troy Sice carves other maiden figures.

Navajo Andy Abeita has carved handsome corn maidens as well.

Navajo corn maiden from striped serpentine
with amber necklace, Andy Abeita

Zuni fetish carving collectors have a world of beautiful works to acquire. Many, include all those shown here, are featured at our ZuniLink.com website. You are invited to drop by and see what is available.
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Tribal Artery is brought to you by William Ernest Waites and Susanne Waites, proprietors of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person online gallery with additional web sites at Native-JewelryLink, Native-PotteryLink and TribalWorks.

Tohono O’odham, the People of the Desert

In the Sonora Desert of south central Arizona, a people reside whose ancestry goes back 100s of years. These are the Tohono O’odham, formerly know as the Pagago Indian tribe, a name translating to “bean eaters” that was rejected by the tribal members who felt it was derogatory.

The reservation, constituting more than 2.8 million acres lies in four disconnected districts, framed by borders south of Casa Grande, including portions of Pinal and Pima Counties and extending south to the Mexican border.

As of December, 2000, the population of Tohono O’odham was estimated at 24,000.

Tohono O’odham people are known principally in the Native American craft world for their baskets. Most Tohono O’odham baskets are monochromatic green or tan, the natural color of the river grass used to weave them.

This Tohono O’odham basket in our collection is a dramatic example of polychromatic weaving in an extraordinary plaque basket.

In the visual arts, Michael Chiago and the late Leonard Chana achieved recognition for paintings and drawings of traditional O'odham activities and scenes. Chiago has exhibited at the Heard Museum and has contributed cover art to Arizona Highways magazine and University of Arizona Press books; Chana illustrated books by Tucson writer Byrd Baylor and created murals for Tohono O'odham Nation buildings.

At the National Museum for the American Indian (NMAI), the Tohono O'odham were represented in the founding exhibition. Mr. Lopez blessed the exhibit. In 2004, the Heard Museum awarded Danny Lopez its first heritage award, recognizing his lifelong work sustaining the desert people's way of life.

Among the more visible aspects of Tohono O’odham are the Desert Diamond Casino, which funds a portion of the tribes activities (but not all) and a major tourist attraction near Tucson, Mission San Xavier del Bac, the "White Dove of the Desert." The mission, founded in 1700 by the Jesuit missionary and explorer Eusebio Kino, is in the San Xavier District. The current church building was constructed by the Tohono O'odham and Franciscan priests from 1783 to 1797. It is one of many missions built in the southwest by the Spanish on their then-northern frontier.

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Tribal Artery is a periodic blog by William Ernest Waites and Susanne Waites, proprietors of Aboriginals:Art of the First Person, an online gallery with links at ZuniLink.com, Native-JewelryLink.com, Native-PotteryLink.com and TribalWorks.com

African Tribal Art goes on sale. Save 30%

As 2008 begins, Susanne and William Waites have added some new African Tribal Art objects and, at the same time, initiated a 30%-off sale for every African Tribal Art object on the TribalWorks (African Room) website.

Among the new objects added from the Waites' personal collection is this Toma mask with raffia trim around the upper face.

(Click images for more information)

Also added were this Baga Nimba mask
and this Lega cap of wicker covered with shell and pangolin scales. (Pangolin is a scaley African ant-eater.)
To repeat - every object of African Tribal Art offered on the TribalWorks website is being offered, for a limited time, at 30% discount from the regular price. We welcome your visit.

Gold passes $850 per ounce. Can Silver be far behind?

The latest news on the metals market is that gold continues to climb in value. A while back we blogged that it was $700 per ounce and had all the signs of rising further. I guess we were right. Now, will it continue to rise? Would this be as good a time to buy gold jewelry as it was a few weeks back?

No guarantees. But we do see less and less gold being used in Native American Indian jewelry. Artists who must risk that their work will not sell - or at least not in a reasonable amount of time - are not willing to invest in metal that is expensive. Those who are working in gold appear to have stock piled some at lower prices.

We are in similar circumstances. We have a number older gold jewelry items - not a lot, but some - which have never had a price increase since we acquired them several years ago.

Andy Lee Kirk (deceased) gold pendant with inlay of coral and opal $875

Andy Lee Kirk (deceased) gold pendant with inlay $2,400

14k gold whale fluke necklace pendant with opal inlay by Yellowleaf $395

Navajo turquoise and gold necklace and earring set $375

Artie Yellowhorse necklace with gold overlay $690

14k Gold Bear on 14k chain by Yellowleaf $220

One of these days we may have to raise their prices to reflect the higher cost of replacement. For now, however, they still are available at those lower prices.

Visit us at Native-JewelryLink or TribalWorks for more information.

Swimming to Australia - Aboriginal Fish Go Home

We are happy to report that four carved wood fish from Maningrida in Australian's Northern Territory are on their way back to Australia.

These four carvings were the work Stephen Kawurlkku, a Ndjebbana man and Australian Aboriginal carver from Maningrida. Each carving is presented on a wooden base. The designs painted on the sides of the fish are based on traditional Aboriginal clan designs, known as 'rarrk".
They have been carved in a great art tradition of Maningrida, which is a small Aboriginal settlement on the Northern Coast of Australia, in what is known as ArnhemLand. When we were there and acquired these pieces, the only access from mainland Australia was by by small airplane.
This may explain why we see so few similar carvings in America.

Now an Australian buyer is adding these attractive carved fish to his collection.

We assume that this will not be his last visit to our web site at TribalWorks, where many more outstanding examples of authentic Australian Aboriginal art are available.

Seminole Photo Exhibit Scheduled

If you happen to be in the Fort Myers Florida area in January and February, you might want to make a note to stop by the Alliance for the Arts on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.

This organization, which is the official arts organization for Lee County as designated by the State of Florida and the County, has a handsome and friendly gallery on its campus at McGregor and Colonial Boulevards, in the shadow (figuratively speaking) of the Cape Coral bridge Colonial ramp.

The gallery will feature a special exhibition of photographs of the Seminole people, from the collection of W. Stanley Hanson. Born in 1883, Hanson was known as the "White Medicine Man". His father, a medical doctor, was a trusted friend of and councillor to the Seminole people.

Photographs that Hanson made, both intimately and respectfully, of Seminole villages, natives and culture deep in the Everglades at the time will be displayed starting January 18 through February 29, 2008.

Those who have seen these photographs describe them as a unique and privileged look into the world of the Seminoles in the 1900s. There will be special opening reception at the gallery on January 18, 2007 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.

The gallery telephone number is 239-939-2787. More information about the show, "A Journey with the White Medicine Man", is available at

http://www.artinleee.org/special_events/upcomingexhibits.html

To view examples of traditional Seminole dolls and baskets, visit TribalWorks online gallery of tribal art. Scroll down to the Seminole section on the page.

Full disclosure, I, William Ernest Waites, am a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for the Arts. I am thrilled that this exhibition is coming to the Alliance. But I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I will, however, be there on opening night.