Count on Delbert Buck for Navajo folk art with a smile.

Among the names that stand out in the circle of talented Navajo Folk Artists, Delbert Buck may be the most “creative”.

Born in Shiprock, NM in September 1976, Delbert began carving at a very early age. Some say his first carvings were when he was around nine-years-old and he carved toy guns to play with. Others say he began to hit his carving stride in his early teens, when his fascination with horses and airplanes inserted those subjects into his portfolio of carvings.

In any case, this son of Wilford and Jenny Buck quickly expanded his carving activities, with his first “shows” at 13. His work soon was included in the authoritative books about Navajo folk art, “The People Speak – Contemporary Navajo Folk Art” and “The Trading Post Guidebook.”

The single characteristic that consistently emerges from Buck's creations is his sense of humor.

He has been quoted as saying his favorite part of what he does, and what he hopes others will get out of it, is a “smile”. His eclectic sculptures, combining horses, broncs, motorcycles, airplanes and a wide range of other colorful characters from Navajo culture, and his own unconventional imagination, are very popular and highly collectable.

He works in a shack at his home, using simple tools such as a hand saw, utility knife and hammer. He carves from pieces of cottonwood that are found on in nearby washes. Delbert does the carving and the painting, with assistance from his mother and sisters when it comes to dressing up the carvings.

As buyers, collectors and resellers of Delbert's work, we often are drawn to his pieces simply because of their delightful perspective on subjects that are otherwise cliched, but not in the hands of Delbert Buck.

They also often have a patriotic quality, which appeals to us, and makes them wonderful works to display around national holidays such as the 4^th of July. The flag-toting, red, white and blue, biker grandma to the left, is and example.

See also the portrayal of Uncle Sam piloting a bi-plane with sheep as his wing-critters.

Special Note: TribalWorks.com is taking temporary mark-downs on Delbert Buck's pieces in stock. You are encouraged to take advantage of these savings now.

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Free Shipping of Native American art & jewelry

As the year-end holidays roll towards us, many of you are thinking of what to give your favorite aunt or friend or even children. (We have one client who buys a new fetish carving for her son every year as a way of encouraging him to appreciate Native American art and culture and to get him into collecting.)

When you visit our web sites at ZuniLink and Native-JewelryLink, please keep in mind that we will pay for shipping to you or the person you are giving to, from now through December 15. Pre-Christmas delivery is guaranteed if we receive your paid order by December 15.

We also guarantee satisfaction through January 5 so that you or gift your receivers can change your minds about any piece you order.

We also will provide free shipping for most items of Arctic and Navajo folk art at TribalWorks. If you see something you like ask about our shipping policy for the Holidays. We will work with you.

Thank you and please have a grateful Thanksgiving.

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Tribal Art Holiday Loyalty Sale - Starts Now. Save 25%

Do I smell turkey roasting? Hmm.

Thanksgiving must be near.

That means it’s time for Aboriginals’ Annual Holiday Loyalty Sale.

From today through November 22, 2009, we are offering our loyal e-newsletter and this blog subscribers 25% off every purchase.

Give the love of your life a beautiful authentic Native American jewelry bracelet, pendant or other item of adornment at 75% below the regular price.

Save 25% on a beautiful Native American Pueblo pot, storyteller or Nativity set.

Any fetish collector in your circle will be gratefully impressed by a Zuni, Cochiti, San Felipe or Navajo carving.

Check out our extraordinary collection African tribal masks and carvings, charming Inuit items, make-you-smile Navajo folk art pieces and traditional tribal art by world-class Australian Aboriginal artists.

Everything on our websites is yours at 25% off the listed price. Just include this code – “Tribal 2009” - in your order. We’ll take the 25% off at “check-out”.

(We are not changing the listed prices on the web site because these discounts are available only to loyal subscribers and when the sale is over on November 23, the original prices will stand.)

Don’t wait too long. Choice items will go first. And we will need time to ship before Christmas.

Thank you for your loyalty.

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Folk art market is alive and well

Reports from Santa Fe, New Mexico, say that sales at the 2008 Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, recently concluded, were up 19% over 2007 sales. Sales at booths handled by the market were $1.45 million. Sales at booths that handled their own sales are still being tabulated. Market attendance also was almost 20% higher in 2008 and than 2007.

This is encouraging news for artists, dealers, buyers and sellers in the tribal art market.
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Brought to you as a service to those interested in the world of tribal art by Aboriginals Gallery and its partner websites at Native-JewelryLink, Native-PotteryLink, TribalWorks and ZuniLink.

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What are links and why do we have them?

If you have visited our web pages more than once, you may see a page identified in one way or another as containing "links".

In many ways, links are the lifeblood of the web. With literally billions of web pages, how do you find the one you are looking for? Well, you can enter a known address (or URL) in the browser and go directly to it.

If you don't know the address, or can't remember it, you must turn to a search engine. Google is the most popular, although there are many more.

So how does Google sort out from all the web sites available, the ones that are most likely to have the information you are looking for?

For any given search term there may be hundreds of web sites that could apply. Of course, the more specific your search phrase, the less guessing room there is for Google. For example, "pot" will get you one result. "Pottery" will get something else. Native American pottery will get you yet another result. And so forth.

Which brings us to "links."

They work at least two ways.

First is that they give you someplace else to look if you don't find your answers on one web site. Look on their "links" page, if they have one, and they may list a number of similar sites that require nothing more than a click from you to take a look. The links list usually includes a short description of the content on the other end of the link. Moreover, the links listed are supposed to have been vetted by the site that lists them. They should be sites that the site owner trusts more than others.

That leads to the second role played by "links". Since it is almost impossible to know which web sites are the best matches for any given search phrase, the search engine relies heavily on what other web sites think are the most appropriate sites for any subject. It's almost as if the link is a vote of confidence from the web community. Therefore, the more links a web site has, the better suited it should be answer any particular question.

That's the theory. Practice often is different. There are web sites that sell links and others that have more than hundreds or thousands of links. These links are disorganized and hardly votes of anything except avarice or attempts to "game" the link system.

Nevertheless, links can be important assets for web sites and for web searchers when all these caveats are considered. If you are on a site that has no links, ask yourself why. If there are pages and pages of links, ask yourself why. If there are a few well-organized links for sites of appropriate subject to the site you are on, they can be excellent guideposts to save you time and send you to trusted sites.

We have four web sites that feature various aspects of tribal art.

ZuniLink.com presents a wide range of authentic hand-carved fetishes, or spirit figures, from Zuni and other Native American carvers. The carvings are believed to have spiritual powers of protection, healing, cunning, wisdom and other valuable qualities.

TribalWorks.com is more like a tribal pot-pourri with sections devoted to Australian Aboriginal art, Arctic art, African tribal art and Native American Navajo folk art. Each item has been hand selected by me and Susanne as something we like well enough to keep.

Native-JewelryLink.com, as its name implies, offers beautiful jewelry in silver and gold, with turquoise, coral and other lapidary materials such as lapis, malachite, opal and sugilite. Every piece isl handmade with great care and devotion to the art.

Finally, Native-PotteryLink.com is a feast of authentic Native American Indian Pueblo pottery, created by hand-coiling, hand-firing, hand-painting and polishing in the finest traditions of Native American pottery. (incidentally, there is a 20% to 40% off sale currently in progress at Native-PotteryLink.com)

Each of the sites includes a page of links that we have found to be generally appropriate and trustworthy. Of course, there is no way to guarantee that nothing has changed with any of these sites since we last reviewed them. The only thing we can guarantee is the quality of our own offerings. Which we do by giving you a 10-day period after you receive it in which to return any item from us.

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New Navajo Folk Art at Tribalwoks

William & Susanne Waites have just added new folk art carvings by Navajo artist Matthew Yellowman to the web site at TribalWorks.

Here are some thumbnails:A raven in full stride with orange sneakers on its feet,
mounted on a finished wood base.

This roadrunner on the run displays the widely respected detail of Matt Yellowman's
work. In orange sneakers attached to a finished base.

This brown-sneakered quail is exquisite in the detail of its colorful painting.

Cowboy roosters are a favorite subject for Matthew Yellowman.
This one has a black hat and cowboy boots of brown and gray.

This rooster is outfitted in a brown 10-gallon hat and boots of black and gray.

Matthew Yellowman has extraordinary talent and a keen sense of humor, as evidenced here. These are but the latest of the folk art carvings in the TribalWorks Navajo Gallery. You are encouraged to review them and others in greater detail.

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New Navajo Folk Art Carvings at TribalWorks.com

A handful of new folk art carvings by Navajo Matthew Yellowman have been added to the selections available at TribalWorks.com. We're showing a sampling of the new pieces here. Yellowman's work is distinctive in its excellent attention to detail combined with a vibrant sense of humor.

This hand-carved and hand-painted owl stands in moccasins.

This roadrunner in sneakers makes a jog in the desert look like fun.

Lots of folks are attracted to ravens. This one is very attractive.

This rooster is typical of Yellowman's to-crow-about work.

See more of Matt's colorful work at TribalWorks now. And visit our other web sites for authentic Zuni and other tribal fetish carvings at ZuniLink ; beautiful, conversation-worthy Native American jewelry at Native-JewelryLink and elegant, hand-built Native American Pueblo Pottery at Native-PotteryLink.

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