Monty Claw
ARTISAN DETAILS
INTRODUCTION
Navajo artist Monty Claw just finished an interview with Native Peoples Magazine that will be released during this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market. The road to artistic recognition was a long one that started when he was five years old.
HALLMARK
Monty Claw short hallmark
1982 to Present
TRIBE:
Navajo
STYLE:
Tufa Cast Silver & Gold, Lapidary, Native American Church Beadwork & Surreal Paintings
FIRST YEAR MAKING ART:
1982
ARTISAN INTERVIEW
You grew up in Gallup?
Yes, I grew up here and graduated from Gallup High School.
So how did you get interested in art? Did you have family members who made art?
My dad did bead art, but he was always busy working so I wasn’t around it at home.
When did you get interested in art?
Well I was already interested in art when I was five years old. I would do drawings in high school. I had two teachers who inspired me to concentrate more of my energy towards art.
Who were the teachers, and what kind of art were you doing?
Kathy Noe and Tom Hall taught art at Gallup High School and really got me serious about art. I was doing some two-dimensional and three-dimensional art at this time.
When you say serious what do you mean?
I thought about it as a career and enrolled in the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe after graduating high school.