The Skinwalker

In Navajo culture, the Skinwalker is an evil entity that is capable of taking various forms. Even now, in modern times, many Navajo are terrified of skinwalkers and believe that even mentioning their existence can manifest the entity and bring one into your life. Although Skinwalkers can take many forms, the most common is usually a wolf. This may be due to the fact that there is so much lore involving werewolves. It is said that when a Skinwalker has taken the shape of an animal, that animal will have human looking eyes, and when the Skinwalker takes human form, their eyes look animalistic. Skinwalkers are also said to wear the face of the animal that they prefer to take the form of on the top of their head. I took all of these into consideration when I designed and made this piece of art. Instead of using a wolf face, I chose a genuine coyote face to place upon the top of the Skinwalker's head. I did this for several reasons. A wolf face would cost a lot more than a coyote face, and wolves are far more sacred to me than coyote as well. I would feel wrong using a wolf face, because it would be hunted down and killed. Coyote are often killed by farmers and there is an abundance of dead coyote. Another reason I chose the coyote is because the Navajo saw the coyote as a trickster, and I felt as though it fit with my version of a Skinwalker well. The used horse hair to make the Skinwalkers hair and eyebrows, and painted the face a ghostly white. I used genuine gold buckskin to make the war shirt, with dyed red and black leather. I added some brass and copper metal pieces to give it some flair, and even included a burlap undershirt. I connected two belt buckle blanks with a bear track cut out to the coyote face, and attached two antler slices, wooden and glass beads, and two feathers. I also made a choker necklace around his neck that is made using glass beads, wooden hair pipes, and genuine buffalo teeth. I used a round section of wood that is 23 inches in diameter as the base, and decorated the background using turquoise colored magnesite, giving it a random mosaic feel. I used genuine antler on the top of the wooden circle, and wrapped the base of each piece of antler with fur. I selected pieces of antler that were broken, chipped, and even chewed on, to help give the artwork a chaotic feel. The antlers make the artwork much larger, making the width 32 inches. The fringe coming off of the war shirt also increase the length of the art, and combined with the antler the piece ends up being 52 inches in length. This artwork comes equipped with two LED lights located on the back of the wooden circle. When each light is turned on, the eyes of the painting flicker yellow. The lights require batteries, and they are included. The painting is 32 inches wide, 52 inches tall, and has a depth of 10 inches.

DIMENSIONS: 32" Wide x 52" Long x 10" Deep

YEAR: 2024

PRICE: $1899