You are buying an original sand painting by James C. Joe, a renowned Diné (Navajo) artist and traditional medicine man (hatałii) from Shiprock, New Mexico, who pioneered the transition of sacred ceremonial sandpainting into a permanent fine art medium.

12” x 12” x 1/2”

It could use cleaning but I don’t want to ruin it! 

“Thunder

This is Navajo religion ceremonial

sand painting design. This painting 

made out of natural color sand. 

James C. Joe

Gen Del

Shiprock New Mexico 

87420

1968”

Role as a Pioneer: James C. Joe was among the first artists to successfully fix natural crushed colored sand, dirt, and stone onto boards (such as plywood or particle board) using a glue base, creating permanent display pieces

Balancing Tradition: As both a respected hatałii (medicine man) and a visual artist, he helped establish cultural and religious parameters for which sacred ceremonial symbols and creation narratives—such as the Whirling Logs, Storm People, and Mountain God—could be respectfully adapted into secular fine art

Museum Collections: His fine sand art pieces, created actively from the 1960s through the 1980s, are preserved in prominent institutions including the National Museum of the American Indian