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El Toro
Crooked Arrow Jackson, 59, Wife/Artist/Counselor
Flagstaff, AZ
"I am a self-taught artist and crafter who enjoys creating things, especially from discarded material," states Crooked Arrow Jackson, who also counts counseling, gardening, writing, fashion design, and – not least – raising a family among her skills. At Flagstaff's Seventh Annual Recycled Art Exhibition, a table Jackson fashioned from magazines received the award for "Best Use of Materials," and she also was featured on the front page of the Arizona Daily Sun in an article titled "She Makes Trash Sing." The artist treasures the Native American values that are a part of her heritage, noting, "My grandmother told me that things are only trash when they can no longer speak their usefulness and beauty to you; so when I see what people throw away, I look for the beauty that still may be hiding in it."
The 59-year-old Jackson – who was told back in high school that she didn't have what it takes to be an artist – exhibited a work at 2008's Red Bull Art of Can event in Houston, and she has two pieces on display at Union Station this year. "El Toro" depicts a matador challenging a truck instead of a bull, while "Red to the Rescue" evokes a lifesaving canine. "It was inspired by my dog who died last year," Jackson relates. "He used to watch over me when I had seizures." Altogether, the two works required 67 days and 337 cans to complete. After all these years, Jackson says, exhibitions are finally offering her "the chance to have my work considered art and to be called an artist." |