This man stands out among Native American artists as one of the groundbreakers, one who created something special, new and different.

David John was born in 1963 and raised just east of the Hopi Mesas at Keams Canyon, Arizona. As a young boy, he was a favorite of his grandfather, who was a Navajo Medicine Man and revered by the Navajo people.

Old friends are special, especially when you haven’t seen them for a while. I had not heard from Bonnie Fragua for a couple of years, which I guess is true of a lot of our Native acquaintances.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a huge boom in interest in Southwestern Native American art, but mostly in Indian jewelry. Turquoise and silver were the rage and, while much of the jewelry sold at that time was mediocre, and a lot of it was never touched by an actual Native American.

Back in December, we featured a Navajo artist named Fritson Toledo who was making some incredible jewelry that looked like it could have come out of the early 1900s.

That is not easy to do.

The Nambé people made traditional pottery until the middle of the 20th century when it came close to dying out. Lonnie Vigil did not start out to revive the pottery arts of his village, in fact, he did his best to get away from the traditional life of the Pueblos.

Prior to the 1880s nearly all Navajo weavings, except for saddle blankets, were made to wear. The Chief Blankets are the best known, but other styles consisting primarily of stripes of alternating colors, primarily blue and brown, were also popular. These were called Moki blankets. The origin of the word is not known.

Zachariah Ben just brought in a new selection of his work. Zachariah is the son of Joe Ben, Jr., who was one of the original Navajo artists to use sand painting in a contemporary manner.

For more than 20 years, Cowboys & Indians magazine has been one of the most popular publications for people who love and appreciate the Western and Native cultures. The magazine is so popular that people buy and sell past issues online.

The Pueblo of Zia is known for the beautifully decorated pottery produced in the village. It is one of the most recognizable styles of pottery from the many Pueblo villages along the Rio Grande. Not all Zia artistry is limited to pottery, however.

Some people have a sense of humor, some don’t. I’ve always found that it was a lot more fun hanging around with someone that did. A person I’d like to spend time with is Cochiti Pueblo potter Martha Arquero. Almost all her work captures the funny bone of the human spirit.

The Bear is important to the Tewa people. When the Tewa left Chaco Canyon on their trek to the Rio Grande, they were out of water. They found the tracks of a bear and followed them to a stream that comes into the area where Santa Clara now stands. They could hear the water before they saw it, and they named the stream, translated into English, "Singing Water.”