September 4, 2013                                                                  

Please take the time to read this special newsletter - We have much to share in this issue!

As we near another changing of the seasons, we mark the Shop's 75th Anniversary - we are celebrating and giving thanks for the gift of representing American Indian arts in Washington, DC for 75 years. Establishing The Indian Craft Shop was a vision of Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior in 1938, and his vision lives on today with The Indian Craft Shop in its original, historic location, a meaningful setting to showcase the work of American Indian artists from across the United States.  

The Shop resides within one of the most magnificent federal office buildings designed with the progressive architecture and art of the 1930's. Under the support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Secretary Ickes worked closely with and contributed significantly to the work of architect Waddy Butler Wood. The goals were lofty: to achieve efficient and economical use of space, creation of a pleasant work environment, and use of building materials and art to reflect the mission of the Department. With these goals, numerous features were developed, including the Interior Library, the Interior Museum, the cafeteria, double-banked offices in 'wings' of the building so each office would have windows...and The Indian Craft Shop was established as an 'outlet to market Indian goods.' Original murals, created by Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser and Navajo artist Gerald Nailor, graced the walls of the Shop and were accented with tin-mirrored sconces and a mission-style beamed ceiling. 

Join us in Commemorating the

75th Anniversary of The Indian Craft Shop

Beginning September 19 - 21, 2013

In recognizing this significant anniversary, the Shop will be hosting Celebration Markets and Artist Days throughout the remainder of the year. Invited artists, many of whom will be celebrating their own anniversaries with the Shop, as well as artists new to the Shop, will bring their latest works. Artist exhibits and demonstrations will be held in the Shop and in the Shop's outdoor Sculpture Garden. Meet the artists 12:00 noon - 4:00pm each market day.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DATES

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

2:00PM - CAKE CUTTING CELEBRATION

RSVP's not required but appreciated! RSVP to indiancraftshop@guestservices.com or 202-208-4056

ARTIST MARKETS:

SEPTEMBER 19 - 21, 2013

OCTOBER 17 - 19, 2013

NOVEMBER 14 - 16, 2013

SOLO SHOW WITH SHANE HENDREN (NAVAJO):

DECEMBER 12 - 13, 2013

ARTISTS FOR MARKETS:

SEPTEMBER 19 - 21, 2013

Gerald Barnes (Passamaquoddy), Basketry

Caroline Carpio (Isleta),  Pottery and Bronze

Marian Hansson (Kiowa), Fabric Arts

Bille Hougart, Author

Earl Plummer (Navajo), Jewelry

Jovanna Poblano (Zuni), Jewelry and Beadwork

Charlene & Frank Reano (San Felipe and Santo Domingo Pueblo), Mosaic Inlay Jewelry

Kathy Elk Woman Whitman (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara), Jewelry and Sculpture

OCTOBER 17 - 19, 2013

Tony Eriacho (Zuni), Fetish Carvings

Ola Eriacho (Zuni) Jewelry

Cliff Fragua (Jemez), Sculpture

Glendora Fragua (Jemez), Pottery

Bille Hougart, Author

Carol Pate (Choctaw), Beadwork

Terrill Hooper O'Brien (Mohawk), Beadwork

George Shukata Willis (Choctaw), Jewelry

Pete Yazzie (Navajo), Sculpture

Artie Yellowhorse(Navajo), Jewelry

NOVEMBER 14 - 16, 2013

Michael Na Na Ping Garcia (Pascua Yaqui), Jewelry

Marian Hansson (Kiowa), Fabric Arts

Bryant Martinez (Navajo), Jewelry

Bille Hougart, Author

Robin Lazore (Mohawk), Basketry

Kathleen She-u-tani Sanchez (San Felipe), Jewelry

Victoria Mitchell (Cherokee), Pottery

Eddie Morrison (Cherokee), Sculpture

Terrill Hooper O'Brien (Mohawk), Beadwork

DECEMBER 12 - 13, 2013

Solo Show with

Shane Hendren (Navajo), Jewelry

Mark your calendars now!

Additional artists may be joining us; we will keep you posted with our e-news.

THE SHOP IS PACKED IN PREPARATION FOR THE FALL SEASON!

In addition to our artist markets, we are filling the Shop to its edges with the work of many more artists from across the country - truly celebrating by bringing in one of our largest selections ever. Our special outreach and recent trip to Indian Market have resulted in many exciting new arrivals including Navajo rugs/weavings, Alaskan carvings, fetish carvings, pottery from Pueblo and Woodland artists, and new jewelry from numerous artists, including many of your favorites. We continually work to offer new selections, to support every level of artistry, and to provide quality work at every level of collecting. With the diverse and dynamic work artists are creating today, we believe you will be happy and enriched!

Visit our Online Store and watch our New Additions Page often to see as new items are added. As always, our full selection is in the Shop and this is the best way to see artwork - in person! If you are not able to come in, however, we are very happy to email images of any particular area of interest - just let us know at indiancraftshop@guestservices.com or 202-208-4056.

COMMEMORATIVE WORK FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY YEAR

One of the special commemoration projects this year was created by Bruce Hodgins (Navajo). We wanted to have The Indian Craft Shop eagle and sun logo made into a wearable piece of art. (Read more about the origin of the ICS logo below). A Shop logo bolo tie and a pin/pendant were created by Bruce in sterling silver using the overlay technique. To add more dimension, Bruce accented the shiny and oxidized silver with a section of textured silver. We are honored, and thank Bruce for taking on this project and creating such beautiful pieces of wearable art. 

We also thank Joann Begay (Navajo), noted pictorial rug weaver, for accepting the challenge to create a special Anniversary Rug with our 75th Anniversary logo. Joann created a beautiful weaving with a soft, natural, creamy color background that gives the logo a beautiful backdrop. Thank you Joann!

To learn more about Navajo rug weaving, take a look at these book titles or contact the Shop for public informational handouts.

And reaching far into the four corners region, the 'hub' of Navajo sandpainters and weavers, we had sandpaintings created with the Shop logo. We thank Frank Martin (Navajo) for doing such a beautiful job creating permanent wall art incorporating our Shop logo. Using crushed minerals in tans, whites, blacks and turquoise, the logo comes to life. To learn more about sandpaintings, take a look at these book titles or contact the Shop for public informational handouts.

See our 75th Anniversary Commemorative items on our Online Store.

WE THANK NATIVE PEOPLES MAGAZINE, THE NAVAJO TIMES AND THE INDIAN TRADER NEWSPAPER

We are honored and thank Native Peoples Magazine, The Navajo Times and The Indian Trader for their coverage of The Indian Craft Shop, particularly during our Anniversary Year - each publication had their own individual review and impressions, and we are truly honored that they have highlighted this special little shop. Bille Hougart, who wrote an article for The Indian Trader about the hidden treasures inside the DOI building, will also be a guest of the Shop at each of the markets and will sign copies of his Hallmark book.

WHERE DID THE ICS LOGO COME FROM? 

With all the attention paid to the ICS logo due to our commemorative items, many of you have asked about its history - here is the logo story:

The ICS Logo Story

The ICS was without a logo until about 1984. The inspiration of the shop logo came from the original mural titled "Deer Stalking," painted by Gerald Nailor (Navajo) on the south wall of the Indian Craft Shop in 1938. In the sky is an abstract eagle and a sort of sun shield design with straight lines flowing down, a symbol element similar to one from a Navajo sandpainting. A local graphic artist, Michelle Morgan, was asked to adapt this sun and eagle (with rain lines/sun ray lines) into a shop logo and the first ICS logo was designed as two elements.

The logo became the Shop's first identity and was used over the next decade, but it was tricky to use in some layouts because it took up a lot of space. In the mid to late 1990s, the shop sought a solution and contacted textile and graphic artist Mary Verlarde (Jicarilla Apache) to modify the logo while still retaining the original eagle and sun motif idea.

Mary Verlarde "merged" these two elements and the current ICS Logo was born! It exists today as Mary designed it in the 90s. Throughout the years, at each 5 year anniversary, the logo is temporarily accented to mark the special occasion.

For this 75th year anniversary year, a great amount of time was spent determining our tag line with a few options. Guest Services' in-house graphic designer, Jaimie Nguyen, developed the 75 Year logo with a special font that echoed the deco time period of the opening of the Shop.

We've been so happy with the 75th anniversary logo that we've been splashing it everywhere we can, and we hope you like it as much as we do! In any event, what we truly hope for is that you join us in celebrating this exciting time period.  We know many of you are celebrating your own anniversaries with us, too - some as many as 20 to 30 years shopping with us-and many who are second and third generation patrons--we thank all of you! We also thank those of you who have just been in once and are coming back to begin your own traditions.

THE FINAL 75 REASONS LIST

We asked all of you to let us know your reasons for collecting American Indian art. We received so many entries and beautifully written and shared experiences, we are putting them all into a booklet for all of our visitors to see and enjoy. From the writings we received, we captured the main idea behind each reason and compiled our 75 Reasons list. We hope all of you-patrons, customers, artists--can take the time to look through this list and know that each 'bulleted' reason could be a chapter. The 75 Reason list has been included in a super large version in our 'history of the shop' display at the Interior Library. We thank George Franchois, Director of the Interior Library, for allowing space for our 'history display cases.' Stop by and visit! We will also have the Reasons List at our events and on our website. 

We look forward to welcoming you and having you join us as we

 celebrate our 75th Anniversary!

REMINDER-OPEN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 

The Indian Craft Shop is open the third Saturday of each month.  We hope that you will be able to join us Saturday, September 21st, from 10:00am - 4:00pm. Meet and greet guest artists from 12:00noon - 4:00pm.

Email Newsletter

In This Issue

Anniversary Event Dates

Fall Season

Commemorative Work for our Anniversary Year

THANK YOU

Where Did the ICS Logo Come From?

Final 75 Reasons List

Reminder

News from the Interior Museum

News from the Department of Interior LIibrary

Indian Craft Shop 
Retail Hours

Open on Saturday
September 21, 2013

10:00am to 4:00pm

The Indian Craft Shop is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 4:30pm, and the third Saturday of the month from 10:00am until 4:00pm. The Shop is closed on federal holidays.

A photo ID is needed for entrance to the building. 

During weekdays, visitors may use either the C Street or E Street entrances (E Street is closer for

 Metro riders). 

Handicap Access ramps are available at both entrances.During Saturday hours, visitors must use the C Street Entrance.

Public Transportation

Farragut West (Blue and Orange Line) and Farragut North (Red Line) are the closest Metro stops. It is a six-block walk, or you can ride an 80 or S1 bus to 18th and C Streets. There is metered parking on the street and several parking lots within a few blocks.

The Indian Craft Shop
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C.20240
(202) 208-4056
indiancraftshop@guestservices.com

www.indiancraftshop.com