Quincy Tahoma leaning against porch

With all the wonderful publicity Tahoma and the book have been getting, like our appearance on the Bill Buckmaster show in Tucson and the listing of the book in Native Peoples Magazine, it is no wonder that our calendars keep filling up with people who want to know more about Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist.

We hope that you’re noting the events that are near you, and if we are not scheduled to visit your neighborhood–why not invite us?

November 30, 6:00 p.m., Collected Works Bookstore in Santa Fe, NM. Vera will be showing slides of Tahoma paintings and talking about his life in Santa Fe. She’ll also sign books for those who are looking for good holiday gifts.

December 2, all afternoon; December 3, all morning at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, AZ.  Vera will be signing books at the gift show of the museum during the annual Christmas Festival. Come see artists at work, Navajo-produced films, and great gifts for sale in the beautiful Navajo Nation Museum Gift Shop.

December 9-10: The Arizona Historical Society Book Fair starts with a reception on Friday evening (6-8 p.m.) at the Museum in Tucson and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, Arizona authors, including Vera, will be signing books.

NEXT YEAR:

January 30, 1:00 p.m.: Vera will talk to the Heard Museum Guild in a meeting open to the public at the Heard Museum on North Central in Phoenix.

March 5, the 2nd day of the Heard Museum Indian Fair in Phoenix, we are scheduled to sign books between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. at the Heard Museum Book Store.

March 10 and 11 is the gigantic Tucson Festival of Books.  We are invited to sign books at the Arizona State Museum booth and Vera will be on a panel one of those two days. (Stay tuned for exact time)

April 21, 10am to 1 pm: Vera will be back in Phoenix at the Heard Museum book store to sign books as part of Native Expressions Saturday. AT least one Navajo artist will also be present.

Surely there is a museum, gift shop, or book store in your community that we should be visiting with the Quincy Tahoma book!  Please let us know.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Bill Buckmaster, Tucson radio station KVOI, with Vera and Charnell

Bill Buckmaster of Tucson’s radio station KVOI is one very talented guy!  His interview-style broadcast, Buckmaster Show, airs weekdays at noon PST and is enjoyed in more than 80 countries — either live or thorough his podcasts.  Over the last two decades, Bill has earned five individual Emmy Award nominations, the coveted Silver Circle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and a slew of other honors too lengthy to include in this post.

Behind every great man, there is a woman ...

Suffice it to say, Buckmaster is a real pro, so Vera and I were delighted that he wanted to interview us about our book Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist.  His rapid-fire questions covered the gamut from our research and writing the book to Tahoma’s roller coaster life and his compelling artwork.  Golly, I don’t know how Bill did it, but he managed to summarize our 13+ years of effort in a 15-minute interview!   You can listen to us at about 44:24 on the October 25 2011 recording.

Part of the El Charro, which takes up almost a city block and has multiple architecture segments

After we caught our breath from the interview, we scooted over to the El Charro Cafe in downtown Tucson for a book signing.  Established in 1922, El Charro is The Nation’s Oldest Mexican Restaurant in continuous operation by the same family.  The restaurant is known for its innovative Tucson style Mexican Food which is, as Gourmet Magazine wrote, truly “A Taste Explosion”.  (I can attest to that after savoring their pumpkin pecan tamale!)

Debbie Whitbey, the El Charro manager, arranged a delightful reception area on the patio for our book signing. Debbie herself spent quite a few minutes talking to Vera and me about Tahoma and enjoying the book’s images of his paintings. Soon, more Tahoma afficianodos arrived and several of them had known Vera in her former Tucson/Phoenix capacities.  It must have felt like old home week — a very special time — for her! What have been special times for you?

Vera chats with some of the gals who showed up for the book signing

 All pictures are the property of Charnell Havens. Please do not reuse any photographs without permission from the photographer.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Exterior of the Western National Parks Association Gift Shop/Auditorium in Oro Valley, north of Tucson AZ

A big thank you to the Western National Parks Association Gift Shop for sponsoring two slide/talks and book signing last Saturday. Few of the attendees had heard of Tahoma before, but all were very interested to learn about him and impressed with his painting.

Lively conversations at the Western Parks book signing

Discussing Tahoma after one of the presentations at Western Parks

Ken and I enjoyed browsing through the attractive gift shop. The profits go to support parks throughout the western states.

Western National Parks Store carries books and gifts related to many western parks

Next Friday, Charnell will enjoy talking to fans of Tahoma and American Indian Art when she signs books in Smithfield Virginia. See schedule details above and on the right side of this page.

Where would you like to see us bring our slide show and talk, or sign our books?  Please come see us if we are near your home, or give us suggestions of places we can talk to people in your own neighborhood. Remember, Vera lives in Arizona and Charnell  in Virginia. Have books will travel.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

TUCSON

Donna Hull and her newly purchased book about the Navajo artist, Quincy Tahoma. Tohono Chul Tea Room, Tucson

BOOKWORKS, ALBUQUERQUE

Signing a book for Alana McGrath, former librarian at Santa Fe Indian School, who helped with our research into Tahoma's school days.

Bill Douglas of Albuquerque shows Vera the page in the book with his Tahoma painting of a primitive man, done for a special exhibition at the Laboratory of Anthropology in 1944.

Smiling at Mark Rosacker, volunteer researcher on the book, who did not get in the picture because he was behind the camera.

SINGING WINDS Table at Arizona History Convention, YUMA, AZ

Tahoma biography at Singing Winds table, Arizona History Convention

Vera and Kappa Delta sister Elizabeth Ruffner of Prescott AZ at AZ History Convention celebrate Hózhó

In Albuquerque, I was delighted to meet Suzy and Pete who own a Tahoma painting, that we previously did not know about.  They promised to send us a digital image.  This is one of the huge benefits of doing a book tour. We will continue to learn new things about Tahoma and his work. And we will share with you as we go.

Next up:

May 7, Western Parks Association, Tucson, noon and 2:00 p.m. Must call 520-622-6104 for reservation!

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

What is that old story about searching the world and finding treasure in your own back yard? I am here to tell you that is the way it happens.

I live in Arizona. Ever since Charnell Havens asked me to help track down information about Quincy Tahoma so that we could write a book that would share his life with people, I have been taking periodic trips to New Mexico to sift through library and museum files, have gone to other cities to interview people, have even looked in a Los Angeles museum and a New York City museum for paintings done by Tahoma. Finally, after having run all around the country for five years, I decided to take a look at a museum in my own home town.

When I e-mailed Alan Ferg at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, he said, “I don’t think we have any documents. But we do have ninety paintings.”

How’s that again? NINETY?? And so I spent two days looking at and describing ninety small paintings that Quincy Tahoma painted between the age of 16 and 18 and one that he did in 1940 when he was 19 years old. I have seen how his natural talent for telling stories with line and color was present before he had achieved technical proficiency. And his love of certain subjects started way back when he was in the ninth or tenth grade. If you want to look at the ninety paintings, contact Alan Ferg, to make an appointment.

Have you seen the Tahoma collection at the Arizona State Museum? In what other museums have you seen Tahoma’s paintings? Please share with the other readers of the Tahoma Blog.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.