Shonto Begay (Diné): Artist & Educator - Epi. 276, Host Dr Mark Sublette

Shonto Begay joined me today for a special podcast right before
Christmas. I've had Shonto on before. In fact, he was my guest on
the second podcast I had ever done. I've known Shonto for over 20
years and have been collecting his art as well as selling it. You
know, he just is unique. He's unique in so many forms and
fashions. It's almost hard to describe.

Shonto shared some of the things that are, you know, very deep
and moving to him and how he creates. He speaks on the trauma
that he had to go through in his life as an artist and as a kid
growing up on the reservation and being forced into boarding
school when he was nine years old.

I asked Shonto before we even started the podcast because I think
it's an important part of his paintings and who he is today if we
could talk about these traumatic experiences. I don't want to
trigger him or make him feel bad in any way. He obliged and
that's the heart of today's podcast. Shonto provides a very
unique perspective of somebody who's lived through this system, a
system that was devastating for Native American culture.

We also have an upbeat talk about creativity, spirituality, and
painting. Shonto talks about where this insight comes from. It
was very enlightening. I learned things that I didn't know, which
is always fun for me when it's a podcast where I know the guest
quite well. 

That's what I love about doing these podcasts and being able to
share these stories with the rest of the world. This is one of
those that I would recommend watching on YouTube.  The
reason is that he shares his Etch-A-Sketch abilities, which is
something he picked up during his time in the Indian school
system.


He's the most talented person in the world when it comes to doing
these Etch-a-Sketch drawings. They're amazing. We recorded it
during the podcast because it was so compelling. When you hit the
few areas of dead sound there, it's just because, quite frankly,
I'm enthralled by what he's doing.

I'm very thrilled that I get the opportunity to deal with artists
and learn about the many different forms of the creative process.
Shonto Begay is one of these individuals who adds to the dialog
in a different form and fashion than almost anybody can.


So I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did, and I did.
Trust me.