SHIPROCK DUSK

SHIPROCK DUSK 12″ X 16″ acrylic on masonite board. 2009. Tse Bit’ a’ i’ , meaning “Winged rock” in Navajo, is a manodnock, (solitary mountains of highly resistant bedrock that stand above a more eroded, low-lying plain) rising 1583 feet above the New Mexico desert in the Navajo Nation, in the Four Corners region of the southwest where the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet in the exact same spot. 36 degrees 41′ 15″ N 108 degrees 50′ 11″ W to be exact. The name ‘Shiprock’ is derived from an enormous 19th century clipper ship. Shiprock holds great religious importance among the Navajo, who consider climbing Shiprock to be repugnant and disrespectful. The Navajo consider this sacred ground so access is not permitted.