When Diné artist Darrin Denny travels the six hours from Chinle to the Valley, he doesn’t come only to sell his work. He comes to speak for it.
Denny, of the Naakaii Dine’é and Tódik’ǫzhí clans, has spent more than 30 years creating rock and canvas paintings and etchings inspired by the ancient markings and sweeping desert colors of Canyon de Chelly, the place he calls home. Many of the stones he carves come directly from its landscape. His wife and artistic partner, Yolanda Bia, complements his work with handcrafted jewelry incorporating turquoise, coral, and other traditional materials, blending Southwestern and modern designs.
Denny recently spent time selling art at Wigwam Holiday Festival of Arts. For both artists, bringing their pieces to the Litchfield Park area is a way to reach audiences they cannot access at home.
“We’re deep in the reservation, we don’t have this kind of foot traffic,” Denny said. “People in the Valley see what’s commercialized. We want them to see the real people behind the art.”
Denny views each trip as part of a responsibility, not only to his craft, but to his community.
“A long time ago, my ancestors didn’t have a voice. Today, we do,” he said. “I’m here to educate people about our craft and our culture. That’s the most important part.”
His acrylic paintings echo the colors of his home: the terra-cotta soil of the canyons, desert vegetation, and the movement of sky and water. Bia’s jewelry mirrors those same natural tones, translating landscape into wearable pieces.
Denny sells the piece “Native Bear” a 16x20 canvas with acrylic pastel colorations.
Submitted photo/Darrin Denny
Creating these works is only part of the process. Sharing them is the rest.
“When a piece goes to someone’s home, that’s the heart-touching part,” Denny said. “Online, you don’t see people. Here, we make that one-on-one connection. That’s priceless.”
Local readers will soon have a chance to meet regional artists with passions like Denny and Bia's at two major events in Litchfield Park:
This award-winning festival showcases some of the Southwest’s finest Native American artists. Visitors can browse traditional and contemporary jewelry, beadwork, pottery, paintings, prints, carvings, and sculptures, all available for purchase directly from the creators.
For artists like Denny, the Gathering provides a rare platform to share work rooted deeply in land and tradition. “We want to bring something unique, something outside the box, to people,” he said. “To let them really feel a sensation of Arizona.”
More than 100 jury-selected artists from across the country will transform the Wigwam’s front lawn into an open-air gallery featuring Western, Traditional, Contemporary, and Native American works. Visitors can browse everything from canvas paintings and mixed-media pieces to hand-blown glass, ceramics, and life-size sculptures.
A chance to meet the artists
For festival-goers, these upcoming events offer more than shopping opportunities, they offer conversations.
For Denny, those conversations are central.
“It’s not about dollars,” he said. “It’s about sharing who we are. I’m not an urban Native, I’m the real Native. I come from Chinle, from Canyon de Chelly. That’s what I bring with me.”
Both festivals will give visitors the chance to hear stories directly from artists, learn about their techniques and materials, and experience the diversity of artistic traditions that shape the Southwest.
And for artists like Denny and Bia, each interaction is a bridge, linking craft, culture and community, one person at a time.
“I’m just a student of the Creator,” he said. “Our pieces come from our land, and they tell our story. Sharing that with people here, that’s why we make the trip.”
Meet James James Goldmeer joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2024, starting their career as a reporter in Goodyear and Litchfield Park.
Community: James grew up in the West Valley, calling Avondale home and going to school in Glendale and Peoria. Returning to the community after university, James plans to get involved in everything arts and culture, and civil rights.
Education: Northern Arizona University a bachelor's degree in Journalism, a certificate in Professional Communications, with a minor in English.
Random Fact: James spent half a year as an intern for the Arizona House of Representatives communication team, working with legislators to inform the public through press releases and social media.
Hobbies: James collects postcards and old books, reads memoirs and attends local jazz shows.
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