S207 Medicine Bear by Tewa artist and sculptor Cloud Eagle (Ernest Eugene “Bo” Mirabal) from the Nambe Pueblo. The Picasso marble bear has a 16" medicine bundle made of assorted feathers, various shells and tied on with deerskin and coral. Size: 16” x 11 1/2” x 7 1/2”.
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White bears are considered to be powerful in their curative abilities. The medicine bundle tied to an animal’s back increases the animal’s powers.
Cloud Eagle’s sculpture represents the finest synthesis of contemporary design and Pueblo Indian tradition. His work celebrates the cycle of life and the oneness of nature. Cloud Eagle passed away at the age of 51. 1960-2011
About the artist
CLOUD EAGLE
Tewa Indian from Nambe Pueblo (b. 1961 – d. 2011)
Ernest Eugene "Bo" Mirabal, known professionally and tribally as “Cloud Eagle” was a full-blooded Tewa Indian from Nambe Pueblo, New Mexico who created Pueblo art of outstanding quality and educating the American public as to its cultural significance.
He attended Pojoaque High School and graduated from Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. Mirabal received an Associate of Fine Art degree in two-dimensional and three- dimensional arts in 1984, having studied painting, sculpture, and jewelry-making at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Upon receipt of his degree, Cloud Eagle opened his sculpture studio in Nambe Pueblo.
He won numerous awards including "Best of Show" at Eight Northern Pueblos show and many first place awards at the SWIA Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
"The stone was created within Mother Earth's womb. For a thousand millennia it slept and remained there only to rise again to form the sacred mountains, peaks and hills. Long ago the Tewas used K'uu, or stone, for shelter, implements, ceremonial pieces, fetishes and other things. It has now returned to help us again. These allies from all around the world wait in our sculpture garden, alive and calling - waiting to see if we can hear their voices. Finally, the time is right; the visions are perceived; and the energy flows within the stone and myself as new images emerge."
Much of Cloud Eagle’s work involved the idea of the circle, things repeating and returning, the oneness of nature. Alabaster horses, weasels, bears, opposite facing heads, connecting in waves, awesome kachina-like figures and buffalo dancers journeying on sacred cornmeal into space. Cloud Eagle’s sculpture represents the finest synthesis of contemporary design and Pueblo Indian tradition. With clean flowing lines, elemental forms and rich blending of texture and finishing, he created sculptures whose moods surprise with each changing vantage point. Yet, the legendary symbols of Tewa life remain strong: Cloud Eagle’s work celebrates the cycle of life and the oneness of nature.
"Indian life is based on cycles of growth, water, life, and death. The circle is my trademark. When I was a teenager, my mother would take me on retreats to Canada where medicine would explain things. I believe you have to give in order to receive."
He was a great artist in the truest sense and yet more than an artist. He was a teacher and a public figure who built a studio within which traditional and contemporary fine art skills commonly used by Native American artisans, could be taught. His vision was for a fellowship of committed artists working and learning the cultural legacy of Native American life.
He saw the Spirit in all things. His art’s purpose was to bring out that spirit and longing for Oneness that is within all. He made and sold hundreds of incredible pieces of art as sculptures in his lifetime. He traveled to many places and foreign lands connecting with other tribal people and sharing in their traditions of the Spirit. He taught many how to approach their art from the concept of Spirit. Sadly, too much toxicity from his life-long fight with alcohol cut his life short. This challenge gave him so much pain but pushed him even more to know the light beyond the darkness.
