Souvenirs for Every Budget

I mentioned last night that not all Arizona souvenirs are cheap or tacky.  You can spend as little at $2 on a fake cactus, or thousands of dollars on a piece of Hopi or Navajo art.  Here are just some of your options:



First off, here's some slightly more upscale Arizona decor from Walgreen's.  It's not authentic or expensive, but at least it's not as tasteless as a scorpion in Lucite. Incidentally, I think they must breed those scorpions for the purpose of putting them in Lucite.  The ones seen in the wild here aren't all that common, and tend to be much smaller than their preserved cousins.

 

 

 

 

Navajo sand painting, budget version.  This is Navajo-made, but more or less mass-produced.  I only paid $5. A serious sand painting costs much more than that.  My friend, the late Dr. E., had a number of the medium size ones on his examining room walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kinetic Arizona objets d'art at Dillard's, formerly Goldwater's.  Yes, that Goldwater.  I didn't price these, but it may be assumed that they're not inexpensive.  Most of the figures here (which rock back and forth) represent Hopi kachinas, but I'm guessing Pecos Bill (definitely not an Arizona icon) for the bull rider on the right.  The motorcyclist in the middle is traveling Route 66, which runs across the northern part of the state.  I think the stylized prickly pear cacti are made of copper, and after all this is the Copper State. This stuff may be kitsch, but it's very pretty kitsch.

 

 

 

 

Left:our Storyteller.  Technically, it was probably made in New Mexico. This kind of pottery was invented by Cochiti Pueblo artist Helen Cordero in 1964, based on an older tradition of clay figures and inspired by her storytelling grandfather.  Right: my Hopi ring.  I don't remember the artist's name, but he was quite old when I bought this in the late 1980s.  These are probably worth over $100 each, but they're not high end Indian arts. 




Linda's Koshare kachina.  Photo by Linda.  Koshare is technically more of a clown than a kachina per se.  They are often depicted eating or drinking, and generally having a good time.  A really good kachina by a respected artist can sell for over $1000.00.

Carly and Duane have both posted much leaner entries for this photo challenge, due to problems finding the right gimcracks on demand (and also because I have a strong tendency to overdo these challenges with too many words and pictures).  I hope they'll both revisit this subject later, but in the meantime, go see what they've come up with (if you haven't already).  Both journals are always well worth the visit.

And again, if you'd like to join in, feel free to post pictures of your local souvenirs, and leave me a link to the entry.  I'm anxious to see souvenirs of New Jersey!

Karen