Raven Steals The Sun,
a Tlingit Story of Creation

By Rebekah Powers | March 2024

A powerful glass sculpture by Preston Singletary is now available at Chimayo Trading, “Raven Steals The Sun”. In the Tlingit cultural tradition of myth making, Singletary is an artist who reinterprets the past with new vision, in a new medium and with great heart. He makes the Tlingit creation story in glass, which reflects, refracts and reforms the light.

“Raven Steals The Sun”, Handblown, Sandcarved Glass Sculpture, 19.5” x 8”

In Preston’s telling of how Raven stole the sun which inspired this piece, the bird transforms himself into the grandson of the rich Old Man who owns the three boxes of Light. To pacify him, the Old Man gave him the box of stars to play with, which he soon releases into the sky. Soon, Raven cried until the Old Man to give him a second box, in which he found the moon, played with it for awhile and then let it roll out of the house where it ascended into the sky. Finally, Raven cried and cried as the little boy, until the Grandfather gave him the third box, Daylight, which he takes outside to show the other children. But when he opens the box with the sun inside and light floods the earth, Raven drops his disguise, grabs the sun in his beak and flies with it up into the sky, where it has remained ever since. In the Tlingit tradition the trickster and the creator are one.

Preston Singletary says the when he began to use his cultural heritage as inspiration in his sculptural designs, his work strengthened. And certainly, his sphere of influence grew as he became widely recognized, celebrated and collected. The story of the boxes of Daylight is particularly suited to interpretation in glass, as it is the interplay of light and color through glass that creates its magical effect. Singletary is inspiring a new generation to look beyond the past and see into new unknown realms, to say: “We are here!”

“Handblown Glass Goblet”, 7.5″ x 6″ x 3″ base

Whether it is a striking sculpture, an artful glass goblet, or a delicate column of color, light fills the transparent spaces but is not contained by it, a perfect metaphor for the life and art of the very singular Native American Contemporary Artist, Preston Singletary, on view now in the main gallery room at Chimayo Trading.

“Handblown, Sandcarved Glass Cylinder Totem”, 21″ x 6″

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