Snow Maiden Saves Ski Season

By Rebekah Powers | September 2024

Wilmer Kaye is a Hopi kachina carver who tells a wonderful story about a large commission he received from a Colorado ski resort. After 3 years of too little snow, they commissioned the famous artist for a large Snow Maiden sculpture in the entrance to welcome the snow.

Wilmer Kaye learned from his father, Willard and his uncle Charles Loloma who taught him that every doll has a spirit and is meant to please the one who owns and admires her.

At the resort, she stood radiant with her white hair coiled around her head and moisture symbols above her eyes. Many came to admire her and offer their own wishes for snow, which Snow Maiden graciously brought in record amounts that year.

Wilmer Kaye is from the Butterfly and Badger Clans, resides in Zuni, New Mexico and attended the Phoenix Indian Art School where he was steeped in his culture and recognized as a talented carver. He prefers the beauty of simplicity in his work, the sweep of a cape rather than intricate details and he returns again and again to the Snow Maiden with whom he feels a special connection. As with others of his generation, he is experimenting with other materials, such as glass, adding to his sculptural repertoire.

Join us at Chimayo Trading as we celebrate the traditional Hopi Kachina carvings of Wilmer Kaye, another star in the constellation of Native American artists. With several different spirits of Snow Maiden on display, we are encouraging a whole lot of snow to fall on Taos Mountain for a banner ski season!

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