Bess is a Hopi Indian that has been carving kachinas since 1983. She works exclusively in miniature; the largest kachina she has created is about 4" tall. As with all authentic Hopi kachinas, Bess uses only cottonwood root for her carvings, although the base is frequently cedar. With the addition of thread, snipped feathers, and finley painted details, Bess’ kachinas are authentic works of art.

Bess was born on Third Mesa in the Hopi town of Hotevilla. She went to California as a youngster when her parents moved there to find work. It was Bess’ mother who taught Bess about her culture. Her mother was a kachina carver and Bess learned the art by watching her mother and using the scrap from her carvings.

Bess has attended college in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Although she spends little time on the Hopi reservation she keeps in touch with her Hopi heritage by carving kachinas in miniature form.

Bess Yanez is continuing tradition, breaking tradition and blazing new territory with her Hopi kachina dolls. "Knowing I'm keeping my heritage alive," she says, provides great satisfaction. Yet the tradition she follows, crafting dolls that represent supernatural beings, is something that for generations only men did. Adding another twist to tradition, Bess' dolls are 1:12 scale.
For centuries, Hopi Indians have believed that spirits called kachinas inhabit the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona. The spirits, numbering about 300, all have particular functions within tribal life. The Hopi hold that kachinas come down to villages on three Arizona mesas at specific times during the year, usually between the winter solstice and mid-July. When this happens, Hopi men clad in colorful costumes, masks or headdresses, represent the spirits in dance.
Some dancers are entertainers, but entertainment is not the main purpose in the celebrations. The dances most often honor the spirits and ask for their help. Major ceremonies which last nine days are held in kivas, (special cremonial rooms) and are open only to the initiated. Other one-day ceremonies are held openly in village plazas. Kachinas may be male or female beings, but all the dancers are male.
Kachinas are recognized by their body paint and costumes. Blue or yellow bands on the legs, pink or yellow bodies, blue and yellow arms and blue and yellow fox skins draped over the body are common kachina colors and clothing, Bess said, due to the availability of natural stains and materials. Costumes and body paint may differ from mesa to mesa. "It's the same culture, but three different subcultures," Bess said. "A doll on the first mesa may not even be represented on the second and third mesas." An example of the differences can be seen in the White Bear kachina doll. Bess uses fur all over her White Bear’s face while other dollmakers paint bear tracks on White Bear’s face and surround it with fur.
Kachina names may reflect the kachina’s physical characteristics, the sounds the kachina dancer makes or an animal. Red-Tailed Hawk Kachina, whose Hopi name is Palakwai, is among those who appear personified in February's Bean Dance. His costume includes a cloud symbol, an appropriate design because the Bean Dance is performed at the beginning of the bean planting season and rain is needed to help crops grow. Kweo, the wolf, dances in February or March on the first mesa in the Water Serpent Dance to bring rain. He also sports a cloud on his kilt. At January's Pamuya, dancers celebrate the beginning of the sun’s apparent journey north and the end of certain crops’ growing cycle. At other ceremonies dancers perform to promote fertility, growth of plants and animals, strength, courage, harmony with the earth and other virtues.
Dolls patterned after kachina dancers have long been used by the tribe to teach children about the multitude of spirits. "It was easier to show them a doll than to tell them," Bess said. After the dances, children receive kachina dolls which are then hung in their homes.
Although initially Hopi men carved the full-size dolls, which stand 8 inches to 1 foot high, Bess learned the art from her mother, Mary Yanez. Mary was taught by Bess’ grandfather. "Typically the men make kachina dolls," Bess said. "Mom was interested and very artistic. There's no problem with females doing dolls now. Probably further back it wasn't looked at as being very traditional."
Bess started making miniature kachina dolls when she was about 16 years old. She picked up scraps from bigger dolls her mother was making and started to carve. She tried making the bigger dolls, but felt they weren't as detailed as her smaller ones. "It was a lot easier (to make big dolls), but they just didn't look as good," she said.
Like other carvers, Bess creates dolls from cottonwood roots. The traditional material is soft, easily carved and plentiful in northeastern Arizona, a Hopi enclave. Her raw materials measure 1-inch wide, 1/2-inch thick and about 13⁄4 inches long. Bess' dolls are all one piece, except for the ears, pop eyes and headdresses (tabletas). She carves them without the aid of eyeglasses or magnifying glass. Her tools include a concave X-Acto knife, 320-grit sandpaper and brushes with two or three hairs. It takes up to three-and-a-half hours to carve each doll, then Bess paints several at one time. "I try to work on them four or five days a week," she said. "It's hard to sit down and do it all at one time. My eyes get tired and my hands get cramped. I need to rest my body." Nevertheless, she produces 600-700 dolls each year.
Each doll is put on a cedar base and painted with tempera paint.
Bess' ancestors painted their dolls with natural substances, but when she tried the ancient recipes she was displeased with the resulting texture and durability.
It’s rare, she said, to find an old kachina doll with all its colors intact.
However, she sticks to traditional colors and doesn’t care for kachina dolls made contemporary with neon colors. After the painting is finished, Bess clothes her dolls with real fur, leather or feathers she gets from hobby shops or from friends who are hunters.
Bess knows most of the kachina' stories by heart. "When I was very little my mother taught me when she was doing dolls what each represented and what they should wear," she said. However, she checks reference books when she’s uncertain of colors or costumes.
There are two kinds of collectors, Bess said. Some people buy her dolls because of what they look like, but others want them for what they represent. White Bear is popular with customers and one of Bess' favorites. She appreciates what the bear represents: great strength and good luck, but also likes all the fur in the costume. Many people prefer dolls with tabletas because they are so colorful, she said. One customer bought Bess' He Cuts Your Hair Kachina for a hairdresser. The He Cuts Your Hair Kachina dancer is one who, after a race with the young boys, cuts the hair of any boy he beats to the finish line. To keep their locks, or to avoid being whipped by another kachina dancer who is a racer, the boys learn to become swift runners.
Bess doesn't attach each kachina’s story to her dolls, but will write out what they represent if someone orders a specific doll or buys from her personally. "A lot of collectors know what they mean," she said.
At home, Bess' mother displayed the family’s full-size kachinas in a china cabinet. One collector of Bess' miniature dancing kachina dolls displays them in small settings on a mantle. Another person who also collects full-size kachina dolls puts Bess’ dolls in a small glass display case. With the whimsical winds of interior decorating sweeping the Southwest in recent years, Bess' dolls have made the transition from mesas to the masses. They are showing up in homes of collectors across the country and overseas, spreading centuries of Hopi tradition far and wide.