Yeibichais and Kachinas are prominent figures in native American religious ceremonies and are depicted in exquisite detail by Navajo artist Bruce Watchman. Bruce's work is distinctive for his attention to the finer details and colors of the costumes worn by each of the figures in his paintings. He is also able to catch and exhibit a quality of motion or animation lacking in many artists' work. This is even more remarkable since his medium is Gouache, an opaque watercolor! Gouache gives Bruce's paintings a deeper, richer color than that of transparent watercolors and seems to facilitate his creativity as it enhances the visual impact of his work.
Bruce was born on July 24, 1951 on the Navajo Reservation at Fort Defiance, New Mexico. His mother is Marie Yazzie Watchman and his father is William Watchman. He is Salt clan, born for the Bitterwater (Todachini) clan.
For the most part Bruce is a self-taught artist although he did take a correspondence course in art offered by the University of Maryland while he was on active duty with the United States Army. Bruce's interest in art started very early in life as evidenced by his first commercial success while still in grade school. He sold his first painting when he was in the fifth grade. In high school he won the highest award for art two years in a row. During his career he has been recognized with many awards including the Indian Arts and Crafts Exhibit awards at the Navajo Nation Fair in 1984, 1985 and 1986. He has also won first and second place awards as well as an honorable mention in the 1986 and 1987 Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial. Bruce has recently been commissioned by the Navajo tribe to do several works for public display at the Navajo capitol located at Window Rock, Arizona.
Bruce's work is dominated by Navajo Yei and Pueblo Kachina figures which relate to the spiritual ceremonies of the Southwestern Native Americans. To quote Bruce, "a Yei is a spiritual mountain God of Navajo mythology. Yeis perform at Ye'ii Bechei' ceremonies held during the winter months. The primary purpose of the ritual is to maintain or restore Hozho'. Hozho' is everything that is good, harmonious, orderly and beautiful. Kachinas are Hopi spiritual Gods. Hopi men dress and wear masks to impersonate these spirits. Kachinas are part of the religious beliefs of prehistoric ancestors of the Hopi Indians. Two basic concepts of the Kachina ceremonies are fertility and the need for rain. Thus, they use the supernatural to aid in their desire for water and successful crops." The culture and heritage of the Navajo people are very important to Bruce and he tries to insure that his reverence and appreciation are passed on to his children and grandchildren. To do this he feels strongly that the Navajo language must continue to be spoken in the home as at least a second language if not the primary language. At least one of his children, a teenage son is following in his father’s footsteps and is already an award winning artist.
Bruce has expressed an interest in illustrating and collaborating on a book which will deal with the Navajo Yei and Ye'ii Bechei' in a manner which will preserve the knowledge of and respect for these Navajo "holy people" for future generations of Navajo and at the same time provide for the non Navajo reader a unique insight into Navajo ceremonialism. (There are many different spellings of the Navajo words. We have chosen to use two different spellings for Yeibichai. This one which is most often seen in print and Ye'ii Bechei' which Bruce utilized. Neither is incorrect nor more correct than the other especially since Navajo is more a spoken language than a written one.)