Nanezbah (Nora) Yazzie

Nora Yazzie is a proud, full-blooded Native American woman born in 1954 within the Navajo Nation. She hails from the Dine people of the Four Corners region on the Navajo Reservation and was raised in Farmington, New Mexico. Nora attended the Navajo Methodist Mission High School, where she was first introduced to the arts through clay, drama, and creative writing. Encouraged by her teachers to explore these different mediums, she entered her first local high school art show and won first place in the clay division. This marked the beginning of her journey into the world of art.

Art has always been a natural part of Nora’s life. In Navajo culture, there is no direct word for “art,” so she never questioned the value or purpose of creative expression in the Western sense. For her and her family, making art is simply a way of life. She believes that colors come from the land, making nature an essential part of her artistic process. Her mother and grandmother taught her to observe the land’s shapes and formations, which inspire the rug designs unique to their culture. These natural forms and colors serve as the foundation for Nora’s work. As she continues to evolve as an artist, she is excited to explore the creation of monumental sculptures and bronze works, pushing the boundaries of her creativity into three-dimensional forms.