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SANTA FE, N.M. — Because his work is rooted in tradition, Navajo sand painter Zachariah Ben’s work is often pushed out of the modern or contemporary art genre. But, he says, what’s more modern than using materials the world is creating right now?

Sands, he said, are still “growing and adapting to the natural surroundings,” he said. ” … I use those colors of today so I can reinterpret Mother Nature.”

And that, Ben said, is more modern than acrylics or A tube of paint picked up at an art store.

Ben, who lives in Shiprock, will be showing about 12 paintings in a solo exhibition at the Ellsworth Gallery. He will be at the exhibition reception tonight and then at gallery for the next week for on-site demonstrations. The show will be up until Jan. 14.

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The 21-year-old said sand painting, a practice that is part of Navajo healing ceremonies, has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.

His father, Joe Ben Jr., is a medicine man who has mastered both the ritualistic and artistic elements of sand painting over the Past several decades. Ben said he devoted himself to following in his father’s footsteps at age 7 and began showing his sand paintings at 10.

“Ever since I was a baby, I would be around the sand, grew up around the sand, and so I was exposed to both the ritualistic parts and also the art aspect,” he said. At a younger age, he said he would simply color “inside the lines” of his father’s designs of deities and other sacred images. Eventually, his talent evolved into him creating his own interpretations.

The difference between Ben’s work for ceremonies and what he presents at galleries is intention. He said both will depict natural deities, like a harvester god or a thunderbird, but he said he’ll change up the design slightly for public display so the beings don’t “get fixed into the piece itself.”

“They are alive through the forces of the sand, but ritualistically they won’t be able to do anything,” he said.

At the Ellsworth gallery, there will demonstrations on Dec. 27, 28 and 29 during which Ben will create “ephemeral,” or temporary, sand art. A Q&A with Ben will be held Dec. 28 before the live demo.

Gallery owner Barry Ellsworth said those who attend will get a glance at the meticulous and compelling nature of the sand art process.

Ellsworth agreed with Ben that though this kind of artwork comes from a traditional place, that doesn’t make it or its message “nostalgic.”

“This is work that has a message about now,” said Ellsworth. “He’s very much about the past, but also about the future.”

Ben said he wants his work to show others the importance of earth-based materials as the “one true aesthetic” and help them see the natural world as something that can’t be left behind.

“You can never go wrong with nature,” said Ben.

If you go

WHAT: Ãíkáh’ Dííyííníí: Sacred Sands, opening reception and artist demonstrations.

WHERE: Ellsworth Gallery, 215 East Palace Ave.

WHEN: Reception with artist tonight, 5-7 p.m. Live demonstrations are Dec. 27, 28 and 29, 2-6 p.m. A Q&A at noon on Dec. 28 will precede the demonstration.

COST: Free and open to the public.