Artist molds clay, aspiring youths

By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer | Tuesday, June 13, 2006

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CUNY TABLE -- In a remote section of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, an Oglala Lakota artist is building a studio gallery that he hopes will open doors for reservation youths aspiring to be artists.

Randall Blaze took time away from his building crew to give a tour of his studio and the new gallery that he hopes to finish this month.

During his 30-year career, the Lakota man has established himself as an artist of bronze design, ceramics, acrylic oils and silversmithing. Within his studio, there are plenty of examples of the artist's work and tools including a large kiln.

Blaze is creating an average of 12 to 14 ceramic pieces for a new series and will work six to eight weeks to mold, pour, glaze and fire the forms and vessels.

"When I do a series, I'll go through a thousand pounds of clay," he said.

Through a South Dakota Arts Council program, Blaze has recently taught as an artist-in-residence at Rapid City Stevens High School and in Pine Ridge reservation schools.

Blaze wants to find the talents of student artists when he completes the studio, creating summer institutes where young artists could learn their craft.

In Blaze's classes at Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Pine Ridge schools, students worked with clay creating forms and figures.

"I just get them going in clay, where I pretty much let them go," he said.

Some students have impressed Blaze with their talent. He would like to encourage those talents beyond the classroom, uninterrupted by school bells, changing classrooms and scheduling rules and regulations.

"'Just do it' is my style," he said.

Raised in Forsyth, Mont., Blaze said he struggled in high school. But teachers recognized his talent and ability early. "They did say I was a good artist," he said.

After graduating from high school, Blaze joined the U.S. Navy. From 1967 to 1971, he served on the USS Regulus, which replenished food and supplies to the ships of the U.S. 7th Fleet off the coast of Vietnam.

His military service provided him the means to get an education.

"Without the Navy, I never would have gone to college," he said.

Blaze studied English literature and writing for three years at Montana State University at Bozeman before he took his first art class. The class changed his life.

"It gave me the whole sense of creative pursuit," he said. "I went full blast into artwork, and I never looked back."

His art has taken him to festivals, galleries and markets throughout the nation, but Blaze opted to settle near Cuny Table about seven years ago. He bought 70 acres of family land. Although he spends his winters in Arizona, Blaze returns in early spring to begin his clay work and build on his home-studio-gallery.

"My mother (Doris Cuny) was raised here," he said of the prairie home site enwreathed by the beauty of Badlands. "There's a lot of meaning here for me."

In April, Blaze received a commission from Oglala Lakota College to create two life-sized sculptures of an American Indian man and woman in military uniform for its proposed Veteran's Memorial park at the administration offices near Kyle.

The commission has further propelled Blaze toward his dream of opening his gallery.

"It's almost finished," he said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or Jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com