Marlena Robbins, Mold Her, acrylic on canvas; 2018, 36″x36″
Marlena Robbins is Diné (Navajo) from the Red Running Into Water People Clan. She started painting with acrylic in 2013 and has since evolved her craft into beading through the canvas. Her artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. Often referencing Diné history and culture; her work explores the varying relationships between Diné ways of knowing and the art of wellbeing. Ms. Robbins has started experimenting with the art of creating her own paint out of natural pigments found on and near the Chuska Mountains located on the Navajo Reservation.