The late David Snooks painted and beaded one-of-a-kind Native American artwork on gourds. His work will be on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. later this year.
Eleanor Dates, left, and Lance Lipscomb pose with the gourds David Snooks made for them.(Photos courtesy of Ken Lyons)
Artist's legacy to live on at the Smithsonian
Friday, April 09, 2010 Ledger-Dispatch.com
By Stephanie Minasian
The late David Snooks will be remembered for decades to come, as his artwork will soon be on permanent display at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. later this year.
Snooks, who passed away in September 2007, was a local gourd artist of Native American Washoe descent. He hand-painted and beaded gourds that have been seen all over the world, including locally at the Amador County Fair. In 2006, one of his painted gourds was purchased by the California State Fair to be on permanent display at Cal Expo. His work was also on display from 1994 to 2007 at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, through their guest artist program. Although he never considered himself an "artist," his family and loved ones said that they disagree.
"His artwork is international. It's on every continent, including Antarctica," said Snooks' partner Lance Lipscomb. "He never thought he was an artist." Lipscomb said that Snooks would never want to enter his gourds into competitions because it was "against his sense of respect for the arts."
"Because of me, I think," said Lipscomb. "I just said, 'You know, let's put one (gourd) in the county fair.'" After Snooks entered one of his gourds in the Amador County Fair, his work was chosen to be on display at the state fair. Lipscomb continued to encourage Snooks to enter his gourds in the county fair, where he eventually was picked again to be shown at Cal Expo. In 2006, his art was placed in the permanent art collection at the California State Fair.
Snooks grew up near Jackson and was a graduate of Amador High School. Snooks and his sister, Eleanor Dates, were the first children of Native American descent to graduate from Amador High. He went on to earn a degree in sociology at California State University, Sacramento, and was an airline steward for Pan American Airlines. Although he had no formal art training, Snooks and his family attributed his unique skills to his parents. His mother was a talented basket-weaver, and his father was skillful in recreating images from original drawings, and could draw a perfectly straight line by freehand - a gift that was passed down to Snooks, who incorporated that skill into his gourd paintings.
"These gourds are all hand-drawn. There's no math that is taken into consideration," Lipscomb said. "He just had an eye, and on a round gourd he could figure out how to have it come out to where it met." Snooks' paintings are known to be exceptional, but what makes them one-of-a-kind was his ability to hand-bead designs into the gourd, using a wax sinuet.
"These beads were picked up one at a time," Lipscomb said. "To do that, and keep your design, is incredible. For the Smithsonian to recognize it as being a truly unique art-form surely goes well beyond my awareness of how you make those kinds of judgments." Snooks' sister said that the Smithsonian Institutions took about five months to make a decision to place Snooks' gourds in the museum - a notably swift selection.
"I do know people that have tried to get their work into the Smithsonian, and it's very difficult," Dates said. Prior to the Smithsonian accepting two of his gourds, they informed Dates and Lipscomb that only 5 to 10 percent of applicants' artwork are chosen. Despite this, Dates and Lipscomb were persistent, and eventually two of Snooks' painted gourds, one he called "Native Gold" and the other "Long Life," were chosen to be displayed in the Smithsonian's permanent collection.
"David told me that something can be of value to you, but when you can give it away, then it has the opportunity to fulfill its full value - and that's what's carrying on with the gourds," said Lipscomb. "For years to come, thousands of people will come see them ... and to think from here, from Amador County to have something in the Smithsonian."
Lipscomb and Dates, who have now become close friends, are hoping to plan a trip this October to view Snooks' gourds on display at the Smithsonian Institute. "For me, this made him a true artist," Dates said.
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