Master Carver and Photographer Jesse Ochoa

Silver City -- Award-winning wood carver Jesse Ochoa's stylized, indigenous-inspired art works are now featured in the annual Arte Chicano Exhibit at the Silver City Museum's Besse-Forward Gallery through December 29, alongside his photographs of The Crown Dance, an Apache ceremonial dance for healing and protection of the community.

"I'm really honored to be featured in Arte Chicano," said Ochoa, who will discuss his work November 2 at 11:30 am in the museum courtyard, as part of the Dia de Los Muertos festivities. Ochoa, now 80-years young, insists that he's not an artist. "I'm able to see the proportions and the balance of a piece, but only as I get into the wood, then it all just comes together."

Each carving in the exhibit is inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Northwestern U.S. where he visited, and became enthralled with their depiction of the natural world - orcas, ravens, bears and totem poles. Ochoa's pieces are easily identified by the movement he creates; wind blowing through a horse's mane, the form of a whale as it glides through water, or the angle of a raven's wing in flight. Several pieces are embellished with feathers and inlaid turquoise. The final signature of Ochoa's work is a silky smooth surface, offering no hint of the hundreds of tool marks lovingly laid to breathe life into each piece.

Diana Ingalls Leyba, exhibit curator, artist and recipient of this year's Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, said she was surprised to learn that Ochoa is self-taught. "His pieces have elegant lines and fine craftsmanship," she added. "I'm so happy to show his work to a wider audience."