Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Raindrops is one of ten bronze castings of the original steatite (soapstone) carving, which was made in 1993. The original sculpture is now in the collection of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe in Connecticut. This work features a Native American woman with a sheep resting at her feet; both are reflections of Houser’s ancestry and culture. The Apache people value their connection to all their relations, including Nde Benah (Apache Land). “Apache wellbeing, health, and strength are nourished spiritually and physically by being a part of the Nde Benah. Nde not only survive but flourish in their world of choice.” The sheep serves as a representation of this relationship: as the woman cares for the sheep, the sheep produces wool for clothing and meat to eat. The woman is also symbolic of the matrilineal heritage of the Apache culture and White Painted Woman, a powerful figure to whom they trace their origins.
“It was on White Mountain, according to legend, that White Painted Woman gave birth to two sons, Child of Water and Killer of Enemies. They were born during a turbulent rainstorm when thunder and lightning came from the sky. Giant Monsters who wanted to kill them feared White Painted Woman and her sons, whom she raised to be brave and skilled. When they grew up to be men, they rose up and killed the monsters of the earth. There was peace and all human beings were saved.”