Francis Leekya
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Francis Leekya
Sadly, Francis
Leekya passed away quietly in his sleep
on the
night of May 12, 2003.
His spirit and mind were
strong till the end.
His body, racked by strokes and
diabetes finally abandoned him
Francis grew up
surrounded by the great Zuni artists of the 40's, 50's, and 60's.
Francis carved in the old style created
many years ago by his father Leekya Deyuse.
Francis began his
career working alongside his father for CG Wallace
and
later Bernie Vanderwagon.
Francis and I began our collaboration in 1998.
The right side of
Francis' body was already paralyzed from a stroke and he had
difficulty speaking. Francis carved by holding the stone in his left hand
(the only hand
he could control) and gently touched it to the grinding wheel till the fetish he saw emerged.
In the beginning of our collaboration, Francis carved small fetishes as he had most of his life.
In 1999, I asked Francis to try carving larger fetishes and supplied him stone other then Zuni Rock.
He loved it, the larger colorful stones gave Francis the opportunity to explore.
From that point on, everything changed about Francis' carving. The fetishes literally sprung to life.
No two were alike. Each carving had its own unique form, patterns and colors. It was surreal. Here
was this very fragile, gentle man seemingly willing stone to take
form and color.
Francis did not make many fetishes. If you own one, treasure it.
Francis told me that disability also forced
his father Leekya to carve with one hand.
It was as if Leekya was guiding Francis.
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Leekya Deyuse at the grinding wheel.
Francis then showed us this photo of his mother.
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Occasionally you will see the mark FL
on a Francis Leekya fetish.
Usually, there is no hallmark at all.
Francis' son Freddy also uses the hallmark FL
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We are
currently offering a few Francis
fetishes
for sale - Click to View
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Towards the end, Francis was very weak and in much pain. However when you look at the last carvings he made, days before his death, that is not what you see. When Francis carved he clearly transcended his body to a place of peace, strength and beauty. I believe he is there now. I have made these images large. Each one will take a moment longer then usual to download. I did that so anyone interested in capturing the image and printing it would have a worthwhile print. All are welcome to do that. |