Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/124935
play in your free time Artist's Corner: Linda Lou Metoxen a Cultural tradition brings new inspiration to local artist's work By Karin Wolf What inspired you to be an artist? I grew up watching my mother weave. We didn't have television, electricity, or running water. At night, Mom would light the kerosene lamp, set up her loom and tell us stories. Also, in my sixth grade art class I made cats for every project. At the end of the year, my teacher put my entire collection of cats in one installation, called "Cats are Where It's At." I guess that was my first solo exhibition. Why have you been focused on making tiaras recently? On a visit to the Southwest, I was struck by the silver tiaras that Navajo women wear during pageants. These women are being honored for many reasons including their knowledge of traditions and language. Why do you encourage your children to make art? About three years ago I was at my booth selling my work and my girls were nearby coloring pictures. One of my daughters came up to me with three quarters. They had been selling their coloring book pages for a quarter each. The next year they drew their own pictures and sold them for a dollar, and have made enough money to buy their own iPad. They felt empowered by making their own money and take extraordinary care of their things because they know how hard they worked for them. ••• Karin Wolf is the arts program administrator for the Madison Arts Commission. Find her at cityofmadison.com/mac/index.cfm. Book Club: Bond with Mom over books you'll both love The Storyteller By Jodi Picoult A woman burdened by loneliness and a tragic past develops a friendship that will lead her to question her identity, as well as the lengths to which she'll go to protect those she loves. Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books, $16 60 BRAVA Magazine Autobiography of Us By Aria Beth Sloss A tale of friendship, betrayal and dashed dreams, this heartfelt novel examines the struggles and repressive expectations women encountered when coming of age in the 1960s. Published by Henry Holt and Co., $15 May 2013 A Week in Winter By Maeve Binchy In a novel that will have you chuckling until the end, an eccentric and unlikely cast of characters spends a hilarious week together at an Irish seaside hotel. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, $15 All titles available at Barnes & Noble. Booked for Murder is located at 2701 University Ave., Madison; bookedformurder.com. Photo by Bobbi Petersen Since moving to Madison more than 20 years ago, Linda Lou Metoxen, a Navajo "Diné" woman from New Mexico, has kept a strong connection to her Southwestern roots. Raised by her mother, who worked as a sheep herder and rug weaver, Metoxen inherited a steady hand with arts and eventually graduated from Santa Fe's Institute of American Indian Arts in 1987 and then from UW with a master's in fine arts in 1996. Today, she primarily focuses on her work as a metalsmith— including hand-formed and hammered silver vessels, bowls, teapots, goblets, rattles and chalices. But her most recent obsession has been making sterling silver and turquoise tiaras. And from the home in Montello she shares with Ron Anderson, a jeweler, she's also forging important life-lessons for their three daughters (and little artists in training).