Today we’d like to introduce you to Lonny Cloud.
Hi Lonny, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Creating some form of art has always been part of my life.
During high school in Englewood Colorado during the late 1970’s, I worked mostly in watercolors and ceramics. I also spent much time creating Native American regalia and reproductions as a link to my native heritage. In the late 1970’s I saw Potawatomi Artist Woody Crumbo’s “Buffalo Dancer” painting and I was then hooked on Native American Flat Style painting. I have spent decades studying the work of Woody Crumbo, Rance Hood, Acee Blue Eagle, and Blackbear Bosin to name only a few of the best-known artists of the genre. I then switched to painting with gouache, which is very challenging. About the time I developed a reasonably good technique in gouache, something very unexpected happened…
In the fall of 1986, I was carving a cottonwood bark bust of a native American man and wanted to cut a separate eagle feather to attach to the carving. It occurred to me at that time that I had previously worked with carving deer leg bone and since the bone was already naturally white, I should make some small bone feathers and turn them into earrings. I didn’t realize at the time that, as much as I preferred to paint, making bone feather jewelry would become my life’s work.
I continued to paint in watercolors and gouache, but over time became more experienced with acrylics due to using it to paint my jewelry. In the beginning I kept the painting on the jewelry simpler while making the feathers as realistic as possible, as I found myself in the wholesale market with the jewelry as a way to make a living while I continued to paint the art I had the most passion for on the side.
Over the years however, it became important to me to make the finest detailed feathers from bone as possible. I have developed my own tools and methods to carve the bone to less than .004 thousandths of an inch in detail and to paint them with up to 10 custom mixed colors of acrylic paint. I have made over 300 different styles of feathers over the years. I currently offer 60 styles of natural feathers along with various contemporary styles of feathers.
In the early days I used any bone I could find. I was living on the Big Tompson River between Loveland and Estes Park Colorado when I first started the jewelry. I knew a man who was the head of the highway department on that stretch of highway and he directed me to where the highway department dumped all of the road kill deer and elk, so I actually started by poking around piles of road kill, believe it or not.
I later befriended the man who owns Rocky Mountain Natural Meats in Denver Colorado. He processes all of the ranched Bison herds in Colorado and he was kind enough to give me all the leg bones I could use whenever I needed them. It is a huge job to clean and bleach raw bone and takes quite a lot of time to make them into jewelry. I continue to use all the Bison bone I can get but have had to find other sources for bone that has already been cleaned and bleached as well.
As I continued with my painting, I naturally found ways of incorporating the carved bone pieces with my paintings, and added the carved bone to other multimedia projects. Some of my favorites have been carved cedar and poplar working war whistles and prayer dolls, all with bone feather embellishments. I continue to paint in Native Flat style, and focus heavily on inspiration from Karl Bodmers first contact paintings of Northern Plains Tribes, always keeping with historically accurate hair styles, dress, tattoo styles and culture.
In the middle 90’s I also started a line of painted Spirit Men based off of some little-known Dakota tribal drawings form the 1800’s. This gives me a chance to be both spiritually and ceremonially accurate while allowing me to paint in more contemporary styles. I had been reluctant to share these images with the general public in the past but the Spirt Man theme is where my passion is currently the strongest and I have been releasing these paintings more in recent years.
As a side interest, I am self-taught on Photoshop since the late 90’s, starting with Photoshop V4. I have built up an extensive catalog of digital art (never AI!), and over the years have built up a side business of T-shirts and other apparel. I have been honored to provide t-shirts for the Sicangu Owayawa Oti School in Mission South Dakota for their Wiping of the Tears and Health Walk events for the past three years.
I also continue to wholesale my jewelry, mostly to the Southwest Indian Foundation Catalog and Raptor Rehabilitation Centers to benefit their causes.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some aspects of my career have gone quite smoothly while others have been very disheartening. When my bone feathers first hit the market, they were a huge success. I found sales reps early on to work the wholesale angle so I could pay the bills. On the other hand, I have had to deal with sales reps that misrepresented me, some flat out lying about my heritage, and others doing everything they can to keep me hidden from the general public in an effort to control my entire business. I also had a wholesale account that stole my thunderpuppyart.com domain name to direct anyone looking for me to their gallery, and it took me more than ten years to get the domain for myself.
Of course, the next problem was both dealing with people who were attempting to copy my work, and cut in to my established accounts, as well as numerous people claiming that the entire concept was their own idea. While I would never claim that no one else in history ever made feathers from bone, this was a fresh concept at the time. I still battle with people attempting to copy my designs thinking they will make a quick buck, but they find out quick that it’s not as easy as it looks.
I was lucky enough to find some sales reps when I needed them the most, but they really restricted my art. They had no interest in promoting my art and only wanted to deal with the jewelry. It was great to have so much work but it also took time away from me developing my abilities and pursuing what made me the happiest.
Then there’s the fact that I am not a member of a federally recognized tribe. Due to some positive laws that were passed at about that time, it has restricted me from attending the best art shows there are for me to sell my work at. It also keeps my work out oof some of the best galleries in the west. While some very successful artists like Bill Worrell and Dave McGary were nonnative, I have had no luck in breaking that barrier. I don’t appreciate anyone who uses their life details with the ceremonies and culture to sell anything, and I keep my own experience to myself. I also feel that an artist’s work should be about the work, not the heritage of the artist, but I also don’t appreciate being restricted from sharing my work, no matter how well intentioned the laws are. I cannot and do not sell my work as native made.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am most well known for the fine detail in my carvings. The carving is smaller than 4 thousandths of an inch, and the finish painted pieces have often been mistaken for real feathers. I have been confronted by people on social sites that believed I was killing federally protected birds to make into earrings. I even had one woman who believed I was killing butterflies to use the color from their wings on the feathers.
I am most proud of the detail I put in to all of my work. whether it’s the carving or the historical detail I put in to my paintings. I am also very proud of the uniqueness of all of my work, even though it can limit my customer base.
I am also known for being accessible to my customers. The sales reps I had in the past kept me hidden from the public. I am more than happy to take calls from my customers to discuss what they want and have formed many long-distance friendships with them over the years. I found social networks to be a dismal experience and shut them all down a few years ago. I have added a free membership to my website so that my customers and followers can freely converse with me any time as well.
What’s next?
I am currently trying to phase out all of my wholesale jewelry. This is, after all, my 40th year of making jewelry and I want to focus on my mart while I still can. Even if it all ends up sitting in a corner of my studio. I am currently rebuilding my retail following and website to promote my art pieces.
More importantly, I am co-founding a new organization for artists and creators of all genres- “Artist Uprising”. We are developing a full system to provide creators with everything they need to have a successful career. Everything from an artist owned ecommerce site, to health care to financial and investment guidance. We also want to provide affordable living and work space. It’s in its earliest stages and is going to be a huge undertaking, as one of the greatest needs is to get around all of the current gatekeepers that have historically used artists for profit while leaving the artists out in the cold. We hope to see it take off quickly and provide much needed services to all creators.
Pricing:
- earrings Necklaces $39.00- $1500
- One of a kind jewelry $250- $2500
- Giclee prints $60 and up
- Original paintings $250- $5000
- Original multimedia art $250-$5000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thunderpuppyart.com
- Other: https://thunderpuppyart.etsy.com
