Palah Sandling

A native of Southern California, Palah spent much of her time while growing up there exploring nature, hiking, horseback riding, collecting minerals and fossils and drawing and painting.

Her love for art grew from a pastime to a full-blown passion, and she began her path as an artist attending the Laguna Beach school of art.

During that time, she won awards at many juried exhibitions, including the highly acclaimed Laguna Beach festival of arts/ Pageant of the masters. Her subject matter was the local wildlife and scenery she encountered in the great outdoors. Her finely detailed watercolors and pastels were included in special exhibits at Chapman College, Fullerton College, the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, as well as the Bowers Museum.

For many years afterward, Palah applied her talents as an artist in the film and television fields. It is here she learned the art of illusion and how to create using a variety of special effects techniques and mediums. Later she would further her art education at the Pasadena College of Art and Design. Her area of focus became mixed media abstract paintings and sculpture. She exhibited her artwork at the Brewery Arts Complex and Gallery, Los Angeles Ca.

It was always a dream of hers to live in the four corners region, and she is so happy to now call New Mexico her home. It was on the Navajo reservation in Canyon De Chelly where Palah had a deeply profound experience. “As I stood there looking upon the images of rock art along the canyon walls, I began to see the messages left in the stone. I could feel the energy of this sacred place, and the spirits of the Native people who dwelled there in peace, as well as the horrors they were subjected to as they were forced from their ancestral homes. The echoes of ancient voices filled my soul and gave my art a new purpose and direction.”

By creating the imagery of Native American petroglyphs and pictographs she hopes to honor the lives of a people deeply connected to the earth and to the spirit world. Palah does extensive research on the images, symbolism, tools and techniques used by these ancient cultures. She has developed her own techniques to create multi dimensional works of art that have the depth, colors, shapes, and surface textures of natural rock. Her materials and processes are inspired by the methods the ancients used, such as using ground natural earth pigments and minerals to create stone and painted images. The petroglyphs are then carved and pecked into the surface of the art piece. This gives the impression of a true rock art image. “I strive to illustrate the authentic traditions and styles of the distinct tribal cultures while I remain respectful of the sacred aspect to the intrinsic nature of each symbol, which has significance and meaning.”

As she explores these lands that the ancients held as places of power, she collects bits of earth and rock to incorporate as an ingredient into her artwork. She calls this ingredient the “sacred earth magic”.

“As human beings we seek out knowledge, meaning, and purpose. We are innately drawn to the mysterious. In rock art the shaman speaks to us through his communications with the spirit world. He is both magic and messenger, a bridge connecting the earth with the Great Spirit.”