"I use traditional aspects of my culture to communicate in a contemporary society," Yazzie states. "My paintings are expressions of who I am, an individual co-existing between worlds." With its hints of cubism and surrealism, Yazzie's paintings strive to convey the artist's Navajo culture and his own life experiences. Certain symbols and motifs appear and reappear on his canvasses as Yazzie expresses both the positive and negative aspects of his worlds. Never one to shy from truths, Yazzie has explored areas of controversy as well as problems like alcoholism. It grounds him, he has said, to move between the positive and the negative, to embrace in his paintings and the body of his work the Navajo idea that life is based on balance.

Peterson received an Associates Degree of Fine arts (2002) and a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree (2004) from the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He currently is working toward his Master of Fine Arts Degree in the competitive graduate program at the University of New Mexico and, given the influence teachers have had in transforming the life of this young artist, Yazzie hopes to become an art instructor himself – even as his own fine arts career continues its meteoric rise. Turquoise Tortoise Gallery is located at Hozho Center in the heart of Sedona's "Gallery Row," 431 Highway 179. 928-282-2262, mail@turqtortsedona.com or www.turqtortsedona.com. Open daily: 10-6 Mon-Sat, 11-5 Sun.