The Return of the Force Part 4: Canvases Take Many Forms!

The Return of the Force part 4 features canvases that take many forms! This is the fourth in a series that showcases Star Wars art by Native artists that were included in a recent exhibition entitled The Return of the Force at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona.

These stories were provided by artist and curator Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa), and Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné), volunteer consultant and librarian at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

Jason Garcia & Okuu Pin, Santa Clara Pueblo

The Return of the Force Part 4 — Credit: Jason Garcia & Okuu Pin, Santa Clara Pueblo Maxi Big Da Force Traditionally hand-processed clay, mineral pigments, traditional outdoor firing Courtesy of King Galleries

Rich: Now this piece I find really interesting.

Duane: This is a unique style as well. Jason Garcia is a traditional potter. He comes from Santa Clara Pueblo. He’s a Tewa artist who loves Star Wars. His favorite character is Jar Jar Binks, so in this exhibit he featured a piece that shows a child holding a Jar Jar cup. I would say as an artist, like many of these artists, he is very successful and has definitely created a name for himself and his style. This piece belongs to Charles King of King Galleries in Scottsdale, AZ and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mr. King is a big fan of Jason Garcia.

Installation by TCA Gallery + Guest Artist

Rich:: Wow, this next section wasn’t open during my previous visit. I think the curtain was drawn the last time we met, so this is my first time seeing it, and I love it!

Sam: Yes, they were working on this installation for quite some time when we were putting the exhibition together. It’s actually a collaboration between Tempe Center for the Arts and Randy Kemp’s son, who sourced a bunch of different materials, did some artwork on the different pieces, and put them together to kind of make it look like a workshop, or a junkyard or something like that. The sound elements as well as the different textures and 3D pieces really add a lot to the exhibition.

Kim Lohnes, Diné

Rich: Here we have another female artist featured and this piece is incredible.

Sam: Kim Lohnes is a Navajo/Diné artist. You can see that she took a piece of linen and was able to do this immense amount of bead work on this piece featuring BB-8 that is on loan from Tony Thibodeau, director of research and collections at the Museum of Northern Arizona. At one point when Tony was curating the first exhibit back in 2020, he was talking with Randall Wilson, one of the artists that was featured. Randall told Tony, “Hey, my cousin actually did this really cool piece.” So this ended up being added to the first exhibition as well as this one. You can see how Kim uses color and a more abstract look in this design.

At first, you don’t immediately recognize it as BB-8. You just see it as a beautiful piece of bead work and then when you get into it, the character pops out and you can really appreciate her take on BB-8.

Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa

Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa Miniature Hopi Mando Acrylic on PLA

Credit: Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa HOPI-8 Watercolor on paper On loan courtesy of Dorren Thibodeau

Rich: I see we’ve got a few more of your pieces here.

Duane: This one is owned by Dorren Thibodeau, Tony’s son. I made this piece actually at my old job at the Flagstaff Medical Center. I used to work with kids in the behavioral health unit and I would paint stuff periodically. I did this watercolor there and I kept it. I had it on display at an art show in Flagstaff and Doran’s son really admired it. He had asked me how much it was and I asked him how much he had, and he said, “I got like $20”. and then I said “Yes I’m going to remember that.” I let it go for him, but his dad was like, “How much?” I was like, “No, that’s cool.” He really liked it.

The little minis were also 3D-printed by Joe Mastroianni. He got a 3D printer, so we started printing these and just started having some fun decorating them with Hopi pottery designs. The other helmets, including Hopi Trooper and Hopi Mando are a little larger, closer 6 inches tall.

Rich: Of course I’m going to pause right here at Hopi Trooper because this is probably one of my favorite pieces of yours.

Duane: Yeah that one’s owned by Sam’s youngest. He really liked it and would always look at it in my house and then I finally just said “You know what? You can have it.” So he owns that piece now.

Yancey Katoney, Diné

The team at TCA quotes Yancey’s inspiration for The Side of Castle Butte. “I was inspired to use the Castle Butte because it is familiar in my collective memory. The shapes have always been very curious to me. The imagination like our home land could very well be thought of as synonymous. … My mother kept a running theme in my mind of the possibility of what those rocks could be, a movie set, a playground, Godzilla or Mothra coming up out of the earth. Here it is ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…’. These were always running scenarios as we would pass by these monolithic landmarks against the night sky coming from church revivals as a child.

According to Duane, “Yancey’s Mandalorian, Flint Rock, is about my late friend Adrian Nez who had encouraged me to change some old habits. A true “Naabaahii”, we knew him as Flint Rock.

Michael Toya, Jemez Pueblo

Duane: These are by Mike Toya, a Jemez Pueblo artist and huge Star Wars fan. He has been making Star Wars art for a long time too. In the two examples we have here, Village Protector and Chief Grogu, Mike used acrylic on canvas. I love his take on the character of Grogu, wise beyond his years.

Stay tuned for more examples of Native art in Return of The Force Part 5.

Catch up on The Return of The Force Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!

August 18, 2025August 16, 2025

The Return of the Force Part 3: Wearable Art, Comic Art & More

The Return of the Force Part 3 features wearable art, comic art and more! This is the third in a series that showcases Star Wars art by Native artists that were included in a recent exhibition, entitled The Return of the Force, at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona.

These stories were provided by artist and curator Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa), and Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné), volunteer consultant and librarian at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

Christal Ratt, Mitchikanibikok Inik –Algonquins of Barriere Lake

Rich: Alright, here we have a magnificent doll, created by another female artist.

Sam: The doll, yeah, that’s by Christal Ratt. In her Mandalorian doll, she utilizes different materials. There’s fabric, but also works a lot with birch bark, and you can kind of see that in the helmet. She features elements like flowers and natural materials. It has been really cool to see her find her comfort level with displaying different perspectives in her artwork and we’re excited to include her because she is outside of the Colorado Plateau. Her cultural affiliation is the Anishnabek (Algonquins) of Barriere Lake in Canada.

She also created these two skirts. You can see some of the fashion design choices that she’s made too, combining traditional ribbon and flowers in the skirts with Grogu and the Mandalorian, really highlighting how these characters have been embraced by indigenous cultures.

Rich: I recognize the licensed fabric that she’s using here, but the ribbon and the Mandalorian are amazing. How did she make that Mandalorian?

Sam: Yes. They’re wearable pieces like the ones that people would wear to highlight their involvement in the community. You can see some of the things that she’s added too, like the flowers and the green leaves to the left and right. She has since created a fashion line that’s outside of Star Wars.

Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa

Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa x NTVS Clothing Vader Windbreaker Screen-printed on windbreaker On loan courtesy of Aaron Silva, Chippewa/Hawaiian x the NTVS

Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa x NTVS ClothingFett WindbreakerScreen-printed on windbreakerOn loan courtesy of Aaron Silva, Chippewa/Hawaiian x the NTVS

Rich: Let’s move on to your skateboard deck that features another Ewok. Please tell us about it.

Duane: Well this piece actually belongs to Sam here. I think some of her favorite characters are Ewoks. I had a deck in the previous show and it ended up selling, so I wanted to create one with an Ewok. Of course, this is Wicket, but I changed up his cape to put more of a Hopi-style cape on him. And the fact that they’re kind of like hunters and warriors is the reason why he’s carrying a rabbit stick. In Hopi, that’s what we call a “mojo” so it brings together the culture and hunter-like nature of the Hopi.

Rich: That’s awesome. Now, what about these shoes?

Duane: Yeah, my cousin asked me to do them for my nephew. Shoes have been a big part of my art career, kind of what really got my name out there was doing a lot of shoes. He is a Star Wars fan so I went at it. He wanted Darth Vader in there and I wanted to include both shoes, so I added the Death Star in there and some of the TIE fighters, which are my favorites. I’m a big fan of TIE fighters. Maybe I will make a new pair for the next exhibit.

I also included a couple of my collabs with NTVS Clothing in this exhibition. NTVS Clothing is a Native-owned business that creates limited edition clothing drops with designs by Native designers for everyone that supports indigenous culture. Their mission is to teach Native kids about the importance of culture and history. My Fett Windbreaker features a Hopi-styled Boba Fett design, and Vader Windbreaker includes his lightsaber on the sleeves and an illustration of a Hopi-pottery styled Vader helmet and Death Star on the back.

Shaun Beyale, Diné

Shaun Beyale, Diné Diné Jedi Warrior India ink

Rich: Alright, that brings us to Shaun Beyale.

Sam: Sean grew up loving comic books and you can see he is both a fan of Star Wars and the comic style. He’s passionate about sharing the strength of Navajo women, especially Navajo women who are considered fierce warriors.

One of the main characters that he features is Isa. He has a daughter and he said he wants to be able to share that idea of strength. He ties in different elements of Navajo history and Navajo culture into a lot of his artwork, like the style of dress, the landscape, as well as some traditional themes, like characters from different oral traditions. He’s done work with Marvel and does appearances to speak to school groups and children about following their passion, especially if it involves the arts. He’s very encouraging of people – that’s part of what unites us across these two different cultural influences is Star Wars and art and creativity.

Steven Paul Judd, Kiowa/Choctaw x NTVS Clothing

Steven Paul Judd, Kiowa/Choctaw x NTVS Clothing Galactic Unity (Princess Leia and the Hopi Connection) Screen-printed cotton t-shirt On loan courtesy of Aaron Silva, Chippewa/Hawaiian x the NTVS

Rich: Let’s move to these cool collabs from NTVS Clothing. I love these t-shirts.

Duane: Oh yeah, the t-shirts are additional collaborations with NTVS, featuring graphic design work by Steven Paul Judd. He creates a lot of art relating to popular culture and again, brings a different perspective outside of the Colorado Plateau that wasn’t necessarily featured in the first exhibition several years ago. He’s Kiowa and Chakawa, and he blends some cool takes on historical photos with the inclusion of Star Wars themes and characters.

According to NTVS, they have been creating these limited fashion drops that fuse Star Wars and Native Culture for the past seven years. “Every ‘May the 4th’ celebration becomes a thrilling rendezvous of pop culture and ancestral heritage, as our limited edition designs transport you to galaxies far, far away while connecting with the spirit of Indigenous communities.

Pat Pruitt, Laguna Pueblo/Chiricahua Apache/Anglo

Pat Pruitt, Laguna Pueblo/Chiricahua Apache/Anglo Fulcrum Stainless steel and leather

Pat Pruitt, Laguna Pueblo/Chiricahua Apache/Anglo Mandalorian Stainless steel and leather

Rich: I’m going to move to these leather and steel pieces here. Who created these?

Duane: These are by Pat Pruitt, a very well respected artist who utilizes a lot of more contemporary takes on traditional Pueblo culture. He is Laguna Pueblo, Chiricahua Apache, and Anglo. He has a strong following who love his stainless steel work. He designs everything from dog tags to beautiful bracelets, knives, and a variety of other pieces. He also utilizes a laser to do some of his etching and also some of his cutting, so he blends the use of technology with traditional elements and different symbols of strength from the Star Wars universe.

The examples we have in this exhibit are these four bow guards that would have traditionally been worn on the left hand or arm for bow and arrow use to protect the wrist. He is usually very busy with his work and traveling for shows, so I was really excited when he said we would contribute something to this exhibit.

Stay tuned for Part 4: Canvases Take Many Forms

Check out Parts 2 and 3 in The Return of the Force Series

August 15, 2025August 15, 2025

The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Part 3!

The Colorful World of Keshigoum Star Wars Part 3

It is time for part 3 of the colorful world of keshigomu (keshi) Star Wars! Keshi, as you hopefully remember, are the small rubber erasers that have been popular in Japan over the past half century. Of course, we are focusing on Star Wars. In 1978, when Star Wars was first released in theaters across Japan, myriad licensees put their own spin on the now-classic characters and events from that Galaxy far away. None were more prolific than Takara toy company. Most collectors recognize Takara as the sub-licensee of Kenner responsible for distributing the original action figures in Japan, but their contributions go well beyond that. There were dozens of different Star Wars keshi made by Takara and sold in capsule machines (remember think gumball machines). Due to the small size of the capsules, it is not uncommon to find heavily stooped or bent keshi. They are not suffering some spinal injury, just years of confinement in a plastic prison that didn’t allow them to stand tall, so to speak.

Three different “series” were available concurrently. Collectors have separated them into different series based on their attributes rather than release dates. So, as we discuss these, remember if you were a child in Japan in 1978 putting your hard-earned yen into the capsule machine, you could get a keshi from any one of these three “series.” In fact, here’s a display card that would have been inside the capsule machine to give prospective customers a glimpse of what they might receive.

The first series has been dubbed the “12-back” series by collectors. Many vintage action figure collectors will recognize that term as applied to the first twelve Kenner Star Wars action figures because the back of the original blister cards showed twelve figures. They consisted of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2, Stormtrooper, Death Squad Commander, Sand People, and the Jawa. The 12 keshi match exactly those original 12 action figures. Clearly a deliberate decision on the part of Takara. These 12 characters are slightly larger than the other Takara keshi. Most are about two inches high with R2-D2 and the Jawa being smaller. Like all good keshi, they came in a full spectrum of colors including two different yellows. Possible versions are Black, White, Lemon Yellow, Desert Yellow, Blue, Green, Pink, and Orange. I am always surprised by the omission of red from these early lines.

The second “series” (remember they are concurrent with the 12-backs) have been called the “base series.” In many lines, a base series connotes the standard, non-special versions such as the regular cards in a trading card set. However, in this instance “base” is actually derived from the fact that the characters each stand on a base. This Keshi set is more action posed and slightly smaller than the static 12-backs. Also, there are far fewer characters depicted but, since some have multiple poses, there are actually more in this series than 12-backs. Thirteen to be precise. Two poses for C-3PO, Stormtrooper, and Chewbacca; one pose each for Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan, and R2-D2; while Darth Vader has the most with three different poses. The other characters are not represented at all. Again, the same color palette was available for these erasers. Due to their smaller nature, facial likenesses, especially with the humans, is not very accurate and the sculptor clearly took some liberties designing the weaponry. But a very fun line nonetheless. Sticklers for detail will note that the R2-D2 in the base series does not, in fact, have a base. The base of his legs are thicker than the 12-back version. So, what I have told you is true…from a certain point of view. Another quick way to distinguish the 12-back R2-D2 from the base version is the pronounced indentation under the dome of the 12-back version.

The third concurrent Takara series were all vehicles and roughly the same size as the base series, slightly smaller than the 12-backs. The vehicles were also available in the same colors as the other two series. This vehicle series consists of the Landspeeder, Millennium Falcon, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Darth Vader’s bent-winged TIE Fighter, and a Star Destroyer that is much flatter and wider than depicted in the films. It is closer to an equilateral triangle. If you are keeping track at home that’s almost 250 variations on these three Takara series if you want all combinations. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t want all combinations!

Eagle-eyed readers have probably noted the metal R2-D2 in the center of the capsule machine display card. Even stretching the bounds of credibility, it’s not possible to call that an eraser. In fact, it was the top-prize in the capsules: the R2-D2 100-yen coin holder. Few lucky enthusiasts received this instead of a rubber keshi. It has a spring in the body of the droid that held coins and allowed you to remove them like a pez dispenser, presumably so you could buy more keshi.

This seems like a good place to stop this month’s Keshi installment but, don’t fret, our story is not at the end. Just like the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy had a fourth book “So long and thanks for all the fish,” our Keshigomu magnum opus trilogy will also have a fourth part “of Jumbos and Bootlegs.”

Check out parts one and two of the Keshi blogs!

July 30, 2025July 30, 2025

Thank you for your support of The Saga Museum at San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

We are still catching our breath after returning from San Diego, but wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who showed enthusiasm and support for The Sage Museum Initiative of Rancho Obi-Wan at San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

Whether you attended our panel on The Saga Museum, bid on items in the Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies: TCM ECHOES from the GALAXY auction or took the time to come up on the convention floor to say hello, we truly appreciated and felt your support. Thank you!

Stay tuned for an official recap of all things from San Diego coming soon.

July 7, 2025July 8, 2025

The Return of the Force, Part 2: From Apache to Zuni

This post is the second in a series that showcases Star Wars art by Native artists that were included in a recent exhibition entitled The Return of the Force at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona. These stories were provided by artist and curator Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa), and Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné), volunteer consultant and librarian at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

Rod Velarde, Jicarilla Apache

Rod Velarde, Jicarilla Apache TD112 Mixed media on canvas and plastic

Rich: Sam, as we start to make our way through the exhibit, can you tell me about these two mixed media pieces?
Sam: These first two pieces are by Rod Velarde, a Jicarilla Apache artist who incorporates a lot of mixed media artwork on pieces, like licensed helmets and toy figures. He’s previously done pieces like these in the Mimbres style from southern New Mexico.
You can see that in the animal figures, and in the way he highlights the influence of traditional art and his cultural heritage in the four-foot figure and the mixed media painting. He sometimes creates pieces in black and white, but these are a little more colorful. You can see there’s things like fish, birds and natural elements incorporated, while also taking on that pottery style that is really popular with all ages. You can also see how he uses both 3D and 2D elements. I like that he left the blaster in the canvas piece white to draw your eye to that specific element.
A lot of the guys are also enthused about Rod Velarde because he does a lot of comic cons and dresses up in costume too. So he’s probably one of the most popular artists in this exhibit.

Credit:
Rod Velarde in Native American-styled Mandalorian Costume
áyA Con 2024
Photo by Daniel Suave

He’s done a number of helmets and people have collected those, so when we premiered the second exhibition, some of his collectors wore them to the exhibit. It was really cool to see people not only enjoying them as art pieces but actually wearing them!

Alessia and Fabian Queisowki, Zuni

Rich: There’s a little bit of a glare on the case, but please tell us about this little collection of beaded figures.
Sam: Those pieces were in the initial exhibition. They actually belong to the Museum of Northern Arizona in their permanent collection. Those are by two Zuni artists – a husband and wife duo, Alessia and Fabian Queisowki. What Tony (the person who purchased them for the museum) really liked about them is that some of them are articulated. If you look at the Leia piece, you can see not only did they bead the whole Leia figure, but they also made a hood for her robe that actually moves on and off. Definitely really cool and different, especially since it takes great skill and effort to make lightsabers. Yes, all the details on Chewbacca to make him look furry, and Boba Fett even has his blaster and his cape!

Darby Raymond-Overstreet, Diné

Rich: I’m going to come around the corner to the other side of this case and we’ve got some very interesting bead work here. Please tell me about these beaded lightsabers.
Sam: Those are by Darby Raymond-Overstreet, a Diné artist who has another piece in this exhibit as well. One of the things that we’ve tried really hard to do in this exhibit is to be inclusive of different people’s perspectives. A lot of the artwork of course is done by male artists, but being able to incorporate the female perspective and picking up on what they want to highlight is very important to us.
Darby does a lot of graphic design, but she is very accomplished and skilled at beadwork, as you can see in the fine details she has incorporated into these lightsabers. People do have their favorites when it comes to lightsabers – they have certain colors and are associated with different characters, so we are excited to have such a wide array among the ones that she featured.

Ryan Singer, Diné

Rich: All right now, we’re moving on to a piece by Ryan Singer. I would love to learn about the influences that inspired this piece.
Duane: This one actually belongs to the Museum of Northern Arizona. This is part of the permanent collection and the title of it is (De)Colonized Ewok. It is playing off of a really famous before-and-after portrait of a young native man whose photo was taken before he entered into boarding school and then the other after he was “assimilated”.
What Ryan is saying in this depiction expresses some really tough situations and topics regarding boarding school and the impact that it had on native people and their culture. From the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, children were forcibly removed from their homelands, and put into these boarding schools in an effort to “civilize” them. The goal was to remove elements from their culture, like punishing them if they spoke their languages, or changing their appearance to make them look the part.
It’s important that he’s kind of spoken about that idea and it is interesting to people because it incorporates characters they know from Star Wars and can kind of relate to. It makes them begin to think about a really tough subject, and I think that’s a really interesting part of what he’s able to do with his artwork.
Randy Kemp, Choctaw/Mucogee-Creek/Euchee

Rich: Alright, Sam, please tell us about this interesting piece by Randy Kemp.
Sam: I love this piece by Randy Kemp. He was featured in the first exhibit, and we’re glad that he was able to do it again. What I like is that he’s Choctaw/Mucogee-Creek/Euchee, and he really taps into mixed media. You can see some different pieces that he used for the buttons on Councilman Wookie, which are pretty funny. You can see a couple of Buffalo-head nickels, chips from a casino, and Chewie has a gold tooth. I love that commentary right there, maybe a political aspect of this artwork, but his use of texture and color really draws people in. I think that he has collectors who really like his perspective. I sure can appreciate the mix. All his pieces have been about the Wookiee, so he loves Wookiees.

Stay tuned for more diverse perspectives coming up in Part 3: Wearable Art, Comic Art & More.
Read Return of the Force Part 1

July 2, 2025July 2, 2025

Echoes from the Galaxy Auction now open for Bidding!

Julien’s & TCM Present: Echoes from the Galaxy.

Comic-Con Museum presents: TCM & Julien’s Auctions Echoes from the Galaxy

The exhibit and auction will feature many items from the founding collections of The Saga Museum® of Star Wars Memorabilia.

Additional featured collections include those of former Lucasfilm Art Director Rio Phior and former Lucasfilm In-House Designer Melanie Paykos.

The auction will end with live bidding at Comic-Con Museum® in San Diego on July 27. You do not need to be present to continue bidding. See Julien’s for different ways to bid on the last day.

REGISTER AND START BIDDING TODAY!

More about The Saga Museum® Initiative

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025

The Return of the Force: A Celebration of Native Star Wars Art Part 1

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) in Tempe, Arizona to see an exhibition of Star Wars art created by contemporary Native artists entitled The Return of the Force. This exhibition ran from January through mid-May, and was the second showing of The Return of the Force, which debuted in 2023 in Durango, Colorado. This exhibition was a follow-up to The Force Is With Our People, held in 2019 at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, and curated by the museum’s ethnographer, Tony Thibodeau.

the return of the force — Credit:
Duane Koyawena and TCA

I’d like to recognize the artists who participated in this exhibition. Thank you for sharing your creativity and your stories. I would also like to acknowledge the Gallery team at TCA for hosting this exhibit, and I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa) and Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné). I am grateful for your insights and your collaboration in helping me share these stories.

Credit:
Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa), Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné) and Hopi R2

When I learned about the exhibit, I reached out to artist and curator Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa), and asked him if he’d tell me about a few of the artists and their work to share with the Rancho Obi-Wan community. At TCA, I met Duane and Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné), volunteer consultant and librarian at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

As soon as we started exploring the exhibit, I realized that these works, and the rich stories they convey, need to be shared far and wide. So, with their permission, I am thrilled to present this blog series, The Return of the Force: A Celebration of Native Star Wars Art, to provide a virtual tour of the exhibit as led by Duane and Sam. The series will consist of six parts:

The Return of the Force, Part 1: Meet Hopi R2

The Return of the Force, Part 2: From Apache to Zuni

The Return of the Force, Part 3: Wearable Art, Comic Art & More

The Return of the Force, Part 4: Canvases Take Many Forms

The Return of the Force, Part 5: Endings Are Always Beginnings

The Return of the Force, Part 6: For the Guy Who Has Everything

Part 1: Meet Hopi R2

Duane Koyawena, Hopi/Tewa, and Joe Mastroianni, Anglo

Rich: Duane, this exhibit is phenomenal. To kick off this virtual tour, can you share the origin story of Hopi R2?

Duane: Yeah, I’ll tell you the story of Hopi R2. In the beginning, the first exhibit was called The Force Is With Our People. They wanted to get a droid for the exhibit, but it was going to be pretty pricey to get a real, functioning one. So, the marketing director of the museum asked her husband who is an engineer from New Jersey, Joe Mastroianni, if he could build one. He did some research and decided, “Yeah, I can build it.”

That’s when he discovered a whole new world—the R2 Builders Club where people build different pieces from all over. So when he decided to build it, he started collecting the parts and asked me if I would paint it. At first, I didn’t really believe that he was actually going to build an R2.

But then I saw the dome when we went over to his house. He said, “Check this out! I got the dome.” And I was like, “Wow, he’s really going to do it.” That’s when I had to buckle down and start coming up with ideas.

The concept I landed on came when he was holding the dome upside down, kind of like a bowl. It reminded me of a Hopi pottery bowl, the way he was carrying it. I asked Joe if he could make the head spin fully without the wires getting tangled. He said, “Yeah, I can do that.” So once I knew it could spin, I added a band around the head.

Then he started giving me all the different panels, and I decided to paint it all like Hopi pottery. A lot of people say he looks like wood, but I was really going for the look of clay pottery. We started putting symbols together, and when he was finished, we brought him to the show. We call him “the first Indigenous droid in the galaxy”.

Rich: Where has Hopi R2 traveled?

Duane: We’ve taken him to the last two shows we’ve had: The Return of the Force in Durango, and the original The Force Is With Our People in Flagstaff.

We’ve also taken him to a lot of schools and a few museums. He’s kind of built a name for himself. Since he’s decorated in Hopi pottery designs, that’s why we call him Hopi R2.

The cool thing is, when we take him around, Joe is able to talk in-depth about the engineering and robotics behind it, which helps inspire kids—whether they’re already interested in that stuff or not. He’s controlled by a PS4 remote and loaded with Arduinos and servos, so Joe definitely worked his magic on the droid.

Rich:
He’s awesome, and he represents exactly what drew me here. At Rancho Obi-Wan, our mission is to inspire through the Force of imagination. Hopi R2 is the perfect example of that. But he’s just one of many.

Stay tuned for more fascinating artwork and stories in Part 2: From Apache to Zuni.

June 9, 2025June 9, 2025

The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Part 2!

Let’s continue our look at the colorful world of Keshigomu (rubber erasers), the popular Star Wars collectibles from Japan! If you missed out on part one you can click here to look at the Maruka Toy Company series of small erasers from 1978. For part two we are turning our attention to the Jumbo series, also by Maruka Toy Company in 1978!

Although the series is called “Jumbo”, don’t let that fool you. To paraphrase a wise Jedi Master, “Size…is relative.” Whereas the small series are about 1.5 inches high, this larger series are roughly 2.5 inches high. Another easily noticeable difference, is that the Jumbos come in individual bags with colorful headers depicting a photo of the character or vehicle for that keshi. The small keshi, you will recall, were sold in bags of 50 random pieces, or in blind bags of five. These were sold individually. An attractive display box holding these erasers would sit on the counter of small mom and pop shops, confectionary stores, or kiosks. The first series of the Jumbo line consisted of many of the same characters and vehicles that made up the smaller counterparts: R2-D2, C-3PO, Landspeeder, Millennium Falcon, X-Wing, and Y-Wing. Fans of the Empire were out of luck. Also, just like the small series, the Jumbo were made in opaque and translucent versions of each color. It is worth noting that the opaque versions are significantly more difficult to find than the clear ones. Another fun observation when looking at the Jumbo series is that the Millennium Falcon has two cockpits!

At some point after the first series, a second series was briefly released. This much rarer set is considered by most collectors to be the most difficult to find. Another six Jumbo keshi make up the second series: Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, Sandcrawler, Star Destroyer, Vader’s TIE Fighter, and R2-D2. But wait a second, I hear you saying to your computer screen, wasn’t R2-D2 in the first series? Good catch, however, the first series R2-D2 has two legs and the second series version sports three legs. If you want a major challenge, try tracking down even one of these second series Jumbo keshi.

The final area we will discuss regarding the Maruka Toy Company’s vintage keshi involves their “Magic Ruler” (or stencil) line. At the same time they released their large and small keshi, Maruka released a set of ten small plastic stencils that featured outlines of Star Wars characters and vehicles. The trick was that the outlines were separated into right and left halves so that when you traced them together the full character would appear like magic. Don’t worry, no need to burn anyone at the stake, it’s really science. Now that you have extinguished your mob torches, you are probably all asking what does that have to do with keshi? I am glad you asked. These magic ruler stencils came in several different colors but they were sold in solid black plastic bags so you couldn’t tell what character or color you were buying. Once you purchased it, you opened the bag at the counter and if you were lucky enough to get a black plastic magic ruler, the store owner also gave you one of the Jumbo keshi as a prize. There were only three black stencils in each counter display box. Collectors today occasionally find sealed boxes of the magic ruler stencils. If they were to open the box, in addition to the 36 black bagged stencils, there are also three bagged Jumbo keshi that the store owner would remove and set behind the counter to be handed out as prizes. Yet another way young Japanese students could get their insatiable fix for erasers to help them fix the countless errors they were writing. After all, as we discussed last time, that was the sole purpose of the keshi. They were certainly not toys.

For our third installment in the colorful keshi trilogy (which may or may not be longer than a trilogy depending on how verbose I feel) we will look at those erasers made by another famous Japanese company, Takara. Stay tuned!

May 24, 2025May 24, 2025

A Vintage Star Wars Kenner Toy That Never Was…

This month’s item from the Imperial Archives features the story of a vintage Star Wars Kenner toy that never was, but this prototype of an unproduced rifle shows it was apparently considered for release in 1980.

This toy is a hardcopy, meaning it was hand-cast from a silicone mold using a two-part urethane (unlike production toys which are made from steel molds using injected plastic). It’s hand-painted, with a hand-applied photographic logo sticker, and it includes bespoke electronic components. Pulling the rear trigger activates a motor, creating a whining sound effect and lighting up a kaleidoscope contained in the gun’s sight. Squeezing the front trigger mechanically alters the kaleidoscopic view and decreases the motor’s speed, changing the pitch of the sound effect.

Before this item turned up, about two decades after it was made, Star Wars toy collectors didn’t know it existed. Kenner had never solicited the toy for sale, so it never appeared in a catalog or on a product list; there were no known photos of it, and no Kenner employee had been known to mention it. It doesn’t look much like any weapon in Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back; the only indication that it has anything at all to do with Star Wars is the paper Empire label hand-glued to the toy.

When we bought it, the primary reason we had to believe that it was really an unproduced Star Wars toy prototype was the excellent reputation of the seller, The Earth Collectible Toy Mall in Cincinnati. As that city was the longtime home of Kenner, a stunning number of prototype toys had come to The Earth from Kenner employees over the years, so we believed that this probably was a real Star Wars toy, but we nevertheless wished we had some hard evidence.

A couple years later, Lisa was looking through an auction lot of items being sold by someone whose father had worked on the Star Wars line at Kenner. The lot consisted largely of paperwork, though Lisa was drawn to a set of photographs that wouldn’t have attracted the attention of virtually anyone else:

These photographs show the wood pattern for our mysterious gun. A wood pattern is essentially the original sculpt of a toy—a one-of-a-kind piece of original art that would then be duplicated to create the finished toy. In this case, the wood pattern would have been used to create the silicone molds that were then used to create our hardcopy. Sadly, the person who sold us the photos didn’t have the pattern, but at least we now had independent evidence connecting this rifle to Kenner’s Star Wars line.

But the best was yet to come. A while after that, we had the opportunity to purchase some artwork from former Kenner designer Steve Hodges, and among the pieces he had were these drawings from August 1978:

While none of the drawings that Steve had saved precisely match our rifle, their design style unmistakably matches that of our gun, so we asked Steve about it. He recalled that Kenner was contemplating a follow-up to their Laser Pistol (based on Han Solo’s blaster) and Laser Rifle (based on the standard-issue Stormtrooper weapon), but lacking solid reference for any other movie guns, they asked Steve to come up with a handful of original designs. And it appears that a year or two later, one such design made it all the way to hardcopy stage before being cancelled. Perhaps Lucasfilm balked at the non-movie design, or perhaps cost analysis or some other internal factor killed the project—we likely will never know, unless some bit of paperwork happens to turn up someday—but at least we have this evidence of a vintage Kenner Star Wars toy that never was.

May 7, 2025May 7, 2025

Rancho Obi-Wan at Star Wars Celebration Japan

Rancho Obi-Wan was excited to be at Star Wars Celebration Japan! We had so much fun at our booth meeting fans from all over the world who came to celebrate all things Star Wars!

We had a small display of Japanese Star Wars Collectibles and handmade crafts, but utilized most of our space for attendees to sit and create their own Star Wars sketch cards!

Rancho Obi-Wan at Star Wars Celebration Japan

About 350 sketch cards were completed by guests of all ages and were displayed at our booth for all the enjoy!

We had fourteen volunteers that assisted with the booth and we couldn’t have done it without them. Many fans had never heard of Rancho Obi-Wan, so it was a great opportunity to introduce them to our museum. We also had visits from faithful fans who stopped by to say hello!

Friday evening the Lucasfilm Celebration Live Film crew stopped by and interviewed our volunteer lead (and wife of Duncan Jenkins!) Anne Jenkins was interviewed about our booth and what we had to offer. It was another opportunity to highlight the beautiful sketch cards that had already been done at our booth and promote our plans for The SAGA Museum!

On Saturday of Celebration Japan, ROW board members and The Saga Museum founding collectors Gus Lopez and Duncan Jenkins gave a presentation at the Fan Stage titled “Inspiring and Serving the Community Through Star Wars Memorabilia.” The panel allowed Gus and Duncan to reach a new audience regarding our plans to create a permanent public museum, The Saga Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia, and our desire to bring inspiration to all who visit it. The quickest way to impart our vision was to show the short video about the genesis of our project. Duncan and Gus could tell the audience was excited about the possibilities when they eagerly applauded at its conclusion. They then proceeded to share our goals, progress, and hopes of inspiring and serving the community with the combination of our collections. Having our memorabilia serve a higher purpose is the core of this endeavor. At the conclusion, there were many thoughtful questions and it was obvious our project had gained many new supporters who were eager to see the museum and its programs come to fruition. It was exciting to see that even half a world away, the universal appeal of the galaxy far, far away and its collectibles was strong indeed!

Special Thanks to Duncan and Anne Jenkins for providing photos and recap!