By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For Diné sculptor Jazmin Novak, art has long been tied to home, family and the act of making things together. Growing up in Albuquerque, Novak spent time creating art at community events and at home with her mother.
“Art became a really big part of the household,” says Novak.
That early foundation eventually led her to the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, where she studied sculpture and learned processes including bronze casting and glasswork.
Today, Novak works primarily in glass and metal, often combining those materials with stone. Her sculptures frequently feature rabbits, coyotes, birds and other animals, which she uses to explore memory, identity and personal experience. The approach is rooted in the stories she heard while growing up.
“A lot of the traditional stories that were told in the family, main characters were animals,” says Novak. “So all of the animals are characters, and they have certain attributes that are kind of assigned to the character.”
Her own pieces function in a similar way. “I kind of like to think of it as a journal for my life,” says Novak. “Whatever I’m going through will be kind of the basis for the work I’m doing.”
The physical qualities of Novak’s materials also help carry those narratives. Metal can suggest strength and stability, while glass can communicate vulnerability and change. She explains that the contrast emerged as she transitioned from metalwork into glass and realized “the actual material itself had a lot to say.”
Despite the personal stories contained within the sculptures, Novak does not expect viewers to immediately decode them. She first hopes the work creates calm.
“I hope that my pieces bring people peace and maybe just a moment of pause and a moment to just take a deep breath,” says Novak. “I just hope that when people see that, they just get that moment and they can just live in that, even if it’s just for a second.”
Novak is currently pursuing an MFA at Alfred University in New York, an experience that has allowed her to make larger work, develop her own glass colors and expand her practice. At the same time, living away has strengthened her appreciation for New Mexico’s landscape and artistic community. “It just made me more grateful to be here to call this – you know, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, New Mexico – to call my home,” says Novak.
Looking ahead, Novak hopes to continue teaching, working with Native institutions and experimenting with combinations of metal and glass. “I just want to just do as much work as I can and just keep going,” says Novak.
Novak’s work is included in SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico, on view through July 2026 at Harwood Art Center (1114 7th St NW,) in Albuquerque. Her solo exhibition, Jazmin Novak: Close to Home, opens with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at Big Happy Gallery in Santa Fe (1300 Luisa St #3a) and remains on view through Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.