Xavier Bear Romero Large Bear Carving

A beautiful beast of a bear, just short of 30 kilograms in weight (63 lbs). Xavier Bear Romero’s work is highly prized upon and this is one of his most spectacular pieces. Carved from a single block of alabaster, our handsome friend sports an elegant turquoise beaded belt adorned with feathers, shells and flint arrowhead. The bear represents strength, resilience, and the ability to find such power by looking within ourselves. 

Alabaster

Shell

Turquoise

Jasper

Sinew

Feathers

Height: 28 cm / 11″

Length: 46 cm / 18⅛”

Depth: 21 cm / 8¼”

Weight: 28.6 kg / 63 lbs

Handmade and signed by artist Xavier Bear Romero (New Mexico)

Xavier “Bear” Romero is a primarily self-taught sculptor who works with various alabaster stones embellished with shells, feathers, and/or beads.  Bear has been “entwined in art” his whole life, having developed his artistic skills as a teen when he began painting murals on the walls of his home and carving in deer antlers to pass the time. Whimsical bear sculptures have become his specialty, and his horse and buffalo figures are well sought-after by collectors.

Born in 1958 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Bear is a prolific artist who is inspired by his life experiences. His upbringing under foster care in Denver, Colorado left him with many questions about his ancestry. After being told at a young age that his mother was of Indian descent, Bear found himself identifying with Native American culture.

During a dark time in his life, Bear was invited to a traditional ceremony in South Dakota’s Rosebud Reservation by a friend – an experience that changed his life and inspired hope. There, the people taught Bear that there are no orphans in the Indian Way. He was their brother, their grandson, their uncle.

Many years later, after being adopted by the Sioux Nation, Bear learned that his mother was in fact Italian. Yet, he still remembers what the Sioux taught him, and he will always identify himself with Indian culture as a Sun Dancer.

Bear uses the money he makes selling art to feed and house his Indian brothers and sisters. He currently lives in the Verde Valley of Arizona where his amazing sculptures come to life. (Courtesy of Garland’s, Sedona, Arizona)