CASA GRANDE — Amil Pedro began creating art at the ripe age of 5. Since then, he has honed his craft — from pencil sketches to arrowhead carvings and sculptures, the longtime area resident loves to create things.
Pedro, a member of the Gila River Indian Community, was honored with an Arizona Indian Living Treasure Award with a mission to "recognize and honor the lifetime achievements of Arizona Native American artists and to recognize the need for continued awareness of their diverse and unique cultures expressed through visual and performance arts," according to literature from the organization. He was honored at a special ceremony held at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
Along with a plaque of recognition from Gov. Janet Napolitano, he received a Pendleton robe, "the circle of life's never-ending message: the elders, the chosen ones, given to their sons and daughters to their children, and to their children's children to the next generation."
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Though Pedro was nominated for the award, he does not know who submitted his name for recognition.
"I guess people know my work and like what I do," he said.
Now he does mostly commissioned work — painting pictures, making a headdress or carving an arrowhead. Also, he has many classes. During the Casa Grande Elementary School District's fall break, he taught art classes at the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society, where he showed the youngsters how to make Christmas ornaments.
As a youngster, he learned about art from his uncles.
"At first, it was just something to do. Something to keep my hands busy when I wasn't in school," he said. "But then I started to enjoy it more. The more I learned, the more I enjoyed it and the more I worked at it."
When Pedro started carving arrowheads he would "borrow" a knife from his mother's knife block and practice his technique. By early evening, however, he would have to give the knife back when she was preparing the family's dinner.
"That was my hobby when I was a kid," he said.
Pedro said he enjoyed crafting leather work, bead work and feather work: "There are just so many different things you can make," he said.
At age 13, Pedro said, he needed to earn some money so he would sit outside with a pencil and some water-based paints and work on a painting or a drawing for those willing to pay.
"Some days I would think, 'Wow, I made $40 today,' " Pedro said. "It was a nice feeling."
"I would look for different items to carve, but I could only do that until my mother came home and had to start working on dinner."
He added that working on his art for so many years it was simply a fun hobby he enjoyed. It was something entirely different to finally be paid for something he loved doing.
Pedro began a career working for the state of Arizona. For 27 years, he was a member of the Arizona Search and Rescue team, searching for missing hikers, children or adults. Still, art was in the forefront of his life, and he worked on projects as he had the time.
He also belonged to organizations such as the South Mountain Art League.
"It was something to be involved with my colleagues," he said. "I remember learning so much about technique just from sitting and watching other people work."
For inspiration now, he walks along the desert around his home, which is near Casa Grande Mountain. He says he does not enjoy working in a studio; rather he just takes a chair out and starts working on a project.
Pedro is happy where he is with his art now. He said that in the last 20 years he has really come into his own form.
"I think I study color a little more now," he said. "And when I was younger I had a heck of a time doing faces, and now I enjoy it. I like the shading and it ends up looking nice."
He also enjoys teaching classes.
"It's a lot of fun because the kids can take their project home and show their family or their other friends how to paint. They have a lot of fun with it," Pedro said.
Pedro was commissioned to do work for the Wild Horse Pass hotel on the Gila River Indian Community. He designed a blanket that is on every bed in the hotel and is for sale in the gift shop.
Pedro will continue to work on his projects and walk into his beloved desert and create sketches and carvings. He will continue his life's work.
