In the 1960’s, as many Hopi carvers were moving towards realism, Walter Howato went the other direction, reviving interest in “Old Style” katsina (or kachina) dolls. He used a local white clay called tumma as the base medium for his paints, which imparted an antique aura to his work: “I close my eyes and think of how the dolls used to look when I was a child.” Intriguingly, in earlier years, Howato had spent time working for the Walt Disney Corporation as a painter and interior decorator.