ARTIST STATEMENT

From 800 AD to the 1700's Caddo tribal pottery was an incredible and well-known tradition in the North American Southwest traded far and wide even to France and Spain. Knowledge of this great cultural history disappeared as the Caddo tribe consolidated and was decimated from conquistador’s diseases and colonialism. Our last Caddo potter, a matriarch of my tribal namesake, stopped making pottery around 1908 and our tradition was almost lost. Through my work I hope to bring that unsung ceramic legacy back to the light.
Most people don’t get to see our ancient pottery because most all of our ancestral pottery was used at the end of its life as a burial offering. In that way, most of these culturally sensitive pieces cannot be put on display for the public to see. The most important thing to me is to faithfully and respectfully capture the skillfulness and intricate details of our tradition in order to bring to the public’s admiration our specific tribe’s identity.
Because of that I found it important to use the same methods and materials my ancestors would have used with little compromise.  Using these traditional methods by digging my own clay, hand gathering the mussel shell I put into the clay, hand building, burnishing with a rock, pit firing the unfired pottery in an open ground fire, and engraving the designs after the pot is fired is important to capture the soul and the essence of our ancestral style and identity.
However, I also feel very deeply that our tribe’s representation and communication through the design and creation of pottery would have evolved over time with the introduction of new situations and environments. For that reason, I also strive to present a new ceramic and sculptural interpretation from my own experiences and as my own artist but as an ambassador to my Caddo tribe and its ancient cultural identity.

AWARDS

• HARRISON EITELJORG PURCHASE AWARD, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Virtual, 2021

• Best of Pottery Division, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Virtual, 2021

• Best of Pottery Division, Artesian Art Market, Virtual, 2021

• 2nd Place, Pottery, Cherokee Art Market, Virtual, 2020

• Jurors Award, SEASAM, Virtual, 2020

• BEST OF SHOW Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK, 2019

• BEST OF CLASS Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK, 2019

• Best of Division Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK, 2019

• 1st Place Cultural: Pottery, SEASAM, Tishomingo, OK, 2019

• 1st Place Traditionial Woodlands Pottery, SWAIA Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM, 2019

• Honorable Mention, Contemporary Pottery, SWAIA Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM, 2019

• 1st Place Traditionial Pottery, Red Earth, OKC, OK, 2019

• 2nd Place, Cultural:Pottery, Artesian Art Market, Sulphur, OK, 2019

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK, 2018

• 1st Place Pottery, SEASAM, Tishomingo, OK, 2018

• 3rd Place, Pottery, SEASAM, Tishomingo, OK, 2018

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN 2018

• 1st Place Traditional Pottery, Red Earth, OKC, OK, 2018

• 1st Place Contemporary Pottery, Red Earth, OKC, OK, 2018

• 1st Place Sculpture, Artesian Art Market, Sulphur, OK, 2018

• 3rd Place, Pottery, Trail of Tears, Tahlequah, OK, 2018

• Anna Mitchell Award Pottery, Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK, 2017

• 2nd Place, Pottery, SEASAM, Tishomingo, OK, 2017

• Heritage Award Pottery, Cushing Native Festival, Cushing, OK, 2017

• 1st Place Pottery, Cushing Native Festival, Cushing, OK, 2017

• 2nd Place, Pottery, Cushing Native Festival, Cushing, OK, 2017

• 3rd Place, Pottery, Cushing Native Festival, Cushing, OK, 2017

• 1st Place Traditional Woodlands Pottery, SWAIA Santa Fe, NM, Indian Market, 2017

• Honorable Mention, Clay Sculpture, SWAIA Santa Fe, NM, Indian Market, 2017

• Best of Division All Pottery, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN 2017

• 1st Place, Traditional Pottery, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN 2017

• 1st Place, Contemporary Pottery, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN 2017

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, Eiteljorg Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN 2017

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, Red Earth, Oklahoma City, OK, 2017

• Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship of Excellence 2017, OVAC, OKC, OK, 2017

• 1st Place, Pottery, Artesian Arts Festival, Sulphur, OK, 2017

• 1st Place, Pottery, Trail of Tears Art Show, Tahlequah, OK, 2017

• BEST OF CLASS Over all Pottery, Cherokee Art Market, Catoosa, OK, 2016

• 2nd Place, Contemporary Pottery, Cherokee Art Market, Catoosa, OK, 2016

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, SEASAM, Tishomingo, OK, 2016

• BEST OF SHOW Traditional Pottery, Oklahoma Indian Summer, Bartlesville, OK, 2016

• 2nd Place, 3D, Oklahoma Indian Summer, Bartlesville, OK, 2016

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, Eiteljorg Indian Market, 2016

• Kathleen Everette Upshaw Award (grand award, 3rd over entire show),
  Traditional Pottery, Red Earth, Oklahoma City, OK, 2016

• 3rd Place, Pottery, Artesian Arts Festival, Sulphur, OK, 2016

• 1st Place, Pottery, Trail of Tears Art Show, Tahlequah, OK, 2016

• 3rd Place, Pottery, Trail of Tears Art Show, Tahlequah, OK, 2016

• Purchase Award, Permanent Collection, Mulvane Juried Ceramics Exhibition,
  Washburn University, Topeka Kansas, 2016.

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery, Cherokee Art Market, 2015

• 3rd Place, Cultural: Basketry, SEASAM, 2015

• 2nd Place, Contemporary Pottery, Cherokee National Holiday Show, 2015

• Honorable Mention, Contemporary Pottery, Cherokee National Holiday Show, 2015

• People's Choice, Best Artist of Ada Fest, 2015

• Honorable Mention, Contemporary Pottery, SWAIA Indian Market 2015

• Best of 3D, Cahokia Mounds Contemporary Art Show, 2015

• 1st Place, Traditional Pottery, Red Earth Annual Art Market, 2015

• Best of Category, 1st Place, Pottery, Trail of Tears Art Show, 2015

• 1st Place, Pottery, Te Ata Fisher Chickasaw Nation Employee Art Show, 2014

• 2nd Place, Pottery, Te Ata Fisher Chickasaw Nation Employee Art Show, 2014

• Best of Division, Traditional Pottery. Cherokee Art Market 2014

• Best of Division, Cultural, Pottery. SEASAM 2014

• BEST OF SHOW, Red Earth Annual Art Market, 2014

• 1st Place, Pottery, Te Ata Fisher Chickasaw Art Show, 2013

• Best of Class (Best over all pottery divisions), Pottery. Cherokee Art Market, 2013

• 3rdPlace, Contemporary Pottery. Cherokee Art Market, 2013.

• 1st Place, Pottery. SEASAM, 2013

• 1st Place, Traditional Woodlands Pottery. Santa Fe, Indian Market, 2013

• 2nd Place, Traditional Pottery. Red Earth Annual Art Market 2013.

• 1st Place, Pottery, Te Ata Fisher Chickasaw Art Show 2012.

• 2nd Place, Pottery, Te Ata Fisher Chickasaw Art Show 2012.

• 2nd Place, Pottery. SEASAM 2012

• 1st Place, Traditional Woodlands Pottery. Santa Fe, Indian Market, 2012

• Kathleen Everett Upshaw Award (3rd over entire show),
  Traditional Pottery. Red Earth 26nd Annual Art Market 2012

• 3rd Place, Contemporary Pottery. Red Earth 26nd Annual Art Market 2012

• 1st Place, Miniature Pottery. SEASAM 2011

• 2nd Place, Pottery. SEASAM 2011

• 3rd Place, Contemporary Pottery. Red Earth Silver Anniversary Art Market 2011.

• 2nd Place, Pottery. SEASAM 2010

• 3rd Place, Open-3D. SEASAM 2010