Carol Emarthle Douglas

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TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Northern Arapaho - Seminole Nation of Oklahoma

MEDIUM: Basketry - Other, Painting/Illustration

ARTIST STATEMENT
My inspiration is taken from my Northern Arapaho and Seminole heritage. I have based some of my designs on the Plains style beadwork, ledger art, and parfleche designs from my mother’s tribe. My father is from the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and I also incorporate the colors and patterns of Seminole patchwork into my baskets. I am fortunate to have such a rich heritage to draw upon to inspire my work.

I prefer contemporary materials to produce my baskets. I use hemp twine and waxed linen thread for large baskets and use round reed, raffia palm fiber, along with silk threads to create my miniature baskets and jewelry pieces. I utilize both natural and contemporary materials and experiment often to see what will work together to get the result that I want to achieve. The technique I use is the traditional single stitch coiling method and also the figure eight stitch, as those are some of the oldest methods used in basketry.

 

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Nayana Lafond

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TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Anishinaabe

MEDIUM: Painting/Illustration

ARTIST STATEMENT
After leaving art school I went on to own and run a cafe and record label as well work as a curator for over 15 years in various galleries and museums, 8 of which as Chief Curator. I have also written several published articles on art and culture and had the pleasure of exhibiting and selling my art around the world since the age of 14. My original Paintings can be seen in Galleries around the world. You can find more information on me through google by using the name Nayana Glazier. My former married name.

 

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Norma "Randi" Smith

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TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy/Hidatsa and Mandan

MEDIUM: Painting/Illustration

BIOGRAPHY
Norma Randi Smith is a multi-faceted artist, homesteader, and entrepreneur from Maine. A transplant from her father’s clan in North Dakota of the Hidatsa and Mandan people, she moved to her Passamaquoddy mother’s tribal lands of Sipayik as a young girl and was raised on the beautifully rugged coastline of Washington County. There she learned the importance of family, community ways, and customs. However, with the other tribal origins and inspiration of her father, Randi took after her father’s artistic ability of creativity and drawing; this ability continued as she turned into an adult and felt like her last connection as her father died of a tragic death at a young age. Some of the content that Norma paints is inspired by her father’s tribal people, history, and customs but also is influenced by the rich history of the Passamaquoddy people and the beautiful contrasts of those tribes.

Norma is a graduate from the University of Maine at Machias with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary fine arts with a focus on painting. She uses oil and acrylic paints on canvas with a focus on her heritage of both sides of her indigenous families. She also likes to incorporate the idea and use of energetic intent in her paintings by employing sigils while painting or other esoteric means to portray her feelings of ancestry, heritage, connection, and healing. Painting for Randi is her way to get closer and convey the importance of roots, tribal customs, and learning. Her painting style is a mix of abstract and realism. She likes to paint on a larger scale and likes to paint everyday beauty that comes from nature, life, dreams, and spirituality.

 

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