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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2018)
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 11 Big River artist to show at Raven Makes Gallery For 15,000 years “the big river” to the North — Wimhal, Nch-i-Wana, Swah’net’qhu or Columbia — has sustained, supported, and inspired humans. Oregon artist Lillian Pitt, raised on the Warm Springs Reservation of which she is a tribal member, first and fore- most considers herself a Big River person. “My ancestors were trad- ers and innovators,” she says. “They traded goods and exchanged ideas with people from many Native traditions. I honor my ancestors by car- rying on this tradition of exchanging goods and ideas through my art.” Pitt will be offering a pre- sentation on Saturday, June PHOTO PROVIDED Lillian is a master of many media, including glass. 23, from 1 to 2 p.m. at Raven Makes Gallery in Sisters. Long before she became a distinguished artist, Lillian owned and operated a suc- cessful hair styling business. But eventually, as many peo- ple with artistic inclinations will do, Lillian took a class. I honor my ancestors by carrying on this tradition of exchanging goods and ideas through my art. — Lillian Pitt She remembers one aspect of it quite clearly: “Once my hand touched the clay … I knew!” This calling merged with her sense of heritage, and that combination gradu- ally but steadily developed. In time, it became a force of nature within the art world of the Pacific Northwest. The Portland Art Museum offers the finest collection of Native American Art in Oregon and beyond. These works span both the North American continent and its history, from ancient times to the current era. The works of Lillian Pitt are displayed prominently at the entrance to the expansive collection. The Museum at Warm Springs has held exhibitions honoring Lillian’s work and displays her pieces at the entrance to the Collections Room. The High Desert Museum also exhibits her work. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. and The Burke Museum in Seattle, hold yet another nationally respected collec- tion of her pieces. The list of awards, shows, and exhi- bitions for Lillian’s career is over three pages long. Books have been written that include her works; books have been written about her works. Her place as the preeminent living Native American artist of Oregon is unquestionable. These distinctions, how- ever, may place a certain kind of artistic perimeter around Lillian, creating a perception that her Native American roots and artistic traditions are what enabled her to be so successful. While she does not shy away from those connections, a single opportunity to see Lillian’s pieces at a show, one chance to meet her, quickly broad- ens the perspective a person might hold regarding her Year-round FIREWOOD SALES — Kindling — Open Tues. & Wed., Noon-8 p.m Thurs.-Sat., Noon-9 p.m. Tasty THURSDAY June 14, 5-7 p.m. | Chateau Saint-Roch LIVE MUSIC Sat., June 16, 7-9 p.m. | NTT 391 W W. C Cascade d A Ave. | 541-549-2675 541 549 2675 corkcellarswinebistro.com People & Pet Friendly Lawn Maintenance Services SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS 541-410-4509 Organic, natural n products Personal a approach for every lawn Spring cleanups S — — SistersForestProducts.com SUMMER HOURS: ability as an artist. Lillian has come to under- stand, incorporate, and mas- ter many of the concepts and techniques of contemporary Western art. Her range of media — glass, clay, metal, jewelry, printmaking, multi- media — establishes an exceptional breadth of skills for any artist. “Everything I do, regard- less of the medium, is PHOTO PROVIDED directly related to honor- Lillian Pitt’s most recent work will ing my ancestors and giving be featured at Raven Makes Gallery. voice to the people, the envi- ronment, and the animals,” Pitt says. “It’s all about shared connections regarding maintaining a link with tra- ancestral roots. These trav- dition and about honoring els served to deepen her the many contributions my own sense of place and ancestors have made to this belonging to the Big River world.” of the Pacific Northwest, Lillian has travelled far which she shares through beyond the region of the educational funding and Big River to New Zealand, projects. Fiji, The Marshall Islands, Her new works will be and Japan. This came about on display at Raven Makes for sharing, learning, and Gallery, 182 E. Hood Ave. experiencing the tradi- Pitt will be holding a tion and art of their First show in Sisters June 22-24 Peoples. What she came with an artist reception on to understand in these far- Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and off worlds, more than any- a presentation on Saturday thing else, was the sense of from 1 to 2 p.m. Mowing M o & pruning 22 years in business • LCB#9583 83 3 541-549-2882 2 Irrigation Ir r repair & start-ups
