Smoke Signal's Artists Feature
INDIAN ART GALLERY CHANGES HANDS
Jim Jackson will take over for Lillian Pitt, grand opening scheduled for October 25.
By Ron Karten
j The "winds" of change and "recent health is
sues" have brought new ownership to the Lillian
Pitt StudioGallery on trendy Alberta Street in
north Portland. Pitt, a celebrated Warm Springs-Wasco-Wishxam
artist, whose work is derived
from artifacts and designs of the ancient Colum
bia River Indians, turned over ownership Octo
ber 1 this year to Jim and Teresa Jackson of
Corbett. Pitt has presented and sold her work
and the work of many other Indian and non
Indian artists in this gallery for nearly three
years.
Jim Jackson, a KlamathModoc sculptor, has
shown his work at art shows across the country
and out of his home for the twenty years he has
been at it, and all the while, Pitt has "been a
true mentor" to him, according to his wife, Teresa,
who will manage and co-own the gallery.
"That's why this is so much more special,"
Teresa Jackson said.
The transfer process was only a month in com
ing, according to Jackson. The couple had for
years considered opening a gallery of their own.
"The opportunity came into our hands and it
seemed like such a right thing to do," she said.
"We're nervous but excited."
The location could not be better. In the last
few years, Alberta Street has become a hot lo
cation with respected galleries, restaurants and
shops of all kinds. Driving through the neigh
borhood, the street is a great colorful surprise.
It was just coming on when Pitt moved in. "She
brought a lot of respect to the area," Jackson
said.
The gallery itself will continue to show Pitt's
eclectic range of artwork from jewelry to
Pendleton blankets woven with her designs. In
addition, according to Jackson, they will show
a number of other Native artists from across the
country, and non-Native artists as well.
"The artists coming in are friends of ours that
Jim has gotten to know over the last 20 years.
We collect their art and have it in our home.
Now, he will be bringing back artwork to sell
instead of collect." Prime among those, Jackson
said, will be Hopi Katsina (pronounced Ka
china) dolls.
At a recent meeting of the Affiliated Tribes of
NW Indians, Pitt also said that the selling part
of being an artist has always been most diffi
cult for her.
"This change," she wrote in a letter to those
who have supported her work over the years,
"will allow me much needed time to focus on the
things that are most important to me; my art
making and the need to nurture and take care
of myself."
The grand opening for the new owners is Oc
tober 25, 5-9 p.m., at 1468 N.E. Alberta in Portland.
1468 N.E. Alberta, Portland, Oregon
LILLIAN PITT Teaching history and culture through art.
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Lillian Pitt, a Warm Springs-Wasco-Wishxam
sculptor and muralist, is best known for her ce
ramic masks and wearable art. No matter what
she does, however, teaching seems to be at the
bottom of it.
A recent exhibit at her art gallery in Portland
"Three Centuries of Trade Beads from Czecho
slovakia, Italy, China, and Africa" - includes
many examples which were traded to and among
the Columbia River People native to the area
for 10,000 years.
New commissions have enabled Pitt to design
benches and railings and artwork for the up
coming Portland stop at the Interstate station of
Tri-Met. For another installation, down the block
in the Ainsworth green space at Interstate, in
front of the Ockley-Green Middle School, she
has worked in conjunction with students there
and nature poet Gail Trembly, so that her art
will accompany poems by the middle school kids.
For the Oregon Convention Center, she is de
signing 26 bronze plaques in what will be the
largest collection of a Native American's artwork
for a public space in the city.
On October 24, Pitt will exhibit her new de
signs for one night only with top jeweler Marty
Zell at 715 S.W. Morrison Street in Portland.
Her former gallery still offers her masks, prints,
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LILLIAN PITT
and sculptures, her designs on jewelry and
Pendleton blankets, as well as the works of other
important artists in the field of Indian art.
She said this about her art:
"I use the ancient stories of my ancestors as a
basis for the imagery I create. By doing this I
maintain the memory of an ancient culture and
keep the beliefs of my people alive. We have
forgotten how to live in harmony with nature.
Accessing this vast reservoir of traditional in
formation and translating it into contemporary
terms jogs our memories and provides points of
reference to achieving balance within ourselves,
our community and the world. My ancestors
have a 10,000-year history in the Columbia
River Gorge. Much of my work has to do with
the preservation and care of the environment
along this ancient waterway."
Her 1993 ceramic mask with beadwork is
called, "She Who Watches." Taken from a picto
graph found along the Columbia River, "She
Who Watches" is an important figure among
Columbia River legends. The mask represents
a "woman chief (who) taught her people how to
live well. Because she wanted to watch over
her people forever, Coyote changed her into rock.
Under her watchful gaze, we remember her as
the last woman chief of the Columbia River
people."
JIM JACKSON "Teaching about where I come from'
Jim Jackson, a KlamathModoc sculptor spends
a good part of his time these days on the road to
shows. His work is seen across the United States
and in Europe, and depending on the show, he
could be carrying around almost 20 of his larger
pieces and some are eight feet tall and prob
ably twice that many smaller pieces.
His work is both in bronze and ceramics, and
the people who are interested in his work also
are interested in him and his background. "A
lot of people aren't educated about Indians at
all. The teaching process is telling them where I
come from, the different Tribes and where they
are, and the different languages."
He also teaches art directly through Title IX
programs in the area. He teaches
grade school children on up through
high school. "It's interesting to see
some of the kids get interested in
art," he said. "They're so teachable
when they're young."
Jackson, a winner of the Portland
Metropolitan Arts Commission's One
Man Show award and the first place
award in sculpture at the Dallas,
Texas American Indian Art Invita
tional, doesn't see his work chang
ing so much as himself. He thinks
he may be growing in patience.
"When I started, I was impatient for
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JIM JACKSON
the finished product. Now I
find myself taking more time
to do a piece."
In fact, he has six bronzes
that have been in various
stages for up to six years.
"All eventually get done," he
said, but not always as origi
nally envisioned. "Some
times I cut them apart and
put pieces from different
works together, so my ideas
get put together in different
ways."