Featured Northwest Artist and Art of Lillian Pitt

Whose the Artist?

Lillian Pitts is a Pacific Northwest Native American artist whose ancestors lived in and near the Columbia River Gorge for over 10,000 years She was born in 1943 on the Warm Spring reservation and is the descendent of Wasco, Yakima and Warm Springs peopleShe received her Associates of Arts from Mount Hood Community College and has been displayed in exhibits and art galleries throughout the Northwest since 1982, and is internationally known.

Her journey as an Artist:

“I was already in my 30’s, and already an artist, before I knew that my ancestors lived in the Columbia River Gorge for more than 10,000 years. Imagine. That's 8,000 years before the time of Christ, and 6,000 years before the time of the Great Pyramids at Giza! My family never spoke about it, because when I was growing up, it was better for our survival to try and cover up the fact that we were Indian. But today I can tell you that I'm proud of who I am and who my people are. We're known as Warm Springs, Wasco (Watalas) and Yakama (Wishxam) — Indian people of the Pacific Northwest. We call ourselves the River People. “ she sais.

Help along the way:

It is the friends and creative spirits she has met who have attributed to her success as an Artist and in life.

“Now, I try to return the favor, by teaching as many people as I can about the things that I know, and by helping them along their own paths in whatever ways I can. “ she sais.

The process in her own words“We didn't talk much about my ancestors when I was growing up, because my father thought I could have a better life if I wasn't so Indian. So when I was a new artist, I didn't really know all that much about the traditional arts of my people. I wasn't even all that sure as to whether or not I wanted to be an "Indian" artist, or just an artist. But then an elder took me to see the rock carvings and paintings created thousands of years ago by my ancestors, and I was hooked. I couldn't get over how interesting these rock images were. So since then, I've spent a lot of time learning about my ancestors and studying the designs that they created ... their rock carvings, their baskets, beaded bags, dresses, the tools they used ... you name it, I've tried to learn about it all. But there's so much ... I don't think I could ever learn about 10,000 years of art in just one lifetime.Still, my goal is to incorporate as best I can, the traditional Native American arts of my ancestors into the contemporary art that I create for people living in these modern times.”

What kind of art do you create?

Primarily a sculptor and mixed media artist that makes creative use of whatever materials are available and appropriate to the task at hand

Artistic expressions in clay, bronze, wearable art, prints, and most recently, glass

She sais, “Regardless of the medium, my work directly relates to and honors my ancestors, my people, the environment and the animals. This maintains my link with tradition and acknowledges the many contributions my ancestors have made to this world “

Contemporary works of fine art that delight today’s art lovers, and at the same time, honor the history and legends of her people

Clay

“Nothing gives me more pleasure than to get my hands working in clay. I feel totally at one with the story I want to tell when I tell it in clay ... the conflicts, the joys, the sorrows and the awe ... all of these feelings can come out when I work in clay. I get attached to each and every clay piece I create, because they each take on their own unique identity. I'm a Native American artist, and I love the idea of working in media that have "diverse" origins ... including raku, anagama, and porcelain.” She sais.

Prints and Tapestry

Bronze Sculpture

Jewelery

"I love making jewelry and I love wearing it. As with all of the art I create, my goal is always to create something that appeals to contemporary

people, and at the same time, represents something special about my Columbia River Native American heritage.

Like me, my ancestors loved to wear jewelry, as well as other forms of "wearable art" including beaded belts, beaded bags, moccasins,

pendants and other things that could be worn. For them, jewelry, and other forms of wearable art, were signs of distinction ... just like it is

today — and the more of it that someone wore, the more distinguished the person was." sais Lillian

Glass

"My glass sculptures are especially important to me because of the spiritual and other-worldy effects I'm able to achieve using this medium.

Other people may see somthing different in my glass, but to me personally, my "cast" glass is about depth and richness of meaning, and my "fused" glass is about layers of existence... but they're similar in the sense that they're both about allowing people a way to literally see into the world of my ancestors.

And if people look long and hard enough, they may actually see an ancestor looking back at them! "

Tiles

More about Lillian's art in her own words: "Just about all the art I create is based on the traditional arts of my

ancestors and on the legends that have been handed down by my people from generation to generation.

My goal is to make the characters in these legends come alive, and to make the images they incorporated into their arts appeal to contemporary tastes.

So my art features the Creator's right-hand man Coyote, who helped the Creator make the world and helped the Creator teach people about the way things should be. And it features a host of other characters and stories as well ... She Who Watches, the Huckleberry Sisters, Salmon, Eagle and Owl ... and many more.

My intention is always to honor the stories of my ancestors, as well as to educate and entertain people just as the stories of my ancestors have done for so many thousands of years."

Contact and Contents courtesy of:

Lillian Pitt

11528 S.E. Lincoln Street Portland, Oregon 97216

503 252-1854

lillianpitt@hevanet.com

www.lillianpitt.com