This year, six Chickasaw artists attended the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) annual Santa Fe Indian Market in August. SWAIA is the largest juried First American art show in the world, with more than 100,000 people in attendance annually. Started in 1922, it is also the oldest. Each year they sponsor more than 1,000 First American artists from more than 100 tribal communities in North America and Canada, generating more than $160 million annually in revenues for artists and the community.
Of the six Chickasaw artists, three were participants and three chose to enter the competition. Each competition entry placed, one receiving Best in Show.
Daniel Worcester
This was Daniel Worcester’s 32nd year at SWAIA. During the past three decades, Worcester has accumulated eight first place ribbons and was awarded the “Challenge Award” in 1999, the only year it was given. That special award was for an artist who was challenging the traditional concepts of art within their material or medium. This year due to scheduling, he decided to attend as a participant.
Worcester is an accomplished blade smith who incorporates his Chickasaw culture into every unique design he creates.
“I feel I am in tune with the land, the animals, nature. I like to bask in nature and let that flow into my work,” Worcester said. “Being Chickasaw gives a real appreciation for the land and your surroundings and the people. I like that I can connect with nature, art and with people.”
After 32 years at SWAIA, Worcester is still encouraging younger — or even older — artists to apply. Even though they might be scared to take that chance, it is worth it.
“As a Chickasaw artist it gives me great pride that I’m out here and my work is being accepted by people internationally who want to collect my work,” Worcester said. “These are the types of doors that an event like SWAIA can open for artists.”
Lisa Hudson
Lisa Hudson has always been fascinated with photography, but she didn’t seriously pursue it until she was at the Chickasaw Cultural Center working at the Holisso: The Center for Study of Chickasaw History and Culture. During her time there, she was inspired to capture the scenes and the people. She started experimenting with color and imagery, and developed a unique style all her own.
SWAIA is a special place for her. She went as a market participant this year and enjoyed meeting people and learning about others’ art.
“The thing I enjoy most about SWAIA is the vast array of people you meet. You meet artists and visitors from all walks of life and from all over,” Hudson said. “While each participant and tribe is unique, we all have a shared spirit that makes SWAIA a very special place.”
Her experimentation with color and imagery is clearly seen in one of her recent pieces, “Innocence,” which depicts her grandson, Oliver.
“I love how it captures the spirit of youth, a canvas untarnished with the endless possibilities of life ahead,” she said.
Tyson Hudson
Tyson Hudson, Lisa Hudson’s son, first started painting when he was in college. He was pursuing a degree in graphic design but fell in love with painting. He particularly enjoys going to SWAIA because of the scale and high level of the art market.
“SWAIA is the highlight of the year for me and many other artists. It is a unique experience, and I always enjoy displaying my art for the large crowds and hearing the feedback,” Tyson Hudson said.
He is inspired by his Chickasaw heritage as well as artists from all different periods, specifically Edouard Manet.
“I incorporate our heritage in my art by sharing my love and respect for nature and my local wildlife,” he said. “Our ancestors shared this land with the animals that inhabit it, and I try to represent the beauty of our relationship with the wildlife.”
In addition to depicting nature and people’s relationship to it, Hudson is also interested in the relationship with one’s self, as seen in one of his more recent paintings, “Faded Grey,” where he focuses on solitude and introspection.
Melissa Freeman
This was Melissa Freeman’s first year to enter SWAIA. The past few years she attended the Southeastern Art Show and Market (SEASAM), the Artesian Arts Festival and Hushtola, and those experiences gave her the confidence to enter SWAIA this year. She was glad she did, especially when she received the second-place ribbon in textiles for her dress “Onnahinli Okhlika/Dark Morning.”
Freeman created “Onnahinli Okhlika/Dark Morning” over the course of a month, working on it for 12-16 hours every day.
“It is a dedication to my father, created through fabric, beads and thread. I often call it my mourning dress,” Freeman said. “Before my father passed, I was overcome with a sadness I could not shake. This feeling propelled me to create this piece.”
Freeman’s work is a personal representation of her own lived experiences, but it also expresses and pays homage to her Chickasaw and Choctaw identity. She likes to incorporate the culture of the Chickasaw and Choctaw people into her work, and she is proud to share her creations at a venue as vast as SWAIA.
“I’m representing my ancestors who walked before me, who made many sacrifices and endured to afford me the opportunity to create art to share with all,” Freeman said.
Addison Karl
Addison Karl had never been to SWAIA before. Though he submitted his application to SWAIA, he was not selected for it this year but was put on a waiting list. In July, he was contacted by SWAIA to participate officially and his “Mississippian Period Effigies” won the first-place ribbon in glass sculpture.
The “Mississippian Period Effigies” were originally inspired by a conversation with Brent Greenwood about the exhibition “Visual Voices,” where he saw two original ceramic effigies. Addison wanted to combine bronze and glass to create a vessel that was influenced by the originals. Addison said he was proud of, “finding the balance between bronze casting and glass casting, and having these two worlds, for all their similarities, and then their major differences, clash together to create something.”
His Chickasaw heritage informs his art in many ways, between the aesthetics, language, storytelling and the influence of his grandfather, who, Addison said, had the largest impact on him.
“Most of it I didn’t understand through the eyes of a child or young adult. Now, mostly what I create begins with a memory or connection with him,” Addison said.
Regina Free
This was Regina Free’s first year at SWAIA and she was thrilled just to be accepted into the competition with her sculpture “Windswept.” As the event progressed her excitement grew exponentially as she was presented the first-place ribbon in sculpture and then, much to her surprise, awarded Best in Show.
“Windswept” depicts the head of a bison looking directly at the spectator. It is made of many materials, including clay, plaster, metal sheeting and paper towels. The variety of materials allows Free to capture the texture of the fur in a unique and realistic manner.
Free’s Chickasaw heritage is present in her choice of subjects — primarily animals — but also in the reverence and respect she feels for them.
“I try my hardest to have the spirit of the animal come through in what I’m doing,” Free said. “I try to leave a little drop of soul in everything I do. You can tell when a thing has soul in it or not.”