SULPHUR, Okla. – Mary Wilds temporarily moved a 35-inch portable weaving loom to her living room after a tornado hit the ARTesian Art Gallery. There’s a much larger one tucked away in her garage.
This is normal for an award-winning quilter, weaver and traditionalist who is preparing to welcome thousands of art lovers to the 2024 Southeastern Art Show and Market (SEASAM) Oct. 4-5 in Tishomingo.
“SEASAM is one of the best art shows for me and the art I produce,” she said. “Thousands of Chickasaws will be attending the Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival. I have discovered the Chickasaw people are interested in purchasing art with meaning and a link to our Mississippi ancestors,” said the Chickasaw citizen and artist.
Wilds’ quilts, woven textiles, baskets and other sundries have been a mainstay at SEASAM since 2019 when she retired after more than 30 years of teaching and made her dream of returning to the Chickasaw Nation a reality. She worked mostly in Virginia and around the Washington, D.C., area instructing graduate school students how to assist students with disabilities.
She is recognized for her unique quilts, a highly valued item with a centuries-old tradition with the Chickasaw people.
“I love making them. I usually decide on a theme, and it will speak to me. I’m not sure I would call it ‘spiritual,’ but a story develops that I attempt to follow throughout the manufacturing process,” Wilds said. “The amusing thing about it is I have won more awards for my woven fabrics than quilts,” she said.
Her grandmother taught her to quilt at an early age. Her mother and aunt were expert seamstresses and also passed on their expertise and knowledge. Her creations are a mixture of those lessons and exploration of Chickasaw heritage and culture.
“During removal from Mississippi, if an ancestor (died) before arriving in Oklahoma the family would lay a cherished family quilt on the grave. You see it today, too, as quilts that have been passed down for generations will be draped over the coffin. The emotions of possessing such an artifact and honoring the deceased is very much Chickasaw.”
Wilds believes her quilts are more contemporary than traditional.
“I don’t use typical designs. My quilts are more contemporary because I don’t use the old patterns you would normally see. I use designs based upon the stories the quilt tells me as I start a project. I do incorporate Chickasaw stories and history.”
For SEASAM competition, Wilds is preparing a quilt and a woven shawl.
“The quilt I am preparing is an amazing image of an eagle that is staring intently. It is basically his eyes and his front. It mesmerizes me. I choose different designs and fabrics to go with it, like mountains and trees along with various aspects of how they live in the wilderness. I have put those designs in the quilt.
“The shawl will be unique and colorful using a variety of yarns. I am attempting to decide what it will be,” Wilds said. “It might be a shawl or a tunic.”
While those two will be Wilds’ SEASAM competition items – each artist can submit two items to be judged – Wilds will bring a host of items available for purchase.
Basketry, traditional Chickasaw ribbon skirts, quilted children’s books, tote bags “and a little bit of everything” will be available at her booth.
SEASAM gets underway 9 a.m., Oct. 4, west of the Chickasaw Nation Historic Capitol Building. It resumes 11 a.m., Oct. 5.
“I have items that cost as little as $10 upward to $1,000. I want to make as much of my art available as possible and within a price range that can accommodate anyone,” Wilds said.
She spends approximately six hours per day working on her crafts. On Saturdays, she stomp dances at the Chickasaw Cultural Center and demonstrates basket weaving for those who venture to the world-class facility in Sulphur.
As a member of the Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe, Wilds is constantly introduced to quilting ideas inspired by Chickasaw history and culture. “We do a four corners stomp dance, so that was the first quilt,” Wilds said. “And then I did the Chickasaw shakers, and they were six women with actual braids on the quilt, and they had the yolk and the ruffle and all the regalia.”
Created using what is called the appliqué technique, Wilds noted this quilt won several ribbons and spectators’ favor at quilt shows. Both were sold several years ago.
“I remember my grandfather taking me to visit my cousin Ken Lance at his rodeo in Stonewall, Oklahoma, when I was a child. I remember him also taking me to my first stomp dance,” Wilds said. “I told him, ‘Someday I will dance, grandpa.’” Memories such as these are the reason Wilds returned to Oklahoma after a successful career in the eastern United States.
“The Chickasaw Nation continues to call to my heart,” she said. “So many Chickasaws have imparted their wisdom and techniques to me, particularly Margaret Wheeler,” she said. Wheeler is a world-renowned textile expert and Chickasaw citizen.
“Margaret taught me how to weave. I also make use of modern technology not available to our ancestors who made quilts from old scraps of clothing, tea towels, suits and fabrics passed down through generations. I own 11 sewing machines. Each one does a specific job. One can’t do all the jobs you want it to do so you must have many,” she said.
“My mother made my clothes. My ancestors could not have believed you could go to Hobby Lobby or jump on the internet to choose thousands of bolts of colorful fabrics or that you could see all the amazing colors just bursting out at you. That is the beauty now. You are given so many options, and your creative flare is infinite.”
For more information concerning SEASAM, visit SEASAM.net. A complete list of events, locations and schedules for the Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival is available online at AnnualMeeting.Chickasaw.net. The event schedule is subject to change.
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