PORT ANGELES — An artist reception is planned Thursday for an exhibit by Karen Sixkiller, contemporary Cherokee artist, that is on display in House of Learning, Peninsula College Longhouse, now through March.
The free reception will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Peninsula College Longhouse on the Peninsula College Port Angeles campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Sixkiller’s exhibit, Cherokee Grandma Spider, celebrates spiders and invites visitors to look closer and think deeper about the beauty in her art pieces, which reflect traditional and contemporary Cherokee art and stories.
“I hope for an emotional connection,” she said. “Most of my work has a comedic element, something odd that hopefully causes viewers to stop and wonder, ‘what is this about?’”
She enjoys working in clay, sculpting, and constructing with it; using seed beads in various ways to create sculptural messaging. She also works with welded steel for larger outdoor sculptures such as Ember on display at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center through June.
Recently Sixkiller accepted a Running Start Program Specialist 2 position at Peninsula College in support of the Running Start ESSER Grant.
“As an Urban Indian I have walked in two worlds my entire life, and I can sometimes see things through both Native and Euro-centric perspectives,” she said.
“A lot of my work plays on that dichotomy, taking an idea, item, or image that the dominant North American culture uses and understands one way and re-framing it to accentuate a Native perspective on it.”
Longhouse Winter quarter gallery hours are from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and by appointment. On Feb. 2 at 12:30 p.m. in the Little Theater on the Port Angeles campus, Sixkiller will give a presentation during Studium Generale, and in March she will host a print workshop through the college’s Community Education classes.
For more information or to schedule a tour, contact longhouse@pencol.edu or 360-417-7992.
