Altars of Reconciliation

Altars of Reconciliation is a project that has been in the works for many years. It began out of conversation between friends and colleagues, Bobby Martin, Erin Shaw and Tony Tiger.

The work exists to explore the inherent tension amongst Native Americans that are practicing Christians.

This summer the artists traveled to Norwich, UK to present the work at two different conferences. The first was called, Beyond the Spectacle and exists to explore the history of Native Americans presence in Great Britain. The second was called, Religion in American Life and included delegates from all over the globe. We may have been the few Americans that were there.

The work continues to facilitate interesting conversation and will continue traveling through the summer of 2020 with more venues being scheduled.

The Stream of Stories

The Stream of Stories is a larger than life installation. It's reminiscent of walking through a pop-up book. This installation was created based on a story that Samuel Shaw, age 9 wrote. 

The installation was created for the Artist in Residency program at Current Studio. It was an amazing experience getting to work with Romy and Kelsey and involving the community in this project.

This body of work is ready to travel, if you are reading this and are interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting The Stream of Stories, please contact me.

Here is a link to a time lapse video of the entire process. It's a lot of fun! https://vimeo.com/181980980

Return from Exile

Return from Exile is a national traveling exhibition. It features work of Southeastern Native American artists responding to the themes of Removal, Resilience and Return.

Within the first 40 years of the 19th century, almost all of the original inhabitants of the southeastern United States—the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees and Seminoles—had been removed, either voluntarily or forcibly, to new lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma. In a stunning triumph of ethnic cleansing, the U.S. government’s policy of removal of Indian tribes from their ancestral homelands succeeded in uprooting and relocating whole tribal cultures to a strange and distant Indian Territory in the West. For almost 200 years now, that strange and distant territory has been home to the “Five Civilized Tribes”— while the original homelands in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida and the Carolinas have in large part become a distant memory only recalled through historic documents and oral tradition.

But has that memory, that connection to place of origin, really disappeared? How do contemporary Southeastern Native peoples see themselves in light of the historic events of removal and displacement? Do these historic events still have an affect on lives today? These are the questions this exhibition seeks to address, through responses and reactions to the themes of Removal, Return, and Resilience, presented by a premier group of 32 contemporary Southeastern Native American artists.

Exhibition schedule:

• August 22 - October 10, 2015: Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, Georgia
• October 15, 2015 - January 15, 2016: Collier County Museum, Naples, Florida
• February 4 - June 17, 2016 (DATES EXTENDED!): Dr. J.W. Wiggins Gallery, Sequoyah National Research Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
• July 5 - August 26, 2016 : Pryor Art Gallery, Columbia State Community College, Columbia, Tennessee
• September 1 - 23, 2016: John Brown University Galleries, Siloam Springs, Arkansas
• October 1-November 20, 2016: Hardesty Arts Center (AHHA), co-sponsored with Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• May 13 - August 19, 2017: Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Watercolor Series

From a recent small body of work of watercolors that has been showing at the Chickasaw Visitor Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma

CNTV: April 15, 2014 – Erin Shaw →

Chickasaw artist Erin Shaw may be new to the world of painting, but she’s certainly leaned in to the craft with full force.

Stories: Ancient Fluidity

“The beliefs of the societies were embedded in their myths, and the myths were expressed in images.” George Lankford

I’ve begun painting and research on a body of work to be shown with the Chickasaw nation in November. I’m utilizing imagery from art and artifacts of the Southeastern Indians. A desire to understand more of my Chickasaw heritage caused me to first begin exploring these images and the powerful stories they carry.

Stories are central to my work as an artist and although these particular stories are ancient, I want to encounter them today. In beginning a project like this, my hope is that something important will be revealed through the process. As I go back and look at these stories, I’ll be thinking about and emphasizing the ways these stories bend and move so that they continue to serve us today.  

Follow along, if you like. I’ll keep you posted.

ArtPrize!

Y’all: I keep forgetting to tell you that I shipped off some work to Grand Rapids, Michigan for ArtPrize. It’s hanging at the Harris Building.

Are y’all familiar with ArtPrize? It’s so super cool. Here’s a bit of what it’s all about:

ArtPrize is a radically open, independently organized international art competition with an unprecedented $200,000 top prize decided entirely by public vote.

For 19 days, three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, become an open playing field where anyone can find a voice in the conversation about what is art and why it matters. Art from around the world pops up in every inch of downtown, and it’s all free and open to the public.

It’s unorthodox, highly disruptive, and undeniably intriguing to the art world and the public alike.

My name is Erin Shaw, I like to say y’all to perpetuate the Oklahoma stereotype. You can vote for me here.

Best Party in OKC

                             

Y’all, tomorrow OKC hosts the biggest and best party of the year. Thrown by The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC), this party features the work of 150 of Oklahoma’s finest artists with local restaurants and live music.

The party starts tomorrow, Friday, September 20 at 7:00pm at 50 Penn Place, 1900 NW Expressway in Oklahoma City.

I will have a piece included in the fundraiser as well as lots of other fantastic work!

Tickets to the 12x12 Art Show & Sale are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are available by phone at 405-879-2400, online at www.12x12okc.org, or at ticket outlets: Blue Seven, Full Circle Bookstore, New Leaf Florist, Guestroom Records (Norman & OKC) and Café Evoke (Edmond). 

Hope to see you there!

Kid-Collaboration

This summer I invited my son and ten of his pals into the studio to make some art. Each child brought in an object that was interesting or important to them. We spent two weeks creating drawings and images based on their objects while weaving together a story that is truly delightful.

Since the children have been back in school, I have been turning their drawings into object-paintings and we are all very excited to share them with you.

I love working with children because they encapsulate all that I hope to be as an artist: intuitive, deliberate and fearless. When I first began working with my son, Samuel, I was struck with how effortless the creative process was for him. The work I did this summer with Samuel and his buddies continues to challenge me and my own art practice.

We will be showing our collaboration at the Marvin Embree Art Gallery, 3003-A Paseo, OKC, in the Paseo on October 4 from 6-10. 

Collaborating artists include: Avalon Halferty, Brody Offel, Dylan Beeson, Erin Shaw, Gavin Gayanich-Tipton, Isaac Beeson, Jackson Magness, Lily Halferty, Parker Bryant, Samuel Shaw and will be present at the opening to discuss their work.

Hope to see you there!

First Friday, The Paseo OKC

This month I’ll be showing some work at the Marvin Embree Art Gallery in the Paseo. The opening is this Friday, August 2 from 6-10pm at 3003-A Paseo. Come out if you have a chance. 

I’ll be showing an installation of paintings that is inspired by the connection between cartography and constellations. As well as a random selection of other paintings.

Minneapolis, MN

I crated up a couple paintings this past week and sent them on their way to the All My Relations Gallery in Minneapolis. My work will be part of a show curated by Tony Tiger that will also include the following artists: Ben Harjo, Anita Fields, Bob Martin, Molly Murphy Adams, Troy Jackson, Shan Goshorn, Michael Elizondo Jr, Marwin Begaye, Norman Akers and Tony Tiger.

You can read the press release at http://www.allmyrelationsarts.com

Summer Art Collaboration

This summer’s collaboration included my son and 10 of his friends. We spent two weeks creating imagery, making some large all-over canvases, stretching 3 large panels and weaving together a story of epic proportions. 

I am going to work on turning those images into object-paintings and making the panels into a depiction of their story.

We had a blast working together and will be showing our work in September at the Marvin Embree gallery in the Paseo. Stay tuned for details.

The Language of Flowers - Myriad Gardens

I’ll be participating in a group show that opens this Thursday from 5-7pm at the Myriad Gardens.

From the press release: “The Language of Flowers” gallery show explores the relationship between people and flowers and plants, their roles in oral history, in medicine/ethnobotany, literature and/or personal and family stories. Some of the works feature botanical imagery; some are more conceptual or abstract, as envisioned by an incredible group of nationally prominent and widely-collected Native American artists including: Heidi Bigknife, Shawnee; Kelly Church, Odawa-Ojibe; Tom Farris, Otoe-Missouria-Cherokee; Matt Jarvis, Osage; Topaz Jones, Shoshone-Lummi-Kalapuya-Molalla; Daniel McCoy, Muscogee Creek-Potawatomi-Seminole; America Meredith, Cherokee Nation; Erin Shaw, Chickasaw-Choctaw; Tony Tiger, Sac and Fox-Mucogee-Seminole.

Above Image: Uwaga by America Meredith

Full press release can be viewed here: http://www.myriadgardens.org/art-exhibits

First American Art Magazine

First American Art Magazine recently launched AND featured an excellent profile on me and my work. I am thrilled to be a part of this publication and community. If you haven’t had a chance to see the magazine yet, it can now be viewed online at:

http://issuu.com/firstamericanartmagazine/docs/faam0_complete/1

OR better yet, visit the website and become a subscriber:

http://www.firstamericanartmagazine.com

First American Art Magazine is a brand new publication that exists to promote and contextualize visual, media, literary, and performing arts of Indigenous Americas from a hemispheric Indigenous perspective. Their goal is to foster critical dialogue about the art of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They provide a forum to bridge the academy and the general public. FAAM examines current and historical issues through an Indigenous American lens.

Erin Shaw Art Blog

I have retired my old blog mfaness.com and am starting a brand new one!

I’ll be posting about where my work is headed post MFA, shows I’ll be a part of, in progress studio work, my daily caffeine intake, an occasional joke, what I’m reading, and anything else pertinent to my art life. 

The first 20 people to follow, like, double tap, high five will receive an all expense paid trip to Bora Bora!

Thanks for joining along and for your continued support.

PS Just kidding about Bora Bora…