Throughout the month of March, the Paseo Art Space will feature original works by artist Alicia Saltina Marie Clark in her show titled Fragmentary Stories. A proud member of the Caddo Nation, Alicia works to preserve her unique personal history through art. Alicia received a laundry list of accolades for her art in high school and college, but chose to take the path less trodden after college graduation. For five years, Alicia traveled across North America, met people with alternative lifestyles and learned to live primitively, picking up on how to tan hides, create bone jewelry, spin wool, light a fire, dye natural fibers with plants and identify which wild plants were edible. After this adventure, Alicia returned to Oklahoma to pursue her calling as an artist, which she has embraced since she was a young child.
Created with charcoal, graphite and paint, Alicia produces contemporary pieces that are inspired by her Native American roots. Having studied old Native American photographs in the Harvard Library archive, Alicia draws historical Native American figures with charcoal and graphite. “The medium is not permanent, like our own skin or bodies,” Alicia says. She creates the images’ backgrounds as well as the subjects’ clothing using paint, which is a more permanent medium. “Like our own clothes, when we pass on, our clothes and fabrics are sold, given away or preserved in museums,” Alicia explains. Pulling elements from stories told by her great-great grandmother and great-great-great grandfather, Alicia blends a unique combination of color and pattern to create her evocative illustrations and paintings.
Scribble Jam Kids VIII
Scribble Jam Kids V
“I aspire for my art to be able to bring awareness and contribute to causes that help with environmental and humanitarian issues and world peace,” Alicia says. Catch her show, Fragmentary Stories, which will be displayed in the Paseo Art Space March 2-31!
Scribble Jam Kids VI
BY LINDSEY CASTOR
PAA Intern