SWAIA ARTIST Profile

Serena Mankiller

Name
Serena Mankiller
Tribe
Cherokee Nation
Juried Classification(s)

SWAIA Booth History

SFIM25
PLZ 73
WIM24
SFIM24

2024 Award History

N/A
Portfolio Example & Artist Statement
Serena Mankiller

My recognizable niche in the American Indigenous art community is my deerhide medicine bags with my signature slender fringe, which I make and paint entirely by hand. I think of them as a contemporary, artistic version of a traditional medicine bag. I use commercially tanned deerhides and sometimes elkhides, dyed in various colors. More recently, I added deerhide painted and fringed earrings to my body of work, for new fun and to more fully utilize my hides. I paint with water- based acrylic leather dye & use tiny brushes or sharpened dried flower stems for the more precise and delicate parts of my designs. I make medium- and small-sized bags, and sometimes larger purses. Other decorations include newly made arrowheads, solid sterling silver conchos, beads, cones; solid copper conchos (Cherokees worked a lot with copper); bone, horn, glass whiteheart & other types of colored beads. I make traditional & contemporary bags and am most pleased when someone wants to use them for ceremonies.

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