Manitu_Okahas_Art

I grew up on a small farm in the US and in my life have been a student, teacher, farmer, mother, and artist. Through it all, there have been a few common threads: I have never been able to color within the lines, and I have always lived in abundance by creating what I want and need from what is at hand. Whether the roller coaster of my life is up or down, I have found that if I can slow down and sit or walk quietly through nature, the world around me has stories to tell. The land, the plants, the animals, even the wind and the rain, have a version of the story to give. I take these stories and mix in liberally my experience, reinterpreted legends and mysteries of our ancestors, and the magic and wisdom of the symbols. All of this magic flows through the materials that come to my hand to become the original artwork upon which these pieces are based. Each work of art has woven into it respect for the Earth, sustainability, resiliency, and the abundance of life. It is my hope that this version of my original art inspires and empowers you to connect to your story of resilience, abundance, and sustainability. You can get a hint of my process as I work with the natural materials by flipping through the slide show.