Spring Art Festival highlights Native American artists

Discover a celebration of Native American culture and creativity at the Spring Art & Craft Festival, happening Saturday, May 17 at USC Lancaster’s Native American Studies Center.

Held from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in conjunction with the City of Lancaster’s Red Rose Festival, shop for jewelry, baskets, regalia, paintings, coloring books, Catawba pottery, and more directly from the artists who created them.

Crafts, decorative items, mixed media artwork, and more will be available from established and emerging Beaver Creek, Catawba, Caddo, Cherokee, Chicora, Lakota, Pee Dee, Waccamaw, and Wampanoag artists. Over 25 artists from around the Carolinas are scheduled to participate in the event.

“As one of two signature art festivals we host during the year, our spring festival offers a unique opportunity for visitors to not only purchase Native American art, but also to connect with the artists firsthand and hear the stories and inspirations behind each piece,” said Center Assistant Curator and Program Assistant Sharon Simmers-Norton, who coordinated the festival.

Participating artists include Nancy Basket, baskets and kudzu paper art; Bobby Blue, dreamcatchers and beadwork; Blue Heron Pottery, pottery; Keith Brown, pottery; Sierra Cauthen, paintings; Teresa Dunlap, baskets and needlepoint; Beckee Garris, pottery and basketry; Cindy George, beadwork and dreamcatchers; Evie and Tony Hatfield, walking sticks; Kathleen Hays, jewelry and beadwork; Mandy George Howard, beadwork and dreamcatchers; Helen Jeffcoat, gourds and jewelry; Justin Johnson, pottery and natural herbs; Lisa Lindler, horse hair ceramics and woodwork; Amanda McGraw, designer cups; Cassandra Martin, pottery; Barbara MorningStar Paul, jewelry and leatherwork; Stephanie Peak, stones and salves; Ericka Pursley, canned food and clothing; Candance Richardson, language books and coloring books; Robbins Family Pottery, pottery and beadwork; Jason Rogers, pottery; Jeannie Sanders Smith, books and beadwork; Bill Teaster, pottery; Nancy White, pottery; Hanna Williams, salves and ribbon skirts; Amanda Wilson, ceremonial fans and beadwork; and more. Joshua Shumak of the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs also will staff a booth at the festival.

The Spring Art & Craft Festival and admission to the Native American Studies Center is free and open to the public. For more information about the Center, call (803) 313-7172 or visit www.nativeamericanstudiues.org.