Lisa A. Fifield

Lisa, Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, symbolically touches the importance of women as Clan mothers and as the balancers of life in her award winning portrayals of native people. She brings to her art the intuition, experience and understanding of a spiritual world where animals comfort humans by bringing lost children back to their relatives, where massacre victims rise to greet their Creator and where dollmakers protect the future of the universe in their arms.

Lisa's family traveled around the country every summer during her childhood. One of her first memories in Washimgton state was of telling her mother that Mt. Rainier was following her. She also remembers the personal impact of visiting Native American settlements known as missions, a southwestern experience that left a lasting impression. Nothern Plains artistry and culture, Alaska and tribes along the nothwestern coast continue to influence her work.

An extensive study and fascination with native artifacts inspired Lisa to striking watercolor images of native dress, bead and quillwork, dolls, weapons of war and trade. Her portraits of tribal women are so intimate that one momentarily imagines the smell of young corn and freshly turned earth or the infant's cry of loneliness and despair in the snow at Wounded Knee.