Katrina Mitten

Katrina Mitten (born March 21, 1962 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American artist. She is originally from the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.

Mitten is a contemporary artist who specializes in Native American beadwork. Mitten, through the use the embroidery method, is able to produce beadworks. Her embroidery style of beadwork has won numerous awards which have been featured in major metropolitan museums such as, the Eiteljorg and Heard museum.

Biography

Mitten is a descendant of one of the five families who were allowed to stay after the establishment of the Indian Removal Act by Andrew Jackson. This act allowed him to relocate access to relocate Native people from their ancestral homelands; those who were not relocated were encouraged to assimilate into Westernized civilization. To preserve their heritage they tried to pass on as much of their heritage as possible. As such, Mitten learned beading from her grandmother Josephine starting at the age of twelve.[1] Mitten also learned more about her tribe by attending museums and studying her families' heirlooms, as well as practicing her beading through the method of embroidery.[2]

Josephine influenced a large portion of Mitten's works, including her 1950s handbag, which she has stated represents her family heritage. Mitten made this handbag alongside her granddaughter, Saiyer Miller, teaching her using the same methods as her grandmother. She actively attends annual powwows and is known for creating both contemporary and traditional art such as The Cradle Board, as well as necklaces, bracelets, and beaded handbags. Other influences in her art include the geometric designs found in ribbon works and the floral patterns depicted throughout the Great Lakes tribal beadwork.[3][4] She has stated that she incorporates personal stories of her family into her art pieces and that she uses her art as a means of story telling.[4]

In 2016 Mitten collaborated with Native American artists, Katy Strass and Angela Ellsworth to create a painting of the states on a fiberglass statue of a Bison.[5]

Select artworks
  • Cradle Board[6]
  • "I have been waiting for you" outfit[7]
  • 1950's Handbag[4]
  • 1940s-styled bag[8]

Exhibitions

Collections

Mitten's artwork is held in the permanent collections of:

Honors/Awards
  • Museum Purchase Award and Best of Division, Beadwork, 2007
  • Best of Show, 2008 Indigenous people's Art Market, Mt Pleasant, MI
  • Museum Purchase Award, 2010 Eiteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN
  • 1st Place, Beadwork 2011 Eiteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN
  • 2nd Place, Beadwork 2011 SWAIA- Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM
  • 2nd Place, Cultural 2011, Judge's Choice Cherokee Indian Market Catoosa, OK
  • 3rd Place, Cultural 2012 and Judge's Choice Cherokee Indian Market Catoosa, OK
  • 2nd and 3rd Place, Beadwork 2012 EIteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art Indian Market, Indianapolis, IN
  • Honorable Mention Heard Museum, Indian Market 2015 Phoenix, AZ
  • "Roots" - 1st Place Beadwork Wearables Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Arts Indian Market and Festival 2015 Indianapolis , IN
  • 3rd Place Cherokee Art Market 2017 Tulsa, OK
  • 2nd Place, Third Place Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian Western Arts Indian Market and Festival 2016, Indianapolis, IN
  • 1st Place-Beadwork Accessories Best of Division-Beadwork, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Indian Market and Festival 2017, Indianapolis, IN
  • Bernard Ewell Innovation Award for "This my Mother Told Me" and also 2nd Place Diversified, SWAIA- Santa Fe Indian Market 2017, Santa Fe, NM
  • Best of Division- Diverse Art Form - Contemporary "This My Mother Told Me" Cherokee Art Market 2017, Tulsa, OK[7]

References
  1. Brackney, Susan. "The Maker: Beaded Embroidered bags". Indianapolis Monthly.
  2. "Eitelijorg's Indian Market and Festival draws artists from across U.S. and Canada".
  3. Edge, Sami. "Native Art Market 2014: Katrina Mitten". Santa Fe New Mexican.
  4. Indiana folk arts : 200 years of tradition and innovation. Kay, Jon., Traditional Arts Indiana., William Hammond Mathers Museum (Bloomington, Ind.). [Indiana]. ISBN 978-0-692-72355-5. OCLC 960881753.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Sandlin, Rebecca. "Three Local Lending Talents to State's 'Bison-Tennial'". The Huntington Country TAB.
  6. "Native American Cradleboards".
  7. "Katrina Mitten".
  8. Williams, Janet. "Eiteljorg's Indian Market and Festival draws artists from across U.S. and Canada".
  9. "Native Art Market 2014: Katrina Mitten". Smithsonian.
  10. Article, Staffs. "Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive Features Myaamia Artists" (PDF).
  11. "Meet Artist In Residence: Katrina Mitten (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma)". Eitelijorg Museum.
  12. Edge, Sami. "A masterpiece 760 hours in the making".
  13. "Catfish bag". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
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