Garvies Point Museum Features Films About Native American Women Artists, in July

During July weekends, the Garvies Point Museum and Preserve will feature four films about Native American artists, announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi. All four films are shown at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Native American Artist: Ella Mae Blackbear, Cherokee Basket Maker (24 mins.),
July 5 - 6: Filmed at the artist’s home in Oklahoma, the documentary follows Ella Mae Blackbear as she gathers native buckrush and plants for dyes, creates a graceful basket, and reminisces about the education in weaving she received from her mother. The history of Cherokee basketry is documented with examples from Tulsa’s Philbrook Art Center.

Native American Artist: Helen Hardin, Santa Clara Painter (29 mins.), July 12 - 13: This film reviews the abstract geometric work of this painter and printmaker, illustrating Hardin’s struggle to depict aspects of her native heritage. Hardin’s multi-layered paintings, created with a combination of brushes and drafting tools, reveal the crisp precision that characterizes her distinctive style.

Native American Artist: Grace Medicine Flower and Joseph Lone Wolf, Santa Clara Potters (29 mins.), July 19 - 20: This film examines the pottery of these two siblings, members of the renowned Tafoya family of Santa Clara Pueblo that revived and expanded the traditional forms and techniques of their pre-Colombian ancestors.

Native American Artist: Kiowa Cradleboard Maker: The Art and Tradition of Vanessa Jennings (30 mins.), July 26 - 27: This film examines the work of Vanessa Jennings, who continues the Native American tradition of honoring the birth of a child by creating cradleboards crafted from wood and rawhides, often covered with beadwork and other decorations.