Award-winning artist Regina Free is a Chickasaw interdisciplinary artist based in Newkirk, Oklahoma. She works with a variety of media, including watercolor, oils, colored pencils, graphite, mixed media, mixed-media sculpture and ceramics. After a voluntary hiatus that centered on starting her husband’s business and raising their three children, Free is back in the studio and building a stunning portfolio.
Osi (Eagle), mixed media sculpture, 33 x 35 x 36 in.
“Upon returning, I took an oil painting class at a local community college to hold myself accountable, otherwise, I may have retreated back to the comfort of my watercolors and colored pencils,” Free says. “Adding a ceramics class was another wishlist item and has proven to be a place for my mind to decompress. Serendipitously, I was encouraged to take a 3D design class, which led to a paper sculpture project that went off the rails and set me on the path to mixed-media sculptures.”
Tema, mixed media (watercolor and colored pencil), 10½ x 14½ in.
Since that fateful assignment, Free has been developing methods and techniques to produce realistic mixed-media sculptural pieces. “I use a combination of traditional, nontraditional and found objects,” she says. “My goal is to create a respectful rendition that engages the viewer. I believe that life-sized pieces are more effective at creating an environment for my audience to participate in the scene as it unfolds. When choosing my next project, cultural significance weighs heavily on my choice. I feel this gives me a way to show reverence to a culture that I am trying to reclaim. My sculptures have been described as an ‘Indigenous use of materials.’ I believe that is the perfect description. The use of common materials is a hat tip from me to the past.”
Self-Portrait, mixed media (ink and colored pencil), 19½ x 25½ in.
Free will next have her work on display at the Muscogee Art Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 18 and 19; Santa Fe Indian Art Market, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, August 15 and 16; SEASAM Art Show and Market in Tishamingo, Oklahoma, in October; and Cherokee Art Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 10 and 11. —
Want to See More?
Represented by Exhibit C Gallery
www.exhibitcgallery.com
(580) 362-7049, reginafreehandstudio www.reginafreehandstudio.com
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