Iñupiat artist Susan Ringstad Emery is the featured artist for First Friday this month at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation in downtown Anchorage. In her solo exhibit "Interwoven," she illustrates the elements of culture, land and living things -- and how they're connected.
Emery works with oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas and mixed media. Visitors can expect to see four uniquely woven canvas pieces that demonstrate the richness of Native culture and traditions of honoring elders, as well as Emery's Iñupiat values. A wide range of styles, from petroglyphs to portraits of elders to mixed media on collaged calico prints with rickrack -- traditionally seen on the trim of "atikluks," also known as kuspuks -- will be displayed.
Emery currently lives in Washington state but maintains strong ties to her Alaska heritage.
"Alaska Native culture, land and indigenous human beings are highlighted in my artwork to bring awareness to the interconnectedness of these elements and the importance of preserving and celebrating them," she said.
Emery said her sources of inspiration are her Iñupiat culture as well as her travels. She experiments with light, color, and environment, and all of that translates into her artwork. Her heritage is intrinsically depicted in her art, she said.
"Where I am from -- locally, globally -- and my Alaska Native family extends to my Norwegian side," she said. "My multicultural richness of heritage extends to literature, film and studio art. No matter where I am, I'm always interested in what the local and global native community is doing, as well as my Alaskan family. Culture is very important to me, and that includes my Norwegian heritage as well."
Emery's family is from Shishmaref, a community on the Chukchi Sea near the Bering Strait. Her mother Sarah Ringstad's first language was Iñupiat; her father, Jerry Ringstad, is of Norwegian descent and from Seattle.
"We live in a multicultural world with multicultural people; we should strive for the richness of our heritage to emerge in creative media such as studio art, literature, music and film," Emery added. "A person doesn't choose art, art chooses them. It's a way of seeing things and needing to record them in a visual way."
As a child, Emery did just that. She was part of an elementary school exhibit at the public library in Anchorage. That experience encouraged her to continue her art, she said.
Now she's passing the sentiment along. As part of her exhibit at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation, she invited a few elementary students from the Alaska Native Charter School to be part of her exhibit, and she is donating a percentage of proceeds from the sale of her work for art supplies at the school.
She has been involved in juried art shows, which she said opened doors and offered amazing opportunities. Locally in Anchorage, she has been part of an Alaska Native juried show. Emery graduated from Everett College with an associate degree in fine arts.
Visit the Alaska Native Arts Foundation in December to view the Interwoven exhibit, her first solo show in Alaska.
Trina Landlord is executive director of the Alaska Native Arts Foundation. She can be reached at trina(at)alaskanativearts.org.