Anita Fields

Anita Fields (born 1951) is a Native American artist from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Although her artistic career began later in her life, Fields is nationally recognized for her unique rendering of cultural items in clay. Fields specializes in ceramics, non-functional earthenware, and traditional Osage ribbon work. Some of the museums that have collected Fields' work include The Heard Museum, the Cowboy and Western Heritage Center, and the Museum of Art and Design. Her work has also been included in exhibitions such as the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian titled “Who Stole the Tepee,” and the “Legacy of the Generations: American Indian Women Potters” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Early life

Anita Fields was born in Hominy, OK, a member of both the Osage tribe and the Mvskoke Creek tribe. She grew up on her grandfather's allotment until she was around 8 years old, when her family moved to Colorado. Fields lived in Colorado until she was 18 years old. Her father was a guide and outfitter, as well as a welder, and her mother was a housewife. Fields' grandmother on her mother's side was a seamstress and taught Fields how to sew when she was a young girl. Fields enjoyed making clothes for her favorite doll and relished in these artistic outlets from an early age.

While at school in Colorado, Fields was taught how to make a fresco and a collage in the third grade. Her teacher at the time was passionate about the arts and influenced Fields' own love for art that would develop through time.

Education

After graduating from high school, Fields went to the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a time. She originally went there to paint but was exposed to many different mediums such as video and multi-media, clay, and sculpture, which expanded her focus. Fields met her husband, Tom Fields, in Colorado over a holiday. Fields left the institute to raise a family with Tom. While she raised her children, Fields never stopped taking classes at community centers and museums. It was during this time that Fields learned how to do the traditional Osage finger weaving and ribbon work. Tom got a job with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technical Education and the two moved to Stillwater, OK. Fields enrolled at Oklahoma State University and took approximately two years to graduate with a B.A. in Fine Arts.

Focus and style

Starting out, Fields began making non-functional pieces, such as little figurines. Fields made an entire series of little clay boxes with smaller clay figures inside of them. During this period, Fields developed a lot of her work through the process of terra sigillata. Fields made a series of clay parfleches. She was especially interested in the metaphor these parfleches provided of the culture of the times and was fascinated by what we make to take care of ourselves. Other examples of her work include masks, platters, buckskin dresses, and abstracted figurative work. Her depiction of domestic motifs is intended to honor all women. After witnessing the graffiti work of her son, Fields was inspired to start incorporating distorted messages on her work.

Fields' work has been displayed in many museums. A sample of these include:

• The Heard Museum
• The Cowboy and Western Heritage Center
• The Museum of Art and Design
• The Smithsonian
• National Museum of Women in the Arts

Additionally, Fields' art has been published in several works, including:

• American Craft
• American Style
• Contemporary Ceramics
• First American Art Magazine
• Ms. Magazine
• Native Peoples
• Southwest Art
• Women Artists of the American West
• Encyclopedia of North American Indian

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• Peterson, Susan. "Pottery by American Indian Women The Legacy of Generations:The Avant-Garde". cla.purdue.edu. Abbeville Press and The National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved 8 April 2015. 
• "OK Contemporary Native Artists Series: Anita Fields". ou.edu. The University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 8 April 2015. 
• "Anita Fields Earthen Thoughts". arts.ok.gov. Oklahoma Arts Council. Retrieved 8 April 2015. 
• Neil-Binion, Denise (Spring 2013). "Anita Fields: Ny.o.ka^.ska Wa.k'o Y.na Wa.ka.xe Vky". First American Art Magazine. 0 (0): 18–23. Retrieved 23 October 2015.