Bill Glass Sr, of Locust Grove, OK will be recognized during the 26th Annual Red Earth Festival as the 2012 Red Earth Honored One. Since its inception in 1987, Red Earth, Inc has selected a Native American Master Visual artist whose support of Indian art has been substantial throughout his or her life for this annual recognition.
“Bill Glass has inspired and taught other artists for more than 30 years,” said Red Earth board member David G. Campbell in his nomination of Glass. “He continues to work with children and the Cherokee Artists Association to promote southeast and Cherokee art. His public art installations have introduced Cherokee art to new audiences.”
Glass’s research and distinctive style have helped him win numerous awards throughout his career including Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Museum Show, Red Earth Master Show, Five Civilized Tribes Museum and large commissions for the City of Chattanooga, TN and City of Tulsa.
He was named a Cherokee National Treasure in 2009, Master Artist of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in 1986, and is recipient of the Cherokee Medal of Honor.
“Bill is by far one of the most original and innovative Native artists living today,” said award winning Native artist Benjamin Harjo Jr. in his nomination of Glass for the award. “He has a deep connection with his Southeastern Cherokee Heritage, but his creative designs are all on his own.
“Bills beautiful pottery and ceramic sculptures have taken Native pottery to a new plateau and his legacy to the art world will most definitely stand the test of time,” added Harjo. “Southeastern culture comes alive with his pottery; it teaches the public and makes them aware of this fantastic culture of the people of the Mississippian period.”
Glass will also be featured in the inaugural Red Earth Invitational Sculpture Show at Myriad Botanical Gardens opening Saturday, June 8 during the Red Earth Festival. The sculpture show, which features monument sculptures throughout the Myriad Gardens and inside the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, continues through September 9.
For more than 30 years, the 501 (c) 3 non-profit Red Earth, Inc has been recognized as the region’s premier organization for advancing the understanding and continuation of Native American traditional and contemporary culture and arts. The Red Earth Museum & Gallery, at 6 Santa Fe Plaza in downtown Oklahoma city, hosts a diverse and changing schedule of traveling exhibitions and is custodian of a permanent collection of more than 1,400 items of fine art, pottery, basketry, textiles and beadwork – including the Deupree Cradleboard Collection, one of the finest individual collections of its kind in North America.
Visit www.redearth.org for additional information.
