Peggi LaJune | Artist’s Statement

Native American portraits have inspired me from an early age not just for the beauty but for the story they tell.  Creating a small window into the past of a time when history was made but not told with humanity or compassion for the viewer to see is my goal.  With each portrait or scene I found myself experiencing the moment in time, hearing the drums to call, singing the songs, smelling sage burning in the lodges.

Using charcoal and pencil I feel I can express the motion and emotion of the portrait.  There is a communication between myself and the story or the person which I hope to convey within the shadows and lines.  In the future I plan to portray more in color mediums Native dancers and Indians on their long treks made across plains and mountains.  There are still so many stories to be told and many more faces to tell them.

I am Bad River Band Chippewa of Lake Superior, " the wild rice people", born and raised in Fresno my father coming from Wisconsin and my mother of Italian decent.  As with all Native people I feel the connection between art and spirit as one in the same.  Sharing this spirit is my greatest vision.

"A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as an eagle seeks the deepest blue of sky."

 Crazy Horse - Lakota Sioux Chief