Sherds 10-12 2013 - Museum of the Red River

The Newsletter of the Museum of the Red River in Idabel , Oklahoma
Oct-Dec 2013
Sacred Places: Light Painting by Lorran Meares
Night magnifies the differences between material culture and the subtle, deeper, hidden world of
spirit. The late Cheyenne spiritual leader Tallbull explained: “When five o’clock comes along, he [the
archaeologist] hangs up his boots. This the time of day when the spiritual part of the valley comes alive, in
the evening and in the darkness. A lot of spirits don’t come out until the sun sets.” That’s when I make my
Photographs. The connectedness with all things, especially at sacred places, felt by Native Americans such
as Tallbull, takes on! interpretive and artistic meaning with the inclusion or introduction of a simple
photographic technique called light-painting. –Lorran Meares
Some of Mexico’s Best Offerings
This dual view of the same
Concurso de Ceramica-2013,
Barro de Color winning pot
made by Carlos Loya was a
museum collections purchase on
a recent trip to Mata Ortiz, CH,
Mexico. Because of his exposure
and success as a potter, Loya’s
relatives are making pottery and
have established quite a
reputation for fine ceramics.
Additional pictures of the trip to
Mata Ortiz and of the purchases
made are on page 7.
DIRECTIONS
2013 EVENTS (Oct - December)
The decision to make a donation
to any charitable cause is an
important one, and we are proud
to be worthy of such
consideration. A gift provides a
means for the donor to become
personally associated with our
organization, acknowledges the
importance of our mission to the
donor’s family and other
interests and shows appreciation
for our programs and services.
through Dec 8 Exhibit: Sacred Landscapes: The
Photography of Lorran Meares
Oct 2 - 5 Gem and Mineral Show
Oct 26
Workshop: 3-D Photography
Fall Patrons Dinner (by invitation only)
Nov 1-3 Fall Arts Festival
Henry Moy, Director
Nov 7
Paleo Pals: Putting the Pieces Together (III)
As a recipient, the Museum can gratefully acknowledge
the support of these generous contributors. However,
there are donors who wish to remain anonymous and we
do our best to respect their wish for privacy.
Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that their
gifts are valuable and genuinely appreciated. Thank you.
Dec 3
Exhibit Opens: Annual Festival of Trees
(through Dec 31)
Dec 3
Exhibit Opens: Russian Lacquer Boxes from
the Mabee Gerrer Museum of Art
(through Jan 31, 2014)
Dec 17 Exhibit Opens: Recent Acquisitions
(through Feb 16, 2014)
Applique and embroidered
Mola Panel with “Joker”
Motif
[Kuna of San Blas Islands,
Panama, 20th century]
Anonymous Gift
Pima Burden
Basket
[Southwest, mid
nineteenth century]
Effigy figures [Colima Style (Mexico), Preclassic Period , ca. 300
BC-AD 250]
Gift of Jeff Kazansky (San Diego, CA)
Pima woman carrying
a burden basket
Native American Southwest copper jewelry [mid-late 20th century]
Gift of Paul Shepard (Tucson, AZ)
EXHIBITS
Mary Bratton Curtis Gallery
Nathaniel and Lana Grey Gallery
Sacred Landscapes, The Photography of Lorran
Meares (September 17 – December 8, 2013)
Asian Enamels features works from the collections
demonstrating the use of glass-based enamels for
decoration and highlights.
With the encouragement of native tribes, photographer
Lorran Meares captures the spiritual nature of several
sites in the U.S. at night, when many reached their
“sacred” peak. Several images are viewed in 3-D.
Enameled charger
[Chinese, in the Japanese
Imari Style, 19th century]
Recent Acquisitions (Opens December 17, 2013)
The annual exhibit highlighting new collections acquired
by the museum through the year.
Lifeways Gallery
Selections from the permanent collections that illustrate
the four ethnological themes Domestic Life, Beliefs,
Technology and Art, and Encounters.
Perino Archaeological Study Area
Study collections of regional archaeological material.
This area honors the memory of Gregory S. Perino
(1914 - 2005), archaeologist and the Museum’s first
director (1975 - 1984).
MUSINGS
As a new employee to the curatorial
staff I have had to learn a lot. Thank
goodness for the great teachers we
have here. Daniel, for example has
taken me under his wing to show me
the real workings of an installation.
When he does one, it is a well oiled
machine. My favorite part about the
Christina Eastep
process so far, has been installing the
remote exhibit cases and hearing the
reaction of the people. The librarian at SOSUMcCurtain County Campus recently said an exhibit,
that I did not particularly care for, was her favorite one
so far. The librarians at the Broken Bow Public Library
were so disappointed that we were taking away a
Mexican train set and putting in a display of ‘just
ceramics’ that I had to laugh. The people at the
International Paper Mill in Valliant are always excited
to see us. They act as if we are bringing in precious
metals for them to enjoy and, sometimes we are!
My perspective about how my job affects other people
has changed so much in the last few months. I am
grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing
business that educates people while at the same time
makes them happy.
Exhibit at Kiamichi Family Medical Center, Battiest, OK
SUPPORT (January – Sept)
Gifts to the General and Programs Fund
Lavetta Angelley, Anonymous, Peter and Ginny Carl,
Kaaren C. Day, Jane and Tom Harding,
Lonnie Hutton, Daniel J. Lay, Susan G. Lowell,
Ramona Morris, Henry Moy– In Honor of Daniel Eck
and Christine Kastner, Drethia Parsons,
John and Ida Ramsey, Stephanie and Stephen
Ratcliff, Rev. J. Edson and Jean C. Way
Bob Terry Insurance and Financial Services, Herron
Foundation, Inc., Idabel Regional Arts
Council/Oklahoma Humanities Council, International
Paper, The Kerr Foundation, Inc., McCurtain County Art
Club, Tom Ellis– Attorney at Law, Tulsa Community
Foundation,
Walmart Supercenter # 38– Idabel, Walmart Store # 117–
Broken Bow, Weyerhaeuser Corp,
Gifts to the Collections Fund
John Andrews, Dr. Richard A. Bloom, Ambia and
Mike Crain, Quintus H. Herron, Lavetta Ward and
Museum Staff, (In Honor of Quintus H. Herron’s 90th
Birthday)
Caddo Trading Co.
Gifts to the Libraries
June Beasley, Paul Shepard, Dr. Bruce King, Henry
Moy, Jeffrey Moy and Paragon Books
Gifts in Kind
Whitney Aaron, Angelica Bohanan, Sofia Bohanan,
Naomi Bohanan, Rabecca Bohanan, Virginia Bower,
Eva Briley, Victoria Eastep, Dylan Miller, Merrick
Musset, Doris Perkins, Judy Petre, Sallie A. Webb,
Ryan Weeks, Logan Young,
aep/PSO, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Idabel, Regional
Arts Council, Nerwin Martin Fine Arts Services, Wal
mart Supercenter # 38 - Idabel
Corporate Sponsors
All Smiles Dental, Bob Terry Insurance and Financial
Services, Castelano Designs, Chandler-Hewitt Drugs,
Choctaw Electric Coop, Colonial Lodge Independent
Living, Complete Care Medical, D & M Chipping, Don
Shaw, Attorney, First State Bank– Valliant, G.I Surplus
and Pawn, Hill Nursing Home, Inc., The Idabel
National Bank, International Paper, Janitor’s Local
Supply, Jerry L. McCombs, P.C., Native American Art
Appraisals, Judy’s Wholesale Furniture, McCurtain Co.
Bar Association, McCurtain Daily Gazette, Michael S.
McElroy Insurance, Routh Enterprises, Palace Drug,
Rustin Concrete, Weyerhaeuser Corp.
Gifts to the Collections
(July-Sept, 2013)
Large, polished stone blade [Chorrera Culture (Ecuador),
ca.1300 - 300 BC]
Gift of Dr. Ernesto Lira (Corpus Christi, TX)
Leather and wood hand drum [Santo Domingo Pueblo,
AZ, 20th century], pine needle effigy basket [Coushatta
of LA, mid- 20th century], woven cedar and grass basket
by Violet Booth [Tsimshian of AK, late 20th century],
native American Southwest copper jewelry (51 pieces
and sets) [mid-late 20th century], embroidered shirt
[Huichol of Sonora, Mexico, mid-20th century]
Gift of Paul Shepard (Tucson, AZ)
Bean Pot Miniature (2004) of micaceous clay by Pam
Lujan-Hauer [Taos Pueblo]
Gift of Conan Brooks (Taos, NM)
Collection of Hopi Dance Rattles (6), native American
baskets by Mike Reed (Cherokee), Sally King
(Choctaw), and Anita Anderson (Choctaw), plus 6 by
unknown Choctaw (2), Penobscot/Northeast (2),Tohono
O’odham (1) and Cherokee (1) weavers, beaded pairs (2)
of hide moccasins and gloves (Shoshone), [all works
from 20th century]
Gift of June Beasley to the Baker-Beasley-Wetherell
Collection (Flagstaff, AZ)
Applique and embroidered Mola Panel with “Joker”
Motif [Kuna of San Blas Islands, Panama, 20th century]
Anonymous Gift
Ceramic dish by Amelia Martinez [Mata Ortiz, CH,
Mexico: ca. 2005]
Gift of Judy Petre (Idabel, OK)
Purchases for the Collections
Ceramic vessels by Mata Ortiz [Chihuahua, Mexico]
artists Cristina Acosta, Elvira Bugarini C., Cruz
Renteria H., Baudel Lopez C., Aaron Loya, Carlos
Loya, Efrain Lucero, Amelia Martinez, Suzy D.
Martinez, Blanca Quezada, Lila Silveira, Fito Tena,
Ramiro Veloz
People (continued)
Daniel Vick, Jeanette Bohanan and Christina Eastep
attended the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Museums
Association (OMA) in Enid September 24-27. Joining
them for the three day conference was Hannah
Anderson of the Forest Heritage Center. Christina and
Jeanette attended a pre-conference workshop addressing
the need for interactive programs.
Oklahoma Museums Association staff members Brenda
Granger and Stacy O’Daniel conducted a site visit to
Idabel. They inspected several locations to make sure
they meet the needs for next years OMA conference,
which will be held at The Museum of the Red River’s
Mary H. Herron Community Conference Center,
September 24-26, 2014.
Hannah Anderson, Daniel Vick, and
Jeanette Bohannan at Leonardo’s
Children’s Museum making pinch pots.
Christina Eastep creating a robotic
turtle in the Tinkering Exhibit.
At the entrance of the play area next to
Leonardo’s Children’s Museum.
Curatorial staff members Daniel Vick and Christina
Eastep visited the village of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua,
Mexico, meeting with local artists and collecting ceramic
works for the Museum’s collections. Accompanying
them were store manager Sherron Mitchell and board
member Jan Herron with her husband Gamaliel Leyva.
In mid-August, archaeologist
Dr. Donald Blakeslee of
Wichita State University visited
the Museum as the final
research site for a project he is
conducting. It will yield an
updated, comprehensive guide
to the identification of native
American projectile point types
found in the Great Plains. He
photographed and documented over 700 points, adding
to his data base of about 3000.
Sara Birdwell, a museum sciences graduate student at
Texas Tech University, visited the Museum to photograph
items identified as Comanche. It is part of a project she is
completing while interning at the Comanche National
Museum.
Oklahoma State Archeologist
Bob Brooks presented his
annual archeological update
on August 20th. He included
information about current
research at sites all over the
state. He introduced the
Archeological Survey and
it’s education programs, and
explained that the agency serves
as the central repository for
information on some eighteen
thousand prehistoric and historic archeological records for
the state.
Large, polished stone blade
[Chorrera Culture (Ecuador),
ca.1300 - 300 BC]
Gift of Dr. Ernesto Lira
(Houston, TX)
Programs
Along with Dino Camp, workshops, learning trips, and
restructuring the Holland and Sallie Webb Learning
Center, the last few months have been very busy for the
Museum’s programs department. Dino Camp’s
enrollment was the highest in recent years. Twenty-four
children participated in the 3 day program. That meant
the staff needed all the help they could get from the teen
volunteers! The theme this year was Fact or Fiction?
Dinosaurs in the Movies. The Land Before Time was
used to compare and contrast facts about dinosaurs.
Although the movie depicted how they worked together
to achieve a common goal, the different species did not
live during the same time period.
Mary Smith led a
work shop on Southeastern woven mats.
These mats were
used as seats, bedding,
wall/floor lining
and a wrap for the
deceased. According
to Marshall Gettys in
Basketry of the Southeastern Indians, twilled mats were
formerly made but are now not to be seen. Historically,
the Choctaws and other native Southeastern peoples
camped near river cane swamps. These swamps provided
the raw material used in the making of their baskets and
mats.
Sallie Webb did an outreach program comparing
dinosaur and human hand bones at the Idabel Public
Library on July 18th.
The Paleo Pals club continues its “excavation” of a
dinosaur fossil from beginning to end. At the meeting on
August 8th, the children completed the arduous task of
digging bones and casted each piece with plaster.
The children started each day with dinosaur games,
puzzles, and puppets. Throughout the day the lessons
centered on the different species of dinosaurs and the
period of their existence. The counselors were invaluable
in helping with the egg races, digging dinosaur bones out
of cupcakes, hunting “tree stars” and working as a group
to provide safety and fun. This years Dino Camp was a
mighty success!
On August 10th Greg Bohanan led a tubular peyote stitch
beading class. Although there are five basic ways to bead
that are common among all tribes, the focus was on the
Peyote stitch. This stitch is made by sewing the beads in a
brick stitch pattern
that winds around
anything that is
cylindrical in shape.
Greg returned on
September 14th
for a loom beading
class. Not only did
he teach the
beading technique,
he hand-made
the looms for the
class as well. Loom
beadwork was not a
widely practiced early Native American
work, although there is evidence of loom
beaded pieces among the eastern, Great
Lakes, and Midwest tribes. Today, loom
beadwork is a common technique used to
create flat pieces of work.
Travels
Museum director Henry Moy led a group of 20 travelers
from four states to archeological sites in Peru. They
visited important Moche-era sites in the northern regions
around Trujillo and Chiclayo, the archeological museums
and colonial structures of Lima, and sites along the Incan
Trail from Cuzco to Machu Picchu.
The trip to Mata Ortiz was amazing, full of fun people
and, of course, lots of food. Our guide was very
informative and took us to meet some talented artists. The
weather was wonderful for July and so were the people.
E. Ladezma and S. Mitchell
E. Ramirez
C. Eastep, D. Vick, and B. Lopez
Museum Affiliates
The Museum offers the use of its facilities to other non-profit and educational groups for a nominal fee. Those wishing
to make use of the facilities regularly (for monthly meetings or scheduled events) may participate in the Affiliates
Program, an annual membership program which reduces fees by as much as 90%. Current affiliates include McCurtain
Gem and Mineral Club, Idabel Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, Langston University, McCurtain County Goat
Growers, McCurtain County Art Club, Little River Conservation District, McCurtain County Bar Association,
McCurtain Memorial Hospital Corp., McCurtain Community Fund, and the Idabel FFA.
Herron Foundation
Board of Directors
Tina Foshee-Thomas, Mayor of Idabel
William C. Gentry, Esq.
Donald Herron, President
Janet Herron, Secretary
Quintus Herron, Vice President
John Ramsey
Terry Walker
Lavetta Ward, Treasurer
Sallie Webb
Idabel Museum Society
Board of Directors
Dr. Robert Brooks
Dr. Bruce King, Vice President
Carolynn Neal
Judy Petre, President
John Ramsey
Dr. Lewis Stiles, Treasurer
Sallie Webb
Museum Hours
TUE–SAT 10 AM–5 PM
SUN 1 – 5 PM
Closed Mondays and national holidays
Idabel Museum Society
Museum of the Red River
812 E. Lincoln Road
Idabel, Oklahoma 74745
(580) 286-3616
www.museumoftheredriver.org
Trephined skulls on display at
Larca Herrera Museum in Lima, Peru.
Holes were drilled for surgical purposes.
Museum of the Red River
Staff
Jeanette Bohanan, Head of Programs
Chrissy Eastep, Curatorial Assistant
Laura Eastep, Conference Ctr. Mngr
John Malin, Museum Assistant
Sherron Mitchell, Gift Shop Manager
Henry Moy, Director
Vickie Smith, Office Manager
Daniel L. Vick, Keeper of Collections
Free Admission/Donations Accepted
Reservations appreciated for groups
of ten (10) or more.
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED