Native American artist Sue Fish is passionate about preserving Southeastern basketry.
ADA, Okla.-Chickasaw and Choctaw artist Sue Fish has honed her craft of basketmaking for nearly three decades and has displayed her art in galleries across the Chickasaw Nation.
An avid member of the First American art scene, Fish is enthusiastic about sharing her passion for preserving Southeastern basketry and reviving river cane basketry. She eagerly demonstrates her techniques while teaching at various community schools and universities, libraries, museums and events.
The artist said she hopes to instill basket appreciation in everyone, both artists and buyers alike.
"I love sharing some of the processes our ancestors may have experienced in basket making. It's an important way I connect with my culture," Fish said. "I gather, weave and process natural materials such as pine needle, sweet grass, honey suckle, buck brush and river cane."
Fish has enjoyed American Indian basket making for nearly 30 years. Her work is on display at several locations across Oklahoma-the Chickasaw Cultural Center, Artesian Art Gallery in Sulphur, the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center in Ada, the Chickasaw Nation Clinic in Ardmore and Exhibit C Native Gallery & Gifts in Oklahoma City. She participates in the invitational Art of the Chickasaw Women Exhibit and the Southeastern Art Show and Market in Tishomingo. She is also featured in the Artesian Arts Festival, which includes 125 First American artists from 19 tribes and emphasizes First American art to the 11,000 attendees every year.
Fish is a member of the Chickasaw Historical Society, is vice president of ONABA (Oklahoma Native American Basket Weaver's Association), is a member of the Oklahoma Basket Weaver's Guild, and was included in the Chickasaw Renaissance book.
