ARTIST STATEMENT
Michelle Tsosie Sisneros
Basket In The Mist Studio/BITMS Couture and Urban Pueblo Street Wear
P.O. Box 873
Espanola, New Mexico 87532
www.msisneros.artspan.com
Face book & Instagram
I am a Santa Clara/Navajo/Laguna/Luiseno Mission Indigenous woman. I live in Santa Clara Pueblo located in northern New Mexico. I grew up on the Navajo-Dineh reservation where I felt a deep sense of vastness in my life there. The land was long and far in between the people living there. I longed to be in Santa Clara where I felt a closeness with my people and the Mother Earth.I began painting as a child and developed that into a full time painting career. I believe that I have experienced many downfalls as an artist and have learned through the years to overcome many of those negativity's I placed upon myself. This affected the inspirational aspect as well as the technical abilities of my artwork. I now paint from my soul. The images I paint are from the people and experiences that touch my life in a very profound way and the Mother Earth I live on. I am a self taught painter, my life as an artist is lived with humility and the eagerness to challenge my beliefs, my inspirations, my search for the growth in my imagery and techniques. My life is my art.
I am a painter and an Indigenous Clothing Designer. I have integrated other art forms into my professional art life such as jewellery and pueblo pottery, these mediums have served my creative process in many challenging ways such as form and technique. I paint in acrylic, watercolor, pastel and various printmaking forms. My imagery reflects a unique blend of traditional stories of spirit animals such as deer, buffalo and birds in whimsical forms with colorful background landscapes as well painting the strength of women in our traditional and contemporary lifestyle settings.
Throughout my life I have continued to sew and master my technique in different levels of tailoring, seamstress work and fabric knowledge, which motivated me to bring to life years of clothing designs that I have drawn in hopes of one day becoming a serious fashion designer. I have spent the past four years creating couture and urban wear clothing; branding my own label and line of designs. I also paint unique footwear that depicts pueblo design. I have created a painted shoe line that is unique to my style of paintings. Pueblo.
My designs reflect my memories and my internal conflict with the mainstream America. I hope to create clothes that are beautiful, confident, challenging and non judgmental in shape and size. I look at my clothes as a crossover between worlds, the outside world and my traditional world. I am at peace – yes, but I am a rebel at heart. That is what my art reflects – my beliefs and gratitude.