Reanna Moore-Best
rmoore-best@zagmail.gonzaga.edu
Lillian Pitt
Lillian Pitt was raised in Warm Springs, Oregon but she also has ties to the Yakama and Wasco tribes. Because she affiliates herself with tribes along the Columbia River she calls herself a river person.
Pitt is well known for using a wide variety of media including, but not limited to: clay, print, bronze and glass. Despite her diverse range of materials, clay is and continues to be her first love.
Lillian Pitt (Wasco, Yakima, Warm Springs). Spiral Shadow Spirit Mask. 2008. Images of the North: Inuit Art Gallery, San Francisco, California. Web. https://www.imagesnorth.com/native-american/lillian-pitt.html?lillian-pitt
Lillian is well known for creating traditional Native American art pieces with nationally used techniques. One technique she likes to utilize is the process of Raku ceramics. Raku originated in Japan in the 1500's but was used in many parts of the world. Lillian likes to use this technique when she wants to emphasize the color in her pieces and she likes the control she is allowed to have during the firing process. Raku is a very special process for her and she says that when she works with this style of firing she "always gets a sense of doing something that is spiritual"
Lillian Pitt (Wasco,Yakima, Warm Springs). Wasco Stick Indian: Anagama Clay Mask. n.d. Web. http://www.lillianpitt.com/art/clay.html
Another clay firing process that Lillian enjoys using is the Anagama method. This technique is much older than the Raku; it came to Japan from Korea in the 5th century, but is not as widely practiced today. She uses Anagama firing when she wants a piece to evoke a mysterious or spiritual feeling. In this firing method the artist has absolutely no control over the patterns of the clay; they simply mold the clay into the shape they desire and the fire dances around the piece creating unique markings. The free will of the fire and the artists' lack of control of this natural elements relates to the Native American's relationship with the Earth. The Earth and the natural elements are larger than human life. Lillian herself says that when she works with anagama she feels both privileged and humbled at the same time.
Lillian Pitt (Wasco, Yakima, Warm Springs) She Who Watches. n.d. Web. http://www.lillianpitt.com/art/glass.html
Anther form of art medium Lillian Pitt enjoys using is "cast" glass. She only uses New Zealand lead crystal because of its high quality and the spiritual quality this crystal gives her sculptures. She places the glass "Shadow Spirits" on top of heavy steel bases as an anchor for the delicate art piece but they also shaped as natural resources like leaves and grass to comfort the Spirits that reside within her art pieces. According to Lillian, she uses glass as a way for people to "literally see into the world of [her] ancestors." In this specific glass art piece, Lillian is using a very complex art material that many people can't master in order for people to relate to her ancestors. The glass sculpture is an interpretation of a petroglyph (by the same name) that was made by her ancestors near Celio Falls. Lillian explains that these glass designs are "embodying the stories and the land of my people. A 12,000-year ancestry in the Columbia River Gorge is a major, major pull. I just didn't know it until I was 35 years old." Despite the changes people have endured, many Native Americans, including Lillian Pitt, recognize and care for the ancestors that came centuries before them.
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Additional Resources
"Clay Sculptures." Lillian Pitt: Pacific Northwest Native American Artist. n.d. Web. 7, March 2018. http://www.lillianpitt.com/art/clay.html
"Glass Art." Lillian Pitt: Pacific Northwest Native American Artist. n.d. Web. 7, March 2018. http://www.lillianpitt.com/art/glass.html
Lassen, Tina. "Meet Warm Springs Artist Lillian Pitt." Travel Oregon. 14, December 2016. Web. 7, March 2018. https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/attractions/art-galleries-studios/meet-warm-springs-artist-lillian-pitt/
"Lillian Pitt." Images of the North: Inuit Art Gallery. n.d. Web. 7, March 2018. https://www.imagesnorth.com/native-american/lillian-pitt.html?lillian-pitt