Sunday, the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association will unveil a Native American Art Exhibit.

From young college-aged artists to well known award winners in their fields, the Seippel Arts Center will showcase a host of Native American artists with a variety of talents.  

Through the mediums of pencil drawings, watercolor painting, block prints, sculptural watercolor, ceramics and more, artists tell their stories of growing up and growing old in the traditions of a culture unknown to many.

The BDAAA will showcase the work of multi-talented Dawn Dark Mountain. An Oneida Indian artist from Wisconsin specializing in watercolors, Dark Mountain works mostly with Woodland American Indian subject matter and ideas. Her technique results in a peculiar mystical quality sometimes referred to as "magic realism."

"My creative process begins with gathering ideas and stories and developing sketches, which will eventually be put together in a full-sized drawing. This drawing will then be transferred to watercolor paper," she said.

Dark Mountain is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a fellowship and awards from the Santa Fe Indian Market in Denver, Colo., among others. She was commissioned in 2006 to design a Pendleton blanket in honor of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Her work has appeared on book covers and posters, in magazines and on several CD covers.

Artist Terri O'Connor is a tribal member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Nation. O'Connor said her inspiration came from her parents. Her father was an artist and her mother her biggest fan.

"Growing up on the Stockbridge Indian Reservation has given me a special outlook into our native ways that I can bring out into the world through my art," she said.

O'Connor's specialty and love is pencil sketching. She primarily does facial portraits, full-body portraits and animals.

"I feel you need to capture your subjects by their eyes and expressions," O'Connor said. "Once you achieve that, your picture comes alive. Like everything around us, each creature has its own variations and that is why I have such a love for sketching in black and white."

Two of the most interesting pieces you'll find in the upcoming Native American Art Exhibit are Marie Norris' Medicine Wheel and hand platter.  

"For this piece, I wanted to create a design that embodied a traditional medicine wheel. The platter was designed for my father, specifically, as a way to bring him peace in a time of struggle.  I wanted to create a piece that was complex in meaning, yet simplistic in style, and I am pleased the way the open flames captured this essence," she said.

 Marie Norris, a college sophomore at UW Madison, was honored recently for her work at the 2008 National Ceramics Show. She began taking ceramics as a high school senior as a way to get in touch with her culture. Today, she continues her courses and is working on other pieces.

Dates of the Native American Art Exhibit are from June 28 through Aug. 9. Hours at the Seippel Arts Center are from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, except for holidays.  

Exhibit co-chairs are Judy Beyer and Betty Lubbert as well as some of the artists will be at the opening day on Sunday from 1 to 4 pm. Refreshments will be served.

In conjunction with the summer exhibit,  a family fun event is planned.

"Putt Putt Art," a custom-designed miniature golf course will be open on the Seippel grounds on Sunday.  Putt Putt Art allows families to golf nine holes of golf and get caught in various "art traps" - demonstrations and art projects- at each hole.  Art projects will reflect the Native American Exhibit. The exhibit and gift shop admission is free. "Putt Putt Art" is $5 per person or $15 per family with dads golfing free.  

For more information, contact BDAAA Director Karla Jensen at 885-3635.