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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – As a way of sharing her knowledge and encouraging another generation to make Cherokee art, master Cherokee potter Jane Osti recently helped children make Christmas ornaments on Nov. 7 at her studio in Tahlequah.

Osti taught three classes with the help of fellow artist Stephen Wood, who studied pottery making under Osti. The Cherokee Artists Association sponsored the event, which both Osti and Wood are members of.
Before the children arrived, Osti precut 3-inch-by-1/2-inch circular clay pieces to save time. She said otherwise the children could have spent too much time preparing the clay instead of making ornaments.
“That way they have a chance to be more creative the whole time they’re here instead of doing the technical end,” she said.
Her students, who were 6 to 12 years old, used rocker stamps to put designs on their ornaments by “rocking” a wooden stamp back and forth carefully on the clay. Cookie cutters were also used to cutout designs as well as sharpened chopsticks that the children used to write on the clay.
Osti took time with each of the four children at her table to help them pick their designs and emphasized to them how delicate the clay was as they placed their designs on the circular pieces.
Three different ornaments were made. The first ornament had traditional Southeastern-Woodland designs made by using rocker stamps. The children incorporated the Cherokee syllabary as part of the design for their second ornament, and the third ornament had cutouts to make Southeastern-Woodland designs. Many Cherokee artists use Southeastern-Woodland designs because the designs originated in the traditional homeland of the Cherokee in what is now the Southeastern United States.
The ornaments will be put on display during the annual “Festival of Trees” fundraiser at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa.
“We thought as an association it would be good to pair our kids up with some of our master artists and also send a tree to the Philbrook because Philbrook has one of the best Native American collections in the United States and just show our support that way,” said CAA Secretary Wahlesah Dick.
She said the association plans to deliver the “Tribal Holiday” student tree and decorate it with some of the ornaments made by the children in Osti’s studio. The trees will be on display for three weeks.
Dick is encouraging parents to visit Philbrook to buy the ornaments as part of the fundraiser. Funds raised go toward educational programs for children that some of the children who made the ornaments attend during the summer. Some of those Philbrook programs are free, and Dick said the CAA is emulating the Philbrook by offering free art classes for local children.
The CAA has more than 115 artists as members, and this summer CAA members realized they needed to be targeting the kids and teaching them, Dick said. For her part Osti said teaching the children gave her a chance to share her skills again.
“It was a chance to give back. The Cherokee Nation has been pretty good to me this year, and I just enjoy doing it,” she said.
She said through a contract she has been teaching pottery classes in her studio this past year for the Cherokee Nation, for educators, for employees of the Cherokee Heritage Center and other groups. She has also taught local elementary teachers about pottery who then teach their students.
Osti was named a Cherokee Living Treasure in 2005, which is presented to artists who are actively involved with the preservation and revival of Cherokee cultural practices. And her pottery frequently wins awards at art shows throughout the country.   
Some of the people Osti has taught over the years have gone on to be award-winning artists themselves and are sometimes her competition at art shows.
“It might hurt my feelings they beat me all of the time,” she said with a laugh. “When they win I’m always proud of them. I don’t take all the credit. I just teach them the basics and their creativity is what gets them there.”

Upcoming Cherokee Artists Association classes and events

Basket weaving with Mike Dart
11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nov. 21
CAA Gallery, 202 E. 5th Street, Tahlequah
Cost $25/Open to adults and children

Photoshop for Artists with Bobby Martin
5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Nov. 21
CAA Gallery, 202 E. 5th Street, Tahlequah
Free

CAA Christmas Show Opening
6:30 p.m., Dec. 10
CAA Gallery, 202 E. 5th Street, Tahlequah

Drop-in pottery workshop with Crystal Hanna
1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Dec. 12
CAA Gallery, 202 E. 5th Street, Tahlequah
Cost $10

Call (918) 458-0008 or visit cherokeeart.org for more information.