I am 26 years old, residing on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. I have always done art ever since I can remember. As a little girl I used to make drawings for my mom and family. I would make birthday cards for Shi’maa (my mom) instead of buying them; even then I knew I loved creating art for others, it brought me joy. In high school I was the cartoonist for the school paper and from there I was asked to do my first mural at the Globe High School. After graduating, I knew I wanted to pursue art. I will be receiving my AA in art this spring from Eastern Arizona College.
I have been an active artist for the last six years. My first solo art show in Oct. 2012 was at a small coffee shop called the Vide E Café in Globe which featured another art piece of mine that was chosen as the poster for the annual Apache Jii festival in downtown in Globe. Then in Feb. 2013 I was one of the female artists at the Navajo Nation Museum & Ziindi all female artists showcase, ‘Ch ikeeh baa hozho’. This year I was asked to assist in the Honor the Treaties, Water is Life campaign by helping artists Thomas Greyeyes and Vansler Nosie in creating a mural on one of the water tanks on the San Carlos Apache reservation. I felt honored that I had been asked to be a part of this and to see it come alive was a blessing. It has so much to say about our culture here in San Carlos and the importance of water and our sacred ways.
Excerpt from Reede Curley, Carrie. 2014. “Artist’s Statement: Inspiration.”
Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social 14(1): 10-11.
