Artwork copyright LisaNa Macias-Red Bear. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright LisaNa Macias-Red Bear. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Defends Horses, 1999

LisaNa Macias-Red Bear
(Apache | Mexican | Spanish (Andalusian-Gitano), born 1965)

Location: Columbia Basin College, Pasco

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Defends Horses is a glass and neon sculpture created by artist LisaNa Macias-Red Bear. She used the image of a warrior defending horses as kind of "contemporary glyph" inspired by petroglyphs. She notes, "Our spirits are in the mountains, stones, earth, and waters. Wherever you see nature, we are there, with our Mother, Father, Sister and Brother creation. We are the People, the first nation of this land. We have been since the beginning, and we will always be."

Macias-Red Bear fabricated this artwork at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Northwestern Washington. She used a sand-cast process to create the glass form. She poured molten glass into a mold made of sand and cooled it in a kiln for several days.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Columbia Basin College.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

LisaNa Macias-Red Bear is a multimedia artist who works in glass, mixed-media, and interdisciplinary arts. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and a Master of Arts degree in Indigenous Healing Art Methodology from the University of Colorado. She is of Mestiza, Xicana-Mexic, Andalusian-Gitano, and Apache heritage. She states, "l am a Mother, Artist, Vocalist, Amerindian Activist, and Registered Counselor. I was raised in the homelands of Aztlan, my work honors ancestors and celebrates the precious gifts of life. I am a first generation college graduate actively in pursuit of social justice for LaRaza (the people). I ground my work and life in the long tradition of indigenous resistance and cultural pride."