Alleh Seya Hawk

Born in South Dakota and raised as a global citizen (Air Force brat), Alleh Seya Hawk studied at Syracuse University, School of Visual and Performing Arts. She has spent over 20 years traveling and working as a Teaching Artist and Community Arts Advocate. The proud mother of one child, she is currently residing with family in Texas where she is very active in the local community; misses the state of Oregon and continues to refine her work as an illustrator, portrait artist and freelance graphic designer.

Allehseya Hawk

Artist Statement:

I very much enjoy excavating and revitalizing the essence of my latest muse – whether that’s a person, place or thing. I want to hear the story, reflect the spirit, record the existence, celebrate the revival and be a part of the regeneration process.

In my work with kids, we explore the role of art in history, while developing an artistic “voice” to tell our stories, reflect our imagination and future dreams. In my work as a community arts advocate, it’s very similar. In both cases, Art becomes a bridge between the past, present and future; the real and unreal — expressing and reflecting the stories that would otherwise remain silent or risk being forgotten.

Sometimes my role as an artist or advocate is nothing more than to bear witness, listen and record; while other times it’s more active: to encourage, question and engage. In all cases, the story being told, taking shape or emerging is always at the center, being explored, discovered and shared.

I am moved by the communication of those stories around me; by history and creative narratives hidden everywhere, awaiting discovery and birth.

As an artist, that’s what hooked me — and why I continue to work, live and play in the field of “Visual Communication”.

About the Mitakuye Oayasin prayer series:

I was born in the shadow of the Bad Lands, the black hills of South Dakota.  I was “Little Blackfoot” to one grandmother, who told me stories of the crying mountains in Montana, now called Glacier Park; and I was “Mi linda Indio” to another grandmother that made tortillas over an open fire in Texas while telling me stories of the monarch butterfly. My ancestors are native to the Americas.  My blood extends from the Zapotec of the south to the Lakota of the North. During the great immigration to our ancestral lands, my blood became thickened by long forgotten grandparents from Ireland, Wales and Spain. I have been called many things in my lifetime: Indian, Mexican, Mestizo, Halfbreed, Wasichu, Hispanic – so many names for one Native American. So much forgotten history in my blood.

Every culture has a phrase that connects that which is disconnected.  A phrase that unifies where division threatens. Among the Lakota, that phrase is “Mitakuye Oaysin”.  Its meaning is deeper than “All My Relations”. It means that Everything is related, connected, part of one unified whole. The moon, the people, the animals, the planet. The many ancestors flowing through my blood, the stardust in my DNA, and yours.  This phrase is part of the most sacred Lakota prayers to honor our common thread in the amazing tapestry of life. I have chosen the Mitakuye Oyasin phrase as the title for my new art series — to honor the relations of those still alive in my blood as a Native American.

Riders in the Storm Solo Show