Mike Dart is a

Native American art Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...

ist of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. ...

, who is one of the few Western Cherokee men who specialize in

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

basketry Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

Background

Dart is a member of the Cherokee Native Arts and Plant Society, Cherokee Artists Association, and Cherokee Arts and Humanities Council.

Basket weaving

Dart is a Cherokee artist, specializing in the art of contemporary double-wall basketry – an exceptionally difficult technique involving the continuous weave of both an interior and exterior wall within each basket. Mike learned the art of

in 1992 from master Cherokee weaver, Shawna Morton-Cain who was designated a Living Treasure of the Cherokee Nation in 2006 for her knowledge and skill in the art of Cherokee basketry. However he says that his interest in basketry began during childhood when he would watch his grandmother, the late Pauline Dart weave baskets and build woven furniture out of willow, hickory and other materials native to the land around her home. Mike's baskets are generally classified as "contemporary" because his primary media are contemporary materials such as

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed- canopy old-growth tropical fores ...

reed and RIT Fabric and other aniline dyes. However, he does weave with natural materials such as

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both con ...

and buckbrush (''

Symphoricarpos orbiculatus ''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'', commonly called coralberry, buckbrush or Indian currant is a woody species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family. Description ''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'' is an erect shrub, with greenish-white purple-ti ...

''). But he says that he will always weave with contemporary materials because it allows him to express himself better artistically, and there are certain colors he likes to use that cannot be obtained from natural materials. He defines the difference between traditional and contemporary as the following: "A Cherokee basket is classified as traditional if it is woven in a traditional way, and all the materials and dyed are natural. A Cherokee basket is classified as contemporary if it is woven in a traditional way using commercially manufactured materials and dyes. Some weavers will use both natural and commercial materials. This is called using 'mixed mediums' and it fits into the contemporary category."Coats, Charlotte. ''Weaving the Oklahoma Cherokee Double Wall Basket.'' Garden Grove, California: C. Coats: 2006. . Image:Mikedart3.jpg, "War Cry" by Mike Dart Image:Mikedart2.jpg, "Large Gathering Basket" by Mike Dart

Art career

His baskets have placed in several shows throughout northeastern Oklahoma including the Cherokee National Holiday Art Show in

Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-cent ...

, Art Under the Oaks Art Show at the Five Tribes Museum in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decreas ...

and Trail of Tears Art Show and Sale at the Cherokee Heritage Center in

Park Hill, Oklahoma Park Hill is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,909 at the 2010 census. It lies near Tahlequah, east of the junction of U.S. Route 62 and ...

, which is one of the largest Native American art shows in the region. His art is quickly becoming recognized and appreciated by many collectors and institutions within the Native American art circle.Cherokee basketry artist to be featured at Coffeyville gathering.
''News from Indian Country.'' 2008 (retrieved 23 May 2009) Mike's work can be viewed regularly in the Cherokee National Museum during various art shows and also in the Cherokee Heritage Center in

Community work

Dart is notable for his community development work in rural Cherokee communities such as Greasy, Oklahoma. Shawna and Roger Cain and Mike Dart collaborated with this community to recover lost traditions such as basket weaving and preparing traditional foods, as well as reinstating Cherokee gardening and hunting practices.

References

External links