Clarissa Rizal (June 4, 1956 – December 7, 2016) was a Tlingit artist of Filipino descent.[1] She was best known as a Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver, but she also worked in painting, printmaking, carving, and sculpting.[2][3]
Clarissa Rizal | |
|---|---|
 Rizal in 2016 | |
| Born | Clarissa Seya Lampe June 4, 1956 Juneau, Alaska, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 2016 (aged 60) Pagosa Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Nationality | Tlingit |
| Movement | Northwest Coast art |
| Awards | National Heritage Fellowship (2016), Honoring Alaska's Indigenous Literature Award (2007–08) |
| Website | clarissarizal |
Personal life
editClarissa Seya Lampe was born on June 4, 1956, in Juneau, Alaska.[3] Through her mother, she is of the T'ak Dein Taan (black-legged kittywake) clan of Hoonah/Glacier Bay.[1][3] She also produced works for a time using the married name of Clarissa Hudson. Rizal raised a son and two daughters; both daughters are weavers.[2] The daughters, Lily Hope and Ursala Hudson, weave and teach in Alaska and other states.[4] Rizal died on December 7, 2016, in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.[3]
Apprenticeship and writing
editWhen in her twenties, Rizal apprenticed under Jennie Thlunaut to learn Chilkat weaving.[1] Thlunaut was in her 90s. In 2005, Rizal published a book titled Jennie Weaves an Apprentice: A Chilkat Weaver's Handbook.[5] It won a 2007–08 Honoring Alaska's Indigenous Literature Award from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network at University of Alaska, Fairbanks.[6]
Rizal contributed illustrations to the children's book Mary's Wild Winter Feast (2014).[7]
Rizal also studied under Harry K. Bremner Sr. for song and dance and Selina Peratrovich for basketing.[8]
Awards and honors
editRizal also received awards for her artwork. She won a 2013 Artist Fellowship from the Rasmuson Foundation.[9] In 2015, Rizal received a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellowship.[10] She was a 2011 and 2016 First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital Fellow.[11] Rizal was a recipient of a 2016 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Her mentor Jennie Thlunaut received the same award in 1986.[12]
One of the last robes on which Rizal worked was a collaborative effort, Weavers Across the Water.[2][12] At least fifty weavers either submitted squares or helped Rizal in other ways. The squares were woven together into a single robe. It was first worn by master carver Wayne Price at the dedication of a new Huna tribal house in Glacier Bay. Rizal then took the robe to Washington, DC, for the NEA award event.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Reed, Josephine. Brough, Kathryn (ed.). "Interview with Clarissa Rizal". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Martin, Mary Catharine (December 14, 2016). "Renowned Chilkat weaver Clarissa Rizal dies of cancer". www.capitalcityweekly.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Clarissa Seya (Lampe) Rizal (Hudson)'s Obituary on Juneau Empire". Juneau Empire. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ Hopper, Frank. "Alaska Natives Use Virtual Imagery to Preserve and Pass on Culture". www.yesmagazine.org. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Hudson, Clarissa (2007) [2005]. Jennie Weaves an Apprentice (5th ed.). Pagosa Springs, Colorado: Artstream Press. OCLC 1230140216.
- ^ "2007-08 HAIL Awards". www.ankn.uaf.edu. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ Lindoff, Hannah (2014). Mary's Wild Winter Feast. illustrated by Nobu Koch and Clarissa Rizal. Fairbanks, Alaska: Snowy Owl Books. ISBN 9781602232327. LCCN 2013-49805. OCLC 868225090.
- ^ Yohe, Jill Ahlberg; Greeves, Teri (2019). Silver, Laura (ed.). Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists. Minneapolis Institute of Art. p. 121. ISBN 9780295745794.
- ^ "Individual Artist Award in 2013". Rasmuson Foundation. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ "Clarissa Rizal". Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. August 6, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "Clarissa Rizal". First Peoples Fund. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "Clarissa Rizal: Tlingit Ceremonial Regalia Maker". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
Further reading
edit- Folk Masters: A Portrait of America. Indiana University Press. 2017. p. 217. ISBN 9780253032331.