Description
Valerie Hanks-Goetz
Muscogee Mixed Media Artist
www.nativeworks.com
nativeworksllc@gmail.com
To see someone smile when looking at the work of my hands means they are sharing my smile. It was in search of my smile that I discovered the artist in myself when I left corporate America in May 1999 suffering from burn-out and broken spirit. I wanted to do something that I enjoyed, something that wouldn’t need to be upgraded or replaced in a year, something that would bring honor to my family and tribe, the Muscogee Nation of Florida. My heart returned me to the traditional, and “Native Works” became a sustainable company. Now I have many more reasons to smile!
My passion to find art in unusual places has grown from the Muscogee belief that everything has a purpose and nothing should be wasted. To me, there is great satisfaction in taking something readily available and creating eco-friendly art with function and artistic beauty. Using salvaged copper, pre-owned leather, home grown gourds, reclaimed clay, recycled glass, pine needles and horse hair, each piece of art I create has at least one renewable component.
Finding purpose for all things has brought many homeless animals our way. In 2012 we had a most unusual stray join our family. After returning home from a trip, we found an abandoned, malnourished, abused horse in our backyard. Lucky Ed has not only joined our family but in 2012 has became a “contributing artist” offering companionship, endless inspiration, and a supply of 100% natural horsehair until his passing. His story was the inspiration for my first children’s book, “Oh, My Lucky Stars” and the sequel “Lucky Shoes”. Books are available for purchase on Amazon.
