Henrietta Heeter of Cherokee, who has learned a variety of new artistic mediums at the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts, will be the first graduate of the program when she receives her associate degree in fine arts from Southwesten Community College Friday, May 8.

“Through the years I tried to go back to school but I never found anything that interested me. Plus, with three little kids I didn’t have much time. But now they are grown and I have time for myself and when I heard mention of the new fine arts institute, I knew right away that’s what I wanted to do,” said this Cherokee native.

Through a partnership with Southwestern Community College, which provides the instruction and accreditation, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee, which provides the funding, students can earn an associate’s degree in fine arts. They study both traditional Cherokee art and foundations for contemporary interpretation.

“I like to learn and create,” said Heeter, “but there is so much I didn’t know, even about our native Cherokee crafts, that I have learned in my courses. For instance, I didn’t know how to gather the river cane to make baskets but Ramona Lossiah taught us. She told us there was a special time of the year to gather and she showed us how to shave it and get it thin enough for weaving. I used to think, ‘OK, now I’ll make a basket’ but I never knew it took so much time and effort. I certainly respect the craft a lot more now.”

She also learned how to fire pottery from teacher and fellow student Melissa Maney. Even though Heeter received training on the pottery wheel she prefers the touch of working the clay by hand. She also likes the stage of polishing the pottery with smooth river rock she picked up along the Oconaluftee River.

“I’ve found with my art if it’s in my hand and not in my heart, it’s not right and I can’t create. It has to be right in my hand and in my heart,” she said.

One thing she especially likes about the program is how students receive a solid foundation in Cherokee arts. “But we go one step further,” she said, “and expand that knowledge and compare Cherokee art to other art forms.”

Using various art forms, Heeter and fellow classmates Maney and Mike Taylor created a wall hanging titled Land, Sky and Water that was selected for display at the North Carolina Community College System Office in Raleigh.

“This program has really changed me,” said Heeter. “I’m more outgoing than when I first began. I was very quiet at first but I’ve learned to open up more. I was self conscious as to whether I could do it or not because it has been so long since I’d been in school. At 51, I’m older than some of my teachers. But it’s been a wonderful experience and I encourage others-young or old- to take the program.”

Open House Thursday, May 21, 2009 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. » details

She especially recommends the program to someone who may already have a craft because, as she puts it, “the fine arts program will open you up to other techniques and help you evolve as an artist.”

Heeter evolved from a student to a teacher when she mentored a Smoky Mountain High School senior whose senior project focused on art therapy.

Students who graduate from the OICA program can transfer, through an articulation agreement, to Western Carolina University as juniors and pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree. Or they may transfer to any other public university in the state with up to 65 hours of credit.

“After I graduate from Southwestern I want to go to Western and get a bachelor’s degree in art education and my master’s in painting,” said Heeter.

OICA is the only Native American Institution of higher education east of the Mississippi River dedicated to Native American arts. An open house celebrating the center’s new location at 70 Bingo Loop is planned for May 21 from 4-7 p.m. For more information, call 497-3945.

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