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Caddo artist Chase Kahwinhut Earles creates traditional pottery to help inform and carry on the culture of his people – the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. Born in Oklahoma, Earles has been an artist since his art teacher in kindergarten pulled him aside to draw something for the school. From then on, he was always drawing and painting, but didn’t find a voice or a reason until he found pottery. Even after deciding to pursue pottery with a more hands-on style and embrace a closer-to-earth approach to art, he still longed for meaning. That meaning evaded him until he connected with his tribe and his heritage. Earles learned of the true grandeur of the Caddo tradition and how it has been lost and hidden from the public, setting him forth on a mission to learn the methods and designs of his people, creating works of art that are modernized, to educate both his tribe and the public about Caddo traditions.
With the help of the only living Caddo pottery revivalist, Earles started down the path of artistic expression through Caddo traditional pottery to help current and future generations of Caddo people understand the beauty, craftsmanship and uniqueness of ancient pottery methods and culture.
The Caddo’s ancient traditional pottery was hand-coiled from clay that was handmade from the local river source, which most notably included the Red River and the Arkansas River. The pottery pieces are then hand-burnished with a rock to look like glass without any glaze. The final touch before firing is the hand carving of the scrolling ancient designs which include motifs centered around the origin stories of the Caddo people. Objects in the motifs include feathers, serpents, the sun, the moon and the everlasting fire.
Earles is motivated and challenged to push the limits of describing the Caddo culture in his art with the driving desire to truly educate the public about what sets the Caddo traditions apart from all the other Southeastern tribes.