Plains Colors
Tina Thin Elk of Faith, S.D., drove a long way to display her artwork this weekend at the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts, her first exhibit in Pennsylvania.
But her real connection to Butler County began when she met Eleanor Rodgers of Fenelton who was on a mission trip to the South Dakota town of Eagle Butte.
"I met her in a store there," Thin Elk said. "She wanted to give me supplies, paints and brushes, so I could keep working. I said I wasn't going to take these things if she didn't take one of my paintings."
That first gifted painting was called "Eagle Dancer." As the friendship grew, Thin Elk also gave her the paintings "Thunder Chief" and one of her father, Chief Ted Thin Elk.
"The first one that Tina gave me, 'Eagle Dancer,' is just awesome. I just like looking at it. I think her work is wonderful and I'm so impressed with her talent," Rodgers said.
Thin Elk said she has been painting as long as she can remember. She was born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux Indian reservation in South Dakota.
"When I was growing up, I kind of didn't like grownups much — most of us go through that I think. I figured if I was doing something constructive, they'd leave me alone. It worked," she said.
She did try other media while she was growing up.
"I tried oils, but I didn't like oils because they took too long. I tried watercolors, but I was too impatient for watercolors," she said.
She also worked in pottery for a time, too, before settling on painting with acrylics.
"I like acrylics because I'm trying to paint paintings no one has ever seen before and show Indian spirituality," she said.
Thin Elk has four pieces in this weekend's exhibit of many works at the new Saxonburg Memorial Church.
Those paintings are called "Wolf Song," "Lakota Storm," "Lakota Winds" and "Which Is the Illusion."
The artist will not be at the church exhibit, but she did not travel all this way just to display her work. She also will be demonstrating her art in Roebling Park.
A fifth painting, "Altar the Sun" — at 40 inches by 60 inches too big for the multiartist exhibit at the church — will be displayed with her at the park site.
She will be at Roebling between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
