Using vibrant colors that awaken the soul, mixed media painter and collage artist, Alyssa Hinton, invokes a theme of cultural and spiritual regeneration through her eclectic variety of southeastern Native American imagery. Her diverse works are dynamic portrayals of the folklore and history surrounding her roots, utilizing tradition and vision with a contemporary edge. As a multifaceted, internationally trained artist of indigenous ancestry, Alyssa creates Native art with a universal appeal, investigating on many levels and challenging conventional parameters of "expected" Indian imagery. More specifically, her themes reflect an attempt to untangle a complicated web of events pertaining to the displacement of her own Indian ancestors (Tuscarora/Osage). Her narrative works clearly speak to the preservation of indigenous traditions, bringing to light aspects of a distinct but under represented southeastern Native experience, one whose basic world view is rooted in ancient Mississippian mound culture. Alyssa's unique composite images have been exhibited throughout the country, including solo and group shows in Philadelphia, San Francisco, North Carolina, and Maine. She is the recipient of numerous awards ranging from the 1990 Mid-Atlantic/NEA Regional Painting Fellowship to an Art for Indigenous Survival grant (through the U.N. Life Bridge Foundation) for participation in the 2005 "Biennale Internazionale dell'Arte Contemporanea" in Florence, Italy. She has been featured in various publications, including Native Peoples Magazine, Aboriginal Voices Magazine and Random House’s Official Price Guide to Native American Art. She has also appeared on NBC TV's "Carolina Chronicles". Selected shows include "Evolving Traditions", an online exhibition through New York Arts Magazine, the 2004 Eiteljorg Museum Indian Art Market in Indianapolis, "Native Views; Influences of Modern Culture", a travelling contemporary art exhibit on the "Artrain USA", the 2004 Inaugural First Americans Art Market of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., the 2005 Florence Biennale and “Honor the Earth; Impacted Nations”, a three year exhibition tour. Alyssa Hinton earned a B.F.A. degree from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after studying art extensively in both China and France. She was born in Philadelphia in 1962 and now lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "My recent work is inspired by questions and experiences relating to my cultural heritage and personal spiritual growth. It reflects my connection to, and reverence for, the natural environment and the mysteries of the cosmos. I like to think of it as "visual soul", a refuge from our materialistic work world slumber, and a window through which we can look inward and outward at the same time. I believe that artists of any background can play a key role in bringing people face to face with their history and culture by recounting and recovering what has been forgotten or seemingly lost. As memories and visions emerge in my consciousness, the process of creating becomes a vehicle for ancestral awakening and reconnection. In turn, this inspires me to communicate a universal message of transformation and rebirth by affirming earth consciousness and the coming together of our one tribe; the human race." To join Alyssa's e-mail list and receive information about new works and upcoming shows send an e-mail to: Information@AlyssaHinton.com with "update list" in the subject line.