the art of
Marlena Myles
digital artist + animator + fabric/fashion designer + book illustrator
Marlena Myles is a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota, Mohegan, Muscogee) artist located in St Paul, Minnesota. She has gained recognition as being one of the few Dakota women creating digital art including fabric patterns, animations and illustrations to bring modernity to indigenous history, languages and oral traditions. Growing up on her traditional Dakota homelands here in the Twin Cities, she enjoys using her artwork to teach Minnesotans of all backgrounds the indigenous history of this place we call home.
Bde Óta Othúŋwe & Imnížaska Othúŋwe
Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota (Twin Cities)
Dakhóta Thamákhočhe
(Dakota Land Maps)
These maps illustrate the story of the past, present and future of Dakota people and our language in our traditional homelands. Visit the project page to download free posters, purchase larger maps and learn more about the lands Dakota have called home for generations upon generations.
Thíŋta Wíta – Ȟemníčhaŋ Othúŋwe Wašté – Winúŋna
Prairie Island, Red Wing & Winona, Minnesota
“The common misconception with Native art is that it’s traditional — it’s stuck in the past. But the truth is that Native people have always been innovative. So, to use Illustrator is just a continuation of what my ancestors already did.”
BEHIND MY ART
I create my digital art using Adobe Illustrator. Each piece consists of hundreds of layers, gradients and shapes placed upon each other. When people think of Native American art, they may recall the geometric abstract styles that were historically used by women, or the figurative war scenes created by men, but my art combines both in a fresh way to revamp what people might think of Native art.
I have created works for children’s books, coloring books, animations and fine art in galleries such as at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Red Cloud Heritage Center, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the South Dakota Art Museum, and the Museum of Nebraska Art to name a few.
Latest Prints
Fashion Designs
Blog
My blog features interviews and news articles about my work as well as my writings, reviews and critique about (Native) art.
If This Bluff Could Talk
To the Dakota people, Ȟemníčhaŋ (Hemnican) / Barn Bluff is one of the most sacred places in the world. The City of Red Wing, Minnesota had a call for a creative artist to listen to community voices to add to the different associations people in the area have to Ȟemníčhaŋ/Hemnican (Barn Bluff); from the history of the geological formation to Indigenous peoples such as the Dakota and Ho-Chunk and to the immigrants of recent times. I was the artist selected for the project.
Curated Case @ Minneapolis Institute of Art
The use of the American flag by the Dakhóta and Lakȟóta people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (“Seven Council Fires”, as we are collectively known) shows a conscious thoughtfulness of our ongoing relationship with the United States: at times a political symbol, at other times used to protect our sovereignty and traditions.