Joanna Underwood Blackburn's primary artwork is sculpture and pottery. As a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation she is inspired by tribal lifeways and ancient designs of the Southeast. Her artwork also incorporates themes from nature including animals, plants and floral.

Joanna studied graphic design at the University of Oklahoma where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. While there she was introduced to various art disciplines including ceramic sculpture. This sparked an interest to research her tribe’s pottery. With the guidance and encouragement from tribal members, Joanna was able to recreate and help revitalize the art of pottery making for the Chickasaws. Since those early beginnings in 1994, she has since turned her creations into bronze sculptures.

Since 2011 Joanna has created multiple large-scale bronzes of her pottery and other southeastern inspired works for the Chickasaw Nation. Her bronze sculptures are featured at the Oka’ Chokmasi pocket park, Artesian Hotel and the Chickasaw Cultural Center, in Sulphur, Oklahoma.

Her artwork is included in the following collections:

• North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC

• First Americans Museum (FAM), Oklahoma City, OK

• Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS

• Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA

• Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC

• US National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD

• Chickasaw Nation and Chickasaw Cultural Center

• Office of the Ambassador of the Chickasaw Nation to the United States, Washington DC

ARTIST STATEMENT

My artwork is a contemporary representation of our family lifeways and ancient designs of the Southeast. My designs are greatly inspired by the Mississippian Culture Period – an early civilization located in the southeastern United States and ancestors of the Chickasaws. My artwork often features designs from ancient shell work and pottery such as sun circles, water designs, and animal effigies—all of which were important aspects of southeastern culture.

Some of my works also feature floral images, gourd-shaped pots, and feature traditional foods such as possum grapes, squash, and berries. Other artworks are focused on textures and patterns such as basket designs and nature elements. All of my pots are hand-built by the coiling method and smoke fired in cedar branches and pine needles.

My goal is to create new life into our ancient ancestor’s designs and make them relevant to today. I believe it's possible to tell our cultural stories and share our tribal family values in a modern context and make a connection to others through our art.