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SkasdiCon II

| Valerie

SkasdiCon II was a blast and I’m already excited to go back again!

I was quoted in the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper!

SkasdiCon Vol. II sees more attendees, celebrities for second year

  • BY STACIE BOSTON Multimedia Reporter
  • Nov 10, 2023

TAHLEQUAH – SkasdiCon Vol. II officially landed and broke last year’s attendance numbers going from 850 attendees to approximately 1,200. The event, which took place at Northeastern State University, not only welcomed more attendees but also artists and celebrity guests.

“I think one of the big highlights and draws this year was our celebrity guests,” Callie Chunestudy, cultural programs and events project manager for Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism, said. “We had Jana Schmieding, Kaniehtiio Horn and Jhane Myers – all famous, successful Native women in TV. And of course, we brought in Jennifer Loren, our own OsiyoTV gal, and highlighted some of the things that they’re doing as well. I think it was appreciated by everybody.”

Schmieding had her breakout role in “Rutherford Falls” and starred in “Reservation Dogs.” Horn recently starred as Deer Lady in “Reservation Dogs” and is also known for her role in “Letterkenny.” Myers is known for being involved in productions, such as “Prey,” “1883” and “Magnificent Seven.”

One of the 48 vendors who setup during SkasdiCon Vol. II was Cherokee artist Erica Cheater and her business, “Misselaineous.” Cheater makes anything from beaded items to crochet and more.

“This will be my second year,” Cheater said. “One of the reasons I started beading is just because … there’s just like a certain thing that I was into. I was like maybe other people are into it. Even just people stopping by and saying, ‘oh, I love your work.’ That’s more than enough.”

With beading, Cheater combines vibrant colors with ancient designs seen in pottery.

“There’s these earrings that I have that are based on a death motif that was on some pottery that was found. I just love doing that and then taking that and then meshing it with color and like making it vibrant and just putting a new spin on ancient designs and bringing it back to life, I guess,” Cheater said.

At-large Cherokee artist Valerie Howard, “Crowcrumbs,” came in from Houston to make her SkasdiCon debut. Howard said she generally does pen and ink art as well as designs for a local small-town newspaper.

“This is my first year. I’m also an alternate. I was able to get in because somebody else wasn’t able to come. So, I feel very lucky to be here,” Howard said. “So far, I’ve already met a bunch of people, had a great time, talked to a bunch of artists. It’s been fun.”

Howard said she plans to integrate more of her Cherokee culture into her artwork.

“I’m Cherokee and I’d really like to start building more of a body of work that reflects that. I’d like to start from, you know, history, pottery, weaving all these kinds of things and then integrate that into my own artwork,” she said. “That’s something that I’ve just now started to explore. So, hopefully next year, I’ll have even more of that.”

Aside from vendor booths, SkasdiCon Vol. II also had film screenings, Native pop culture panels and a cosplay competition.

With the rise in attendance, Chunestudy said SkasdiCon is planned “for many years to come.”

“We’re really proud and honored that we get to offer this to our citizens and the public at large,” Chunestudy said. “Come see us next year for volume three.”

Find Cheater @missselaineous_ and Howard @crowcrumbs on Instagram.

Hilbig book cover

| Valerie

Mike Hilbig’s surreal and gritty writing style was a perfect parallel to my own artistic philosophies so collaborating with him on the cover illustration for “Judgment Day & Other White Lies” was a lot of fun. We had a generously long deadline and were able to spend a good chunk of time brainstorming the concepts and imagery which resulted in a more meaningful cover illustration.

Since the book has been published, Mike has taken it on tour and has kindly invited me along to some of the local readings. Watch our social media for upcoming dates! You’ll be able to hear Mike read excerpts, get a signed copy of the book for yourself, and buy some prints of the cover and other illustrations from me.

Order your copy of the book from Madville Publishing

Judgement day and other white lies book cover with illustration by crowcrumbs

Insomnia Shirt of the month

| Valerie

I partnered with Insomnia Gallery for May’s “Shirt of the month”. The design was printed on a limited number of high-quality T-shirts.

The Texas Snow Reaper design was created during the 2021 winter storm in Texas when sub-freezing temps caused the state’s electric infrastructure to fail. At the height of the crisis, nearly 4.5 million Texas homes and businesses were without power and many went without heat and electricity for weeks.

Crowcrumbs' "Texas snow reaper" design printed in white ink on black shirts
Crowcrumbs' "Texas snow reaper" design printed in white ink on black shirts

God d@#* tourist eatin’ up all the bagels!

| Valerie

“God damn tourist eatin’ up all the bagels!” screamed a white-haired old lady in line ahead of me at the Bread and Breakfast. I shrunk behind her hoping she wouldn’t turn and identify me as one of them. Because that is exactly what I was in 2004. One of those awful people from Houston who come into town going the wrong way on the one way streets, smiling at the town deer, and eatin’ up all the food before the locals can get up for their usual. I don’t remember what the old lady looked like. I probably see her all the time, but don’t recognize her because now that I’m a local(ish) she’s probably real sweet and I probably let her cut the line ahead of me at the grocery store.

I’ve actually lived in Alpine during two periods. I moved here the first time in 2006. During that initial period I stopped living in sin with my now husband, David, and I worked three jobs: one at a dollar store, one at the Alpine Avalanche, and one at the Alpine Public Library. David and I left Alpine in 2011 to attend the University of North Texas for our Masters in Library Science. It’s odd that it was during my time away from West Texas that I began illustrating George Covington’s bi-weekly column in The Big Bend Sentinel. As a bonus, this came with a gratis copy of the newspaper so I was never behind on Big Bend happenings. As luck would have it, I had the opportunity to come back to Alpine in 2015 and in many ways it feels like I never left.