Kindra Swafford has been spending more and more time in Tulsa lately. This month the Cherokee artist, who resides in Tahlequah, will be spending half her weekends in T-Town selling her art at various locations.
During the First Friday Art Crawl, Swafford will be at Tulsa Artist Fellowship Studios, 109 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 2 as part of a collaboration between TAF and Cherokee Art Market.
On Saturday, Swafford will sell art at Heirloom Rustic Ales, 2113 E. Admiral Blvd., during Oklahoma Native Plant Network’s Native Plant Fest from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Then next weekend she returns for Cherokee Art Market at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St.
She will be at Booth 145 among the more than 170 Indigenous artists from more than 40 tribes with artwork ranging from beadwork, pottery, paintings, basketry, sculptures, textiles and more. The family-friendly event is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11. Admission is $10 and can be purchased in advance or at the door.
At her booth, Swafford will be offering a wide variety of watercolors and some of her new copper metalsmithing works.
“Cherokee Art Market feels like a family reunion,” said Swafford, who first participated in the annual event in 2018 and has returned every year since. “That might sound silly, but I have made some really deep connections to people I only get to see in the markets. At CAM, everyone is helping and inspiring each other.”
The artist said she wouldn’t be where she is today had it not been for her first time eight years ago at CAM, where Swafford took part in Southeastern Indian Artists Association’s co-op booth. She said that helped her build her confidence to do her own shows.
She’s been an artist most her life, starting as a kid obsessed with doodling. Early influences included comic book art, Disney movies and video games. Still inspired by pop culture, lately she’s been having fun doing some Godzilla and Spider-Man works. She could have some of those available at her booth at this year’s 5th annual Skasdi Con, which is Cherokee Nation’s pop culture convention set for Nov. 14 at Cherokee Casino Tahlequah.
Swafford took art classes starting in grade school and then followed that passion into college at Northeastern State University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2D Studio.
She’s become known for her watercolors, but she also dabbles with other mediums, like metalsmithing.
“My art is described as glitched compositions that depict flora or fauna. They are bright and make you get in close to really take in the color transitions,” said Swafford, whose art can be seen and purchased through her Instagram.
She’s also recently painted murals, including one she created as part of last weekend’s Plaza Walls event in Oklahoma City. In July she drove to Tulsa to take part in Palomino Books & Music’s grand opening by painting a mural on wheels that divides the bookstore from the listening room.
“I loved working with Paloma (Lopez) and Chuj (Mackey) on the mural,” Swafford said. “They wanted something that represented the crossroad between their two cultures and the community they are trying to make. To be a part of their space is a dream. From their language classes to the music, it’s an inclusive space that has community built into the heart of it.”
Earlier this year, she set up a table inside VFW Post 577 and sold her art as part of Cherokee musician Kaylyn Fay’s album release party.
As much time as she’s been spending in Tulsa, Swafford doesn’t see herself leaving her home in Cherokee County.
“All my life, I have lived within a 35-mile radius in Oklahoma,” she said. “I feel there is a responsibility to it to inspire and leave behind something future generations can learn from as well.”
Much of that feeling comes from being a Cherokee artist living on the reservation and being in close proximity to others like her in the nation’s capital city.
“I feel very honored to be Cherokee and be surrounded by a loving, talented community,” Swafford said. “I think the people and the place have impacted my life a great deal.”
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