Cherokee

         And we're back from a successful field trip!  I hope everyone had as good a time as I did.  I wished that there was more time because one thing I really wanted to do was walk around a little and kind of observe the area.  One thing that I talked about with another student was the bear statues scattered around Cherokee.  I only saw a few of them and wished I could've seen more and maybe learned a little about their artistic purpose, as each of the bears was painted differently.  I liked the bears so much I wanted to learn a little about them. 
      The bears are part of an art project aimed at spurring business and showcasing local Cherokee artists.  Cherokee has commissioned 25 bears to be painted.  So far there are 19 completed and placed around Cherokee. Here is an article I dug up! Here are a few pictures that I could find!

Each of these bears was done by one of the commissioned Cherokee artists.  They have a story that each of them tells and also a name.  The name of each of the bears is put on a rock that sits in front of the bear (you can see it in this last photo).  The rock also names the artist and tells a little bit about the story that is painted. 

        I looked up a few of the artists and found that some of them have work that is in the Qualla Arts and Crafts Gallery.  This would be something that I think future classes may like to go and visit!  Maybe Dr. Hobby could even arrange for us to visit with an artist and learn a little bit about what Native American art means to them!  Here is the website! They have a few pictures up.  I recommend clicking on the tradition link.  It brings you to a page where you can choose which art form you would like to learn about!  It is very interesting stuff!  A little of it was even touched on in the Cherokee Heritage Museum that we went to.