Centralight

up close with: Shirley Brauker notices these things: The cardinal that perched on her windowsill the morning her father died and how those birds have visited her every day since then. The deer that eat rings of ivy around her trees when food becomes scarce in the wintertime. The way a child's breathing becomes slow and even when he is absorbed in his work. It's a way that the acclaimed artist draws inspiration for her artwork, which takes the form of her signature carved clay pots tinted with iron oxide, paintings and even songs. Her observations give way to stories, which Brauker weaves into her work, like pots that tell a complete tale as you turn them in your hand. "My motivation to create comes from a place deep inside," says Brauker, '81 M.A. '83. "It's a constant desire that makes me want to put my hands on material and produce beautiful artwork. I'm aware of things, just the little things that give me messages all the time. I try to put that into my art; that's important for me. Because when people look at it, they're getting more than just that finished piece. They're getting something really deep that goes into the creation of it." Storytelling is an important part of Brauker's Native American heritage as a member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee, Mich., and the stories she tells through her artwork have helped reclaim and preserve that culture on a regional and national level. Most recently, her painting, "The Rice Gatherers," was selected for a national poster to celebrate American Indian Heritage Month by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The poster shows three Native American women harvesting wild rice, which was an important staple to indigenous communities around the Great Lakes. Floating just below the surface is the Rice Spirit. Her hair is wild rice. Brauker's work is also showcased in the Smithsonian, Heard and Eiteljorg museums. She will be an artist in residence for the Eiteljorg next year. Last spring, she was selected for the Olga J. and G. Roland Denison Visiting Professorship of Native American Studies at CMU, where she taught students traditional art forms such as beadwork, block prints and ledger art. No matter the medium, she hopes her intent and her message are coming through her artwork: "To give back, to give inspiration and to have a record of what the Anishinaabe people are about," she says. "I want a legacy that is about giving back, a gift of pride in our people. If everyone understands even one small idea and awareness about America's first people, then I have done my job." In her house in Coldwater – the house built from proceeds of the work she made on a $150 potter's wheel bought in college – Brauker can see the moon and the sun out of the rooftop windows. She can hear the birds singing a fall song. The artist takes it all in, and she is grateful. • TEXT BY CYNTHIA J. DRAKE, M.A. '08 PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE JESSMORE, '81 6 centralight winter '13

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