These moccasins are iconic pieces by Anita Fields.  They are clay with painted designs on the inside and the top.  The bottom are covered in gold luster.  She said of this pair:

“I have been doing a series of moccasins. They are made in the Osage style.  The imagery on them is telling our story.  On the top is how we came from stars.  For Osage people, everything is followed by earth, sky, and water.  Every system we have is representing things from earth and sky.  The inside of the moccasins have ‘distorted writing’.  Distorted writing is about the distortion of our history.  How it’s always told from one side and distorted. It’s about us telling our own stories.  What I do with the clay.”

It is a striking complement of her various designs.  The white is just a subtle relief on the surface of the black. They are signed on the bottom, “Anita Fields”.  They are set into a metal museum mount, creating a sense of motion.

“I have a choice…There is a time for each of us to step up and be apart of the culture.”  Anita recognizes there is a powerful connection that is made for her through cultural teachings.  [Her] hand formed ceramic works led to references found in the Osage genesis narratives.”  Anita Fields, Fluent Generations