Multi-disciplinary artist Hattie Lee Mendoza uses her art to reclaim her heritage as a member of the Cherokee Nation.
Mendoza’s exhibit of fiber art, “Alive with Wonder,” opened Aug. 24 in the Regier Art Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center at Bethel College, and closes with an artist reception Sept. 17 from 6-7 p.m.
Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays, 2-4 p.m. There is no admission charge.
“My process is a personal expression of the Native American diaspora,” Mendoza says in her artist statement. She uses found or gifted fibers and objects to incorporate patterns abstracted from Cherokee basketry, pottery and beadwork.
“I myself am a collage of cultures,” she continues, “and react by collaging materials from my ancestors, contemporary community and personal life experiences.”
Mendoza’s fiber weavings are made of ribbon, bias tape, lace and other fabric or fabric accessories that are often gifts from friends and family or sourced from Mendoza’s community (she currently lives in Peoria, Ill.).
The pieces “were born from a desire to connect with my Cherokee Nation heritage. My great-grandma Hattie was proud of being Cherokee and from Oklahoma, but generationally most family stories have faded.
“Learning about Cherokee basketry, I started using materials I had on hand to replicate the patterns. These are a visual reference [to] my standing in the Cherokee diaspora – proud of my heritage and wanting to connect and grow deeper, while still being influenced by other communities and experiences.”
Mendoza notes that her studio is “a flux of mediums and objects in constant conversation: a gouache painting is printed on fabric, which is collaged into a fiber artwork, informing a piece of wearable art or inspiring the composition of a new watercolor painting. … Graphic design, fine art and craft are all woven together in my studio, at times literally.
“My work represents the joy of our diverse world – cultivating collaboration and celebration of each other makes the world burst with beautiful cultural and generational texture.”
Mendoza grew up in Fowler, Kan. She has a B.A. in graphic design from Tabor College, Hillsboro, and an MFA from Bradley University in Peoria.
Influenced by her great-grandmother and namesake Hattie’s Cherokee heritage and stories, Mendoza has been reviving and continuing that legacy within her family after generational loss of cultural connection.
Mendoza’s practice also reflects her maternal grandmother’s frugal values that stem from a Depression-era childhood – including repurposed and recycled personal, family and community items, as well as thrifted and found objects.
She has been published in the #155 Midwest Issue of New American Paintings and in Excellence in Fibers VII and VIII by Fiber Art Now. She has exhibited in 16 states and has work in the permanent collections of the University of Notre Dame, the University of North Dakota and the University of Illinois.
Select awards include: Best of Show, 2026 Cherokee Homecoming Art Show; 1st Place, water media painting, 2026 Eiteljorg Indian Market; Honorable Mention, D’Art Gallery’s “Spot On #3,” Denver; 1st Place, basketry, Trail of Tears Art Show (juried), Tahlequah, Okla.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
