Wade Patton, Lone

This piece was a work in process which I started while doing an Artist in Residence at IAIA in Santa Fe in early 2018. I laid the groundwork with the ledger paper, acrylic white wash, the start of the triangle work and beadwork while in Santa Fe and completed in my studio at Racing Magpie in Rapid City, South Dakota. The buffalo was the means of survival for my ancestors and the male buffalo prided himself in solitude. The triangle is a symbol my tribe uses to signify the tipi (single triangle), tips of the triangles touching (reflection of the earth and stars), bases of the triangles touching (a feather) and the sides of the triangles next to one another (buffalo tracks). Representing them in a more contemporary manner, which is unexpected. The clouds are something that have always reminded me of South Dakota and looking up at them as a kid laying in the tall grasses of the reservation. As far as the circles that make up the clouds-everything comes full circle. A phrase which is important to me as an artist/person because I moved back home to continue my art. (Wade Patton, 2018)

With the elegant line and an almost hypnotic use of pattern, I draw the viewer into my interpretation of the natural elements and seasonal changes of the land. The mastery of the triangle and circle work evokes the subtlest of phenomenon, and my spare use of color in the beadwork resonates with the lone power of the buffalo. (2025)