Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart facts for kids

Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart (born 1940) is a talented Muscogee (Creek) artist. She is also a teacher and a fashion designer. Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart has won many awards for her art. In 1997, she was named a "Master Artist" by the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. Her paintings have been shown in many places, especially in the southwestern United States. Her art has even traveled to South America!

Early Life and Family Art

Jimmie Carole Fife was born in 1940 in Dustin, Oklahoma. Her parents were Carmen and James Fife. She was the oldest of nine children in her family. Jimmie grew up on her grandfather's land. This land was near the border of Hughes County and Okfuskee County.

Art and teaching ran in Jimmie's family. Her grandfather carved wood and stone. Her father loved to draw with colored pencils and chalk. Her mother was a teacher who made traditional crafts. These crafts included beautiful medallions and quilts.

All of Jimmie's brothers and sisters were involved in art too. Her brother Bill was a carver and draftsman. Her sisters Sharon, Phyllis, and Sandy started a company called Fife Collection, Inc.. They made modern fashion using designs from the Southeastern Woodlands peoples. Her sister Robin Elaine created embroidery.

Jimmie went to Graham School in Weleetka, Oklahoma. From 1954 to 1958, she studied at Chilocco Indian School. She also took classes at the University of Arizona in 1960 and 1961. In 1963, she earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts. She got this degree from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Career as an Artist and Teacher

After college, Jimmie Fife started teaching in Dustin, Oklahoma. She also continued her studies and earned a master's degree in Education. She taught for six years in Oklahoma and Texas. From 1972 to 1978, she worked for Fine Arts Diversified in Oklahoma City.

Jimmie married Robert N. Stewart. In 1979, they moved to Washington, Oklahoma. There, she went back to teaching and kept creating her art. Jimmie and Robert have two daughters, Kelley and Maya Stewart. Maya is also a designer, creating fashion accessories. She has even worked with her mother on projects.

In 1968, Jimmie won an award at an art show. This inspired other Native American women artists. Virginia Stroud (Cherokee/Muscogee Creek) decided to form a group. She teamed up with other artists to support each other's work. This group's exhibition was called Daughters of the Earth. It traveled around the United States and Europe from 1985 to 1988.

While teaching, Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart showed her art in many places. This included the Scottsdale National Indian Art Exhibition. She also showed her work at exhibitions for the U.S. Department of the Interior. She was one of 28 artists chosen to tour South America. Jimmie and her sisters have also shown their work at the Santa Fe Indian Market.

Jimmie Fife Stewart often uses acrylic paints, watercolors, or pen and ink for her art. She is well-known for her Flatstyle paintings. Since the 1970s, she has also worked with her sisters on the Fife Collection. Their fashion designs were shown at the Southern Plains Indian Museum in 1979. Jimmie and her sister Phyllis also showed their designs in 1981. They were featured artists in a TV show called The Folklore of the Muscogee People in 1983. In 2019, Jimmie was part of the Women of the Five Civilized Tribes exhibition.

Important Artworks and Awards

Jimmie Fife Stewart's 1968 painting, New Barber, is in the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her art is also in the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Her 1977 painting, The Earth is Our Mother, is at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Seattle.

Jimmie has won many awards for her art. In 1975, she won the Grand Prize at the 9th Annual Five Civilized Tribes Museum Art Show. She also won First Place in the 11th Annual show in 1977. In 1985, she was added to the Chilocco Indian School's Hall of Fame.

In 1997, Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart received a special honor. She was named a "Master Artist" by the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. This is the highest award the museum gives. Artists must be nominated and judged to receive it. By 2008, only 35 artists had earned this title. Master Artists can show their work in the annual Masters Art Show.