Clarissa's Biography
Clarissa Hudson weaving a Raven
Chilkat robe for Anne Gould-Hauberg in 2001. |
About | Resumé | Artist Statement
Full Name: Clarissa Rizal (formerly Lampe Hudson)
Clan: Tlingit Raven T’akDeinTaan (Black-legged Kittywake), Snail House in Hoonah, AK; born and raised in Juneau, Alaska
Mother: Irene Sarabia Lampe, originally from Hoonah, Alaska.
Father: William Boyd Lampe, originally from the Phillipines
Maternal Grandmother & Grandfather: Mary Wilson Sarabia & Juan Sarabia
Paternal Grandmother & Grandfather: Patricia Rizal Lampe & Fred Lampe, Sr.
Clarissa Rizal has three children: Kahlil, Lily and Ursala; two grand-daughters, Violet Hudson and Elizabeth Hope.
Art & Cultural Background: Introduced to Tlingit song and drumming with grandmother Mary Sarabia; studied Native art, song and culture with Harry K. Bremner, Sr.; A.P. Johnson; Cy Peck, Sr.; Selina Peratrovich; Delores Churchill
Apprenticed in Chilkat weaving with last of the traditional Chilkat weavers from Klukwan, AK, Jennie Thlunaut
Sudied metalsmithing with Preston Duywenie, fashion design with Wendy Ponca, creative writing with Arthur Zhe at the Institute of American Indian Arts
Studied glass-casting with Preston Singletary and David Svenson at the Pilchuck School of Glass
Studied painting and collage with Cecil Touchon and Jeff Kahm at the Institute of American Indian Arts
Attended Glacier Bay Tlingit Language Immersion Camp; attended Ft. Lewis College, majoring in art, minor in languages; achieving a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Cultural Contributions: Since 1989, Clarissa has annually conducted Chilkat weaving workshops and apprenticeships to aspiring Native women with classes in Alaska and Canada, and at her winter home in Colorado. President of non-profit organization Artstream Cultural Resources (www.artstream.net) which sponsors various projects including a 6-yr project documenting Northwest Coast tribal regalia via portraits and video; costume designer and co-producer in theatre company; monthly house concerts, hosting musicians/singer-songwriters from around the nation and, spearheaded 1st Northwest Coast NativeArtists’ Gathering and Evening Concert in May 2006 in Juneau Alaska (which inspired the first Artists' Summit during the Alaska Federation of Natives in October 2006!).
Authoried "Jennie Weaves An Apprentice" Chilkat Weavers' handbook:
This practical handbook provides Chilkat weavers of all experience levels pertinent information gained from Clarissa’s apprenticeship in 1986 with the last traditional Chilkat weaver, Jennie Thlunaut; combined with Clarissa’s experiences as a weaver and a teacher of this traditional art form, with additional information from Jennie’s daughter, Agnes Bellinger. Most of the information in this handbook can also be applied to Ravenstail weaving. With black & white, color photos and drawings, some of the information includes: Jennie’s astounding fingering technique (for speed, accuracy and tension), her philosophies, traditions, values and tricks-of-the-trade, Clarissa’s story of her apprenticeship with Jennie, preparation of materials and supplies, natural & commercial dyeing, weft color samples, list of suppliers, designs and descriptions; and, keeping with traditions, some of the information is shared with a touch of storytelling. This handbook is intended for use by either an experienced weaver who is seeking some additional information in Chilkat weaving, or utilized as a supplemental guide with a weaving instructor. Available for purchase at Clarissa Store in Fall of 2012.
Full-time Artist since 1980: Clarissa’s creations are in various private, corporate, public art collections nationwide and internationally. She specializes in designing and creating Alaskan Tlingit ceremonial robes, including Chilkat and buttonblanket robes and other regalia; works in acrylic paintings, silkscreened prints, and collages; in collaboration with her husband, created numerous Percent-for-the-Arts commissions in public places featuring beaded aerial sculptures and carved wall murals.
Featured in several publications and documentary films; received full fellowships from the Pilchuck School of Glass, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Visiting Artist’s Award; won Best of Show awards including the Heard Museum Native American Art Show & Sale, the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Lawrence Indian Market, the Alaska Native Heritage Center Art Show, and the Sealaska Juried Native Art Show; a costume designer and actress, she worked with Perseverance Theatre and NaaKahidi Theatre in Juneau, Alaska and Pagosa Pretenders Family Theatre.
Clarissa Rizal Lampe was born in 1956 in Juneau, Alaska, a few years before Alaska became the 49th state. Her mother, Irene, is Tlingit Indian from the village of Hoonah, Alaska; her father, William, is Filipino American originally from the Phillipines. with Japanese, Chinese, German Jew and Finnish blood. Clarissa was as introduced to Alaskan Native art while in high school, when she produced her first carved and painted cedar box. During the next year, she met master Tlingit dancer and regalia-maker Harry K. Bremner, Sr., who invited her to join his touring dance troupe, the Mt. St. Elias Dancers from Yakutat, Alaska. During this same time, she met her future husband, Bill Hudson.
In 1977, after the birth of their first child, she became more domestic and made custom clothing and hats for family and friends. She and her (now ex) husband started decorating their cozy house and furniture with Northwest Coast Indian art, teaching themselves along the way the intricacies of formline design. A few years later, she became interested in landscaping, and soon found herself the owner of Kahtahah Landscape Gardeners, a company which developed and maintained a lush, naturalized garden for Sealaska Corporation, one of Juneau's largest companies. (Note: In 1984, the garden received the City & Borough of Juneau's 1st Beautification Award and a year later in 1985, it was destroyed by the City's underground telephone street improvements and since, has never been the same.)
Since
1980, Clarissa has focused on artwork inspired by her
Alaska Native heritage. Her ex-husband was a silk-screen
printmaker, famous for his Alaska Folk Festival posters
and other art events throughout Juneau. They also collaborated
together on various limited edition prints for various
local Native organizations including Sealaska Corporation,
Tlingit and Haida Central Council, the ANB/ANS, SEARHC
and Sealaska Heritage Foundation. After apprenticing
to master Chilkat weaver Jennie
Thlunaut in 1986, Clarissa began teaching Chilkat
weaving to local Native women.
In 1988-89, to enhance her self-taught talents in clothing and costume design, she studied clothing design and metalsmithing at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, NM. Between 1983 to 2005, she designed and created 50 traditional Alaskan ceremonial robes, including Chilkat, Ravenstail and Button Blanket robes as well as numerous traditionally-inspired carvings, paintings, small weavings, and collages. Many of her pieces have won awards at various shows around the country. She is presently working on a manuscript for a book of her first 50 ceremonial robes, to be completed in Fall 2012.
Between 1989-1993, she worked with the Naa Kahidi Native Theater, as costume & set designer, tour manager, stage manager, actress and singer/musician, touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Former husband, Bill Hudson and Clarissa Rizal have collaborated on several large public art installations throughout Alaska. In 2000, after 25 years of collaborating on a number of concerts and children's theater productions in Alaska and Colorado, they created a non-profit organization Artstream Cultural Resources.
Clarissa's work is presently represented by Inuit Gallery in Vancouver, BC.