Lena Tseabbe Wright is an artist who grew up in Nixon. One of the best pieces of career advice she ever got was about rejection, something that that all artists face. The advice was: Go ahead and expect that rejection. Don’t let it get to you. And just keep trying, keep applying, keep working on getting your name and your work out there. Now, that’s what she tells up-and-coming artists.
Lena studied art at Stanford, and now she’s a grad student at the San Francisco Art Institute. She is Paiute and Yurok, and she makes paintings and sculptures that explore—from several different angles—what it means to be an indigenous woman.
For Artown, she’s been leading a community mural project at Lazy 5 Regional Park in Sparks. Friends, family members and strangers have been showing up on the weekends to help design and paint a picture that shows Nevada native animals and the Truckee River. The final work sessions are July 20 and 21, 9 a.m.-noon, and new volunteers are welcome.
To stay up to date on Lena’s work and events, visit her site and follow her on Instagram.
Double Scoop Podcast, Episode 3: Prince Nesta Interviews Lena Tseabbe Wright
Volunteers worked with Lena on a community mural on July 14.
Volunteers worked with Lena on a community mural on July 14.
Lena, right, talks with a volunteer about the mural.
Volunteers worked with Lena on a community mural on July 14.
What an insightful interview! I would love to see her work! Many congratulations, Lena Wright!