Nike workshop invites tribe to design shoes
November 26, 2008
By Laura Geggel
Standing before a desk holding colored pencils and pads of drawing paper, Running Start senior Sam Matson recently told a crowd of 15 youths from Native American tribes across the state about the Nike design challenge.
Jagger Suyama, left, and his brother Jettoa show their drawings at a workshop. Both boys will later design a narrative they will paint on Nike sneakers.
Many of the youths were part of the Snoqualmie Tribe and some had traveled from as far as Yakima to the workshop in Carnation. In the first of five workshops, participants learned about narrative and story telling and sketched a few designs plucked straight from their imaginations.
The group will travel to Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. Nov. 29 to meet with professional Nike designers and tour the company. Following their visit, Nike will donate a pair of blank converse sneakers to each contender. Once the shoes are painted, they will be displayed at the Nike campus in Oregon. Nike may also feature the designed shoes in a book.
The top three winners will receive Nike shoes signed by Olympic basketball player Chris Paul.
The project began several ago when Dianne Brudnicki, a councilwoman for the city of Duvall and owner of the School of Art and Innovation, met Jason Mayden, a designer for Nike’s Air Jordan shoe, at a teaching workshop in New York City in 2004.
Mayden’s community service work — he led design workshops for inner-city youth — caught Brudnicki’s attention and she invited him to teach at her School of Art and Innovation.
Mayden took her up on her offer. Brudnicki’s students enjoyed learning from a professional, she said. The workshops so inspired one of her students, Matson, that he decided to extend the opportunity to other Native Americans like himself.
Matson, who is from Woodinville, is part Cherokee. Through word of mouth, he invited Native American youths from all over Washington to participate in the Nike-design workshop.
“I’m really excited to be doing this,” Matson said. before he led the first workshop Nov. 20.
He told the youths about how Nike designers work one-on-one with athletes like Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter to create a shoe perfectly conditioned for the athlete and their sport.
As the shoe lesson wrapped up, Matson passed out paper and colored pencils and asked the youth to write down people and things that were important to them. The list could help them brainstorm a narrative to design on the converse sneakers at a later workshop.
“The basic idea is to tell who you are and what story you want to tell,” said North Bend artist Bob Antone, who helped lead the workshop.
Two of the participants, Wayne and Kenny Moses, are cousins in the Snoqualmie tribe. Both attended Two Rivers School.
“I thought it would be pretty cool to design a shoe,” Kenny Moses said. “Maybe it might sell.”
Jesse Medina, an 11-year-old Snoqualmie Tribe member from Kent, said he was thinking of putting his favorite animal, a wolf, on his sneakers. He described the image he had in mind; a wolf using its claws to tear out of the background.
“It’s like how I am,” Medina said. “I’m sometimes friendly, but not all of the time. I have my boundaries.”
Karen Suyama from Snoqualmie said she was glad the workshop encouraged her two sons to think about their narrative.
“It’s good to learn where they came from,” Suyama said. “I think it builds their self-esteem to know their culture.”
Jettoa Suyama, a fifth grade student at Snoqualmie Elementary, said he enjoyed the artistic opportunity to draw.
“I kind of like creating my own stuff,” Jettoa Suyama said. “When I’m bored, I always draw.”
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
