New video takes viewers into the world of Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee) and explores her decades-long career. Watch now.

Spotlight on Kay WalkingStick

“I think the world would be a better place if everybody made some sort of art.” —Kay WalkingStick

Meet artist Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee). In this new video, go into her studio for a meditation on her creative process. WalkingStick discusses her inspiration, the role of place in her work, and how she finds the divine through the act of painting.

Watch the Video

Learn More About the Artist

Explore WalkingStick’s artworks and learn more about her artistic practice with Melissa Ho, curator of twentieth-century art at SAAM.

Get Drawn to Kay WalkingStick

Enjoy “Closer to the Cosmos: Kay WalkingStick,” a beautifully illustrated web comic about the artist's life and work, part of the series Drawn to Art: Tales of Inspiring Women Artists.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is able to create and share experiences like these thanks to funding from generous supporters like you. Thank you for ensuring that American art is available to all.

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Video Credit: "Meet the Artist: Kay WalkingStick" received federal support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
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Image Credits: Video still from “Meet the Artist: Kay WalkingStick”

Kay WalkingStick, Orilla Verde at the Rio Grande, 2012, oil on wood panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2021.30.3, © Kay Walkingstick, 2016

The cover from the comic “Closer to the Cosmos: Kay WalkingStick.” Illustration by Madi Wong