Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes/Okanagan; born Omak, WA, 1953; resides Omak, WA) grounds his vision in the confluence of twenty-first-century life and traditional Plateau crafts and culture. Through his glass works, twined baskets, and prints, he merges conventional patterns and contemporary iconography to reflect his lived experience of the land. He holds degrees in printmaking from the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Feddersen spent much of his career balancing his art practice with teaching at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. After retiring from his full-time teaching position, he returned home to the Colville Confederated Tribal Reservation and now resides and works in his hometown of Omak, Washington. He remains a professor emeritus at the Evergreen State College.
Feddersen’s works can be found in major collections across the country including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Seattle Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. His work is also represented in print, including Mixed Blessings (2000) by Lucy Lippard, Manifestations: New Native Art Criticism (2012) by the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, and Changing Hands (2005) by the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. The 2008 monogram, Joe Feddersen: Vital Signs, is part of the Jacob Lawrence book series from the University of Washington Press.
