13 Facts About Wendy Ponca

Wendy Ponca won first place awards for her contemporary Native American fashion from the Santa Fe Indian Market each year between 1982 and 1987.

Wendy Ponca's artwork is on display at IAIA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philbrook Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

Wendy Ponca grew up on the McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis, Texas.

Wendy Ponca studied the course "Traditional Techniques" under Sandy Fife Wilson, who had replaced the course creator Josephine Wapp, who had recently retired.

Wendy Ponca went on to study at the Kansas City Art Institute, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1982 in Fiber arts and then she completed a master's degree in art therapy at Southwestern College of Santa Fe.

Wendy Ponca taught courses in Fashion Design, where she was known for her stress on patternmaking, tailoring and monitoring the structural integrity of the garments.

Wendy Ponca made blankets, shawls and wall hangings and while her works incorporated Pan-Indian themes and those from various non-Native cultures, she produced more culturally significant items highlighting Osage themes.

Wendy Ponca experimented with body painting for her models inspired by historic Osage tattooing practices.

Wendy Ponca left IAIA in 1993 and within two years, the school ceased offering its fashion program.

Wendy Ponca continued participating in high fashion events, such as the Indian Chic: An American Indian Fashion Show hosted by the Denver Art Museum in 1998, as well as Culture Embodied and Culture Embodied II, for which she directed for IAIA in 2000.

In 1995, Wendy Ponca was commissioned to create four blankets by Pendleton Woolen Mills for a special edition series.

Wendy Ponca has served as the Director of Development for Tulsa's National Indian Monument Institute.

Wendy Ponca has works displayed at IAIA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philbrook Museum of Art, and the National Museum of the American Indian.