Hattie Lee Mendoza is a multi-disciplinary artist who grew up in Fowler, Kansas, and now lives in Peoria, Illinois.

Influenced by her Great Grandmother and namesake’s Cherokee heritage and stories, Mendoza revives and continues that legacy within her family after generational loss of cultural connection. Her maternal grandmother’s frugal values, stemming from a depression era childhood, are also reflected in Mendoza’s practice by including repurposed and recycled personal, family and community items, as well as thrifted and found objects.

Mendoza has been published in the #155 Midwest Issue of New American Paintings, Excellence in Fibers VII & VIII by Fiber Art Now, and Art Focus Winter Issue 2024. Her work is in the collections of the University of Notre Dame and University of North Dakota. Select awards include: 1st place contemporary weaving in the 2025 Eiteljorg Indian Market, 1st Place Abstract Art  in the 55th Red Cloud Indian Art Show in Pine Ridge, SD,  an Honorable Mention at D’Art Gallery’s “Spot On #3”, Denver, CO, as well as First Place Basketry  and 3rd place miniatures in the juried 53rd Trail of Tears Art Show in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

"A member of the Cherokee Nation, my process is a personal expression of the Native American Diaspora. I utilize found or gifted fibers and objects while incorporating Cherokee basketry, pottery, or beadwork patterns. I myself am a collage of cultures and react by collaging materials from my ancestors, contemporary community, and personal life experiences.

My studio is a flux of mediums and objects in constant conversation: a gouache painting is printed on fabric, which is collaged into a fiber artwork, informing a piece of wearable art, or inspiring the composition of a new watercolor painting. Nothing is off-limits to being repurposed and reimagined.

Graphic design, fine art, and craft are all woven together in my studio, at times literally. My work represents the joy of our diverse world; cultivating collaboration and celebration of each other makes the world burst with beautiful cultural and generational texture."