Johnny Hendry

Johnny Hendry was born in Kansas and grew up in the country life complete with horses and baling hay. He is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and is also Muskogee Creek. He was always bent towards the creative, writing poetry and building gliders. It was not until he met his wife Tawnee (Choctaw and Absentee Shawnee) that his artistic vision came together. She learned leatherwork from her mother and passed it on to Johnny. From there he thrived in various mediums until he started constructing purses—they became the perfect blank canvas for his creative visions. For 27 years he has been utilizing his gift in the form of 100% handmade purses and totes. There is no electricity used, and his signature stitch has no knots. The way it starts and stops is continuous, and a symbol of the infinity of the Universe and its connectedness to Us all. Each purse takes a minimum of 100 hours and his blood, sweat, and tears go into each and every piece. He is a storyteller, a traveler through the ages making his mark on the art world through his hands. The Mojave Desert is a major theme in his art, as he lived in Las Vegas with Tawnee as they raised their two daughters Taw-Cre-Nee and Madrona Redhawk before their move to New York City. He spent endless hours hiking around and studying petroglyphs. Moving to New York City has had a profound effect on his art, as he loves to find the nature growing through the concrete. It is very inspiring to him and he is very honored to be sharing his Native art in such an International landscape, bringing awareness of his culture and beliefs to those young and old, one stitch at a time.