Project Description

This artwork, titled ‘Evening Flights,’ is a vivid interpretation of a moment I experienced while painting a mural along the Shunga Trail in Topeka. Early one morning, my daughter and I watched a group of barn swallows as they dipped, dove, and swooped along the creek. The scene—shimmering water reflecting the colors of the sky—left a lasting impression on me. Since that day, barn swallows have become a recurring presence in my work, embodying a sense of movement that feels at once wild, calm, and chaotic.

In this streetcar mock-up, I translate that memory into a dynamic, immersive design. A bright, luminous night sky stretches across the top, filled with intricate stars and flowing, cloud-like color. Along the midsection, ribbon-like bands of evening hues run the length of the car. These forms reference ribbon skirts—garments created and worn by many Native American women—serving as both a cultural homage and a grounding visual rhythm.

Three swallows—large, medium, and small—span the composition, suggesting depth and distance as they move across the streetcar’s surface. Their sweeping motion follows the direction of the car itself, creating a sense of continuity and flow. While the largest swallow appears to lead, each bird moves with its own intention, reflecting both unity and individuality within shared movement.

Location

KC Streetcar #805

Bio

b.1977 Prescott, AZ

(Hanook-gah-neeh/ Spottedcloud) is an enrolled member of the Gros Ventre tribe (A’aninin/Nakota Nations) of Ft. Belknap, MT.

Mona is a multidisciplinary visual artist who explores contemporary Indigenous identity and culture through her use of traditional Native crafting methods such as seed bead embroidery and fabric applique. Beadwork & sewing applique have been a primary foundation of her artist practice. Mona acquired a BFA in Printmaking from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA. Mona lives with her husband, three teenagers, and two dogs in Lawrence, KS.

Cliff is also a muralist and completed multiple mural projects since 2023: five in Lawrence, KS (including two at Haskell Indian Nations University), and two in Topeka, KS. She is in the permanent collection of the Kansas City Museum in Kansas City, MO, the Autry Museum of the American West (Los Angeles, CA), the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art (Manhattan, KS), & the Mulvane Art Museum (Topeka, KS). She completed commissions for the Kansas City International Airport (Kansas City, MO) and the Spencer Museum of Art (Lawrence, KS). 

She had shows at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington D.C.), Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (Kansas City, MO), Hall Spassov Gallery (Seattle, WA), Swan Coach House Gallery (Atlanta, GA), Salina Art Center (Salina, KS), Form & Concept (Santa Fe, NM), Charlotte Street (Kansas City, MO), Beach Museum of Art (Manhattan, KS), Leedy Voulkos Art Center (Kansas City, MO), and Wikimania, (Cape Town, South Africa).

She taught beading & fabric applique workshops at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, (Snowmass Village, CO), and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park, KS).

As of now, she has solo exhibits at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK), the University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg, MO), and at the Crossroads Hotel, (Kansas City, MO).

Website | monacliff.com 

Instagram | @spottedcloud