WILSON, Okla. – The Wilson Indian Community Center has a new logo thanks to the talents of Mvskoke citizen Hailee Dowling. This design marks the first official logo used by the community.
According to Hailee, her mother initially pitched her the idea. Although Hailee enjoys art and drawing, designing the logo took some persuasion. “I had honestly never drawn anything like that before,” Dowling said.
When Hailee is not busy doodling, she enjoys studying other subjects in school like history and English.
Dowling is a self-taught artist. She has spent ample time polishing her creative abilities. Even from a young age, she knew she wanted to chase artistic pursuits like graphic design.
“When I was younger, I always wanted to do stuff like that,” Dowling said.
The software program Dowling uses to draft her designs is called Procreate. It is an app that can be used on Apple iPads. According to Hailee’s mother Felicia Dowling, her daughter’s artistic talents can be seen in other mediums as well.
“She likes to do hand drawings, she loves to color,” Felicia Dowling said.
Art has been a hobby of Hailee’s since the fourth grade, however she started getting more serious about it when she started fifth grade. Hailee’s Mvskoke culture plays an influence over her work.
Hailee and Felicia are both active members of the Wilson Indian Community. According to community member Kimberly Morrison, the community has grown quite a bit from five to 25 members over the past year. According to Felicia, the community is planning a trip to the Mvskoke Homelands in Macon, GA during the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration in September.
The community meets on the second Tuesday of the month, and offers activities such as Tai Chi and chair exercise classes, as well as nutrition classes through the Oklahoma State University Extension Center.
According to Hailee, her community plays an active role in her life. She particularly enjoys sharing meals prepared by volunteer elders within the community.
Hailee’s next project is to create designs for tee shirts. Although tee shirt design is not a medium she has worked in before, she enjoys trying new things. “This is my first time doing something like that, I’m really excited for it,” Hailee said.
Both Hailee and her mother expressed their gratitude toward the community for the opportunity to design the logo as a way to express their love for the people that mean so much to them.
The new logo designed by Hailee will be featured around the community center as a door decal, and as a sign at the front of the community building. There are also plans to purchase logo decals for the community’s van.
