Tim Griffin is a new artist and first-time participant in the Cherokee Homecoming Art Show. A former All-Ivy football player at Harvard University, Griffin obtained a doctorate in integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, leading to a career in biomedical research of more than two decades, focused on developing new treatments for osteoarthritis. After leading labs at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, he retired from biomedical research in 2024 to focus his time and energy on community restoration activities in Northeast Oklahoma City and engage in new forms of learning and creativity.

2024 marked the beginning of Griffin’s Cherokee language-learning journey. He currently helps organize a monthly gathering of other Cherokee language learners at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. An avid bread baker, he rekindled his interest in clay arts in 2024 as an outlet for non-edible forms of artistic expression. As his knowledge of Cherokee language, history and tradition grows, he hopes it will serve as an increasing source of inspiration in his future sculptures.