I made this medicine bag for a good friend back east, Janique. The blueberries are on the territory she and I grew up on, and the abalone shell represents where I live now, on the coast.
I made this as a gift for Peter Zambri after an amazing meal he created for the cast of a show I was in for Pacific Opera. The meal featured venison, and the way he prepared this meal really honoured that animals sacrifice. The deer has long been a food source for my Metis ancestors and myself. When I bead the deer image, I am full of gratitude for the sharing of their life for my sustenance. And for the beautiful meal my friend made.
I am deeply called to feathers. I pick them up wherever I find them. I imagine the things they have seen, as they glide above us. These eagle feathers are the ones that fly closest to Creator, I have been taught. I beaded them as gifts for a traditional naming potlatch in the spring of 2021. In this potlath, I received a Nu-chah-nulth name, Huuputh-uksupe, Grandmother Moon. The colour combinations are inspired by sweatlodge teachings I received from Lloyd Harala.
I've always had a thing for the sun. It was in all my pictures, as part of my branding of my signature in the art work of my youth. This is a very early beading effort, and is inspired by the Anishinaabe artist, Norval Morrisseau. I wear it on my jean jacket and it is one of my most favorite things I've ever made.
This summer I was so taken with Grandfather Sun and the colours of the summer solstice. South on the Medicine Wheel. I had to make earrings to carry Grandfather Sun with me year round.
This leaf pin was gifted to my cousin, Charlene. She is a lover of nature and gardens, and from my Rama family (Anishinaabe) When we reconnected, I wanted to gift her, and thought about the sun and the rain that is in every leaf I see. This is the result.
I needed to create many gifts for the Potlatch in the spring of 2021. My friend, John Somosi, was making drums for little people at the time. Here on Vancouver Island, there are also stories about the little people, and so I painted these tiny drums as gifts for the Potlatch.
Medicine colours in a fringe earring. I've made this design a few times to gift. I wear them when I need the medicine wheel reminder.
Medicines. Hide. Sweet grass from my garden, braided. A reminder of kindness. Cedar, grandmother tree. Healing medicine. Feathers, a reminder of the teaching of balance.
I bought my first drum, from John Somosi. It has always served me well. When I had the chance to make my first drum, I was so excited. My sacred brother, Gordy Bear and his wife, Brianna Bear, ran the class at a fantastic farm out in Sooke. I chose what part of the animal my drum would come from and worked my fingers raw to pull the skin tight on the frame. I knew as I made it, that it was the Nookomis drum- Grandmother drum. I had never painted a drum, but knew that this one needed the wild roses on it that grew in my grannie's yard in French River. My dad loved this plant, because he said bugs never stripped it, and it could grow anywhere. We transplanted a cutting here to Vancouver island, and it grows in my yard still.
My cousin, Lindsay Delaronde, told me about Nymph Falls, near Comox on Vancouver Island. It was a hot summers day, and the falls were a series of rapids. With the low water, people were scatterred in swimming holes, and shallow eddies floating, laughing, talking. The sunlight on the water reminded me of the rapids on my own territory, the French River. These earrings are inspired by that sunlight on the water, and rapids cascading. Water is women's medicine, and when I wear these, I feel so very good.
It takes a great deal of support to host a potlatch, and when my drum group, ANSWER, took this on in May of 2021, during the pandemic, it was still lockdown because of the pandemic. Cooking the food for the guest was important, and because of the pandemic, it all had to be bagged and delivered, as the potlatch was on Zoom. We couldn't have managed it without the support of the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. I raise my hands to Ron Rice and Lisa Mercure, for thier support. This is a medicine bag I beaded for Lisa, who is Cree, with the prairie rose on it, in thanks for her help. This bag is made of brain smoked hide. It smells AMAZING!
I am descended from Metis voyageurs. I beaded this design on velvet to make a belt for myself for the naming potlatch I assisted in hosting. I wanted to acknowledge my ancestors, who were fur traders for the North West Trading Company and the Hudson's Bay company. The sun over the water with the canoe spoke so strongly to me. I used over sized copper coloured beads for the canoe paddle to recognize my connection now to this territory, where copper has a long history.
When I walk my dog on Rockland Ave at 6 am in the spring, the light is amazing. The colours of that morning sky take my breath away. There is no way to do it justice, but this is my homage to that view, with Mount Baker anchoring it all.
The wolf is a reminder of strong family ties. In my wolf pack I have two cubs, and I made this for the oldest of my cubs.
