Mother

I am a storyteller who paints with fabric and draws with thread. My work explores the role Ojibwe traditional cultural and spiritual beliefs plays in shaping the way my family sees itself, how it shapes the personal identities of my husband and my nine children, and the effect it’s had on my own personal identity. As a white woman, the only non-Native American in my family, my work is about my reflections as an outsider and about the emotional rollercoaster I often ride as I stand fixed on the outside, but privileged enough to look in. It's about the pieces of Ojibwe culture I’ve been allowed to see and what it’s allowed me to see within myself, and even to recognize what cannot be found there.