Cradleboard Beadwork Canvas Print

I made this beadwork for my first cradleboard. It was the largest piece I ever made at the time at ten inches in diameter. I have since made four more the same size. There are eight Turtles. I stitched the center Turtle first. I estimated the distance to the center of the six Turtles surrounding the Turtle in the middle. Then I beaded the largest turtle before filling in the purple flowers.

I am an enrolled member of "the" Oneida Nation and a descendent of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. My mother taught me how to bead on a loom at the age of five. She taught me to include an intentional flaw in my beadwork to symbolize that we are all human beings and we all make mistakes. All my work includes an intentional flaw. I eventually taught myself the appliqué style of beading. I take thousands of tiny glass beads and sew them onto a variety of materials to make a statement not only as art but to preserve the history and culture of my ancestors. I make traditional and contemporary Native American beadwork. My beadwork is a story of beliefs, of art, of commerce. You can enjoy the beadwork as art but behind the art is a story....