Tufting by Amy Malbeuf
- Saturday, January 9, 2016
- 3:00pm – 6:00pm
- Neechi Commons, 865 Main St.
Participants will learn the basics of moose/caribou hair tufting while creating their own floral designs. This technique includes securing of hairs with a loop stitch and then relief carving the hair with scissors to sculpt it. Come and learn about the tradition of this craft, developed by Métis women artists Katherine Bouvier and Madeleine Lafferty in the early 1900s.
Free, monthly Crafternoons are back, featuring instruction by Indigenous, New Canadian and Settler women artists. Each workshop will provide a cultural context to help you understand how and why the craft developed. Traditional practices have had origins both spiritual and material, and many have histories that are thousands of years old. Everyone, of all ages and skill levels, are welcome. Plus, materials, childminding and snacks are provided free of charge! Because these techniques take time, we ask that you plan on attending for the duration (1-4pm).
Free! Everyone welcome! All materials and childminding provided.
-
Amy Malbeuf is a Métis visual artist from Rich Lake, Alberta. She learned caribou/moose hair tufting from Ruby Sweetman, a Native Artisan who is skilled in a variety of traditional Native art forms. Amy incorporates tufting into her work in the form of traditional Métis floral motifs, tufted text works, and in the creation of earrings and necklaces. She has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at the Dunlop Art Gallery as part of Material Girls and at the Art Gallery of Alberta as part of Future Station: Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art. Malbeuf has participated in many international artist residencies including at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia; The Banff Centre, Alberta; The Labrador Research Institute, Labrador; and in 2015 was named one of two Canada Council for the Arts fellows at the Santa Fe Art Institute, New Mexico.Through caribou hair tufting, beadwork, installation and performance, Malbeuf explores notions of identity, place, language and ecology. Her art practice examines the relationships between humanity and nature, deconstructs popular misunderstandings of Indignity, and explores the intersections between race and culture. Malbeuf lives and works in Kelowna where she is working towards a MFA from the University of British Columbia Okanagan.