Portraits by Hand

Once each year or so, my Medicine stirs forth a deeply personal portrait. These large-scale pieces are curious explorations, primarily comprised of ink and pencil. Most include the stippling technique passed to me by my mother, a truly wonderful artist and teacher. As a child, I would gaze admiringly at her artwork, entranced with the way she patiently bloomed portraits of etherial women, flowers, and birds.

The hours and days required for such shading and formation are beautifully meditative and forgiving. Tiny dots of ink pushed into paper and canvas, reminiscent of the Ancestral tattooing techniques of global Indigenous women and Two-Spirit peoples across time and space. Through this art practice, I am deeply connected.