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- Waskway ahtik
Waskway ahtik
Waskway ahtik (Was-quay-ah-tik)
Kristi Bridgeman & Lisa Shepherd
Indigenous People all over North America, including the Métis of British Columbia, utilized birch bark for everything from lightweight easy-to-carry canoes to intricately detailed berry baskets. In Waskway ahtik, the artists have combined the weaving of traditional baskets with examples of birch bark bitings. Birch bark must be harvested with care, during the correct season and following protocol to sustain the continued health of the tree. The nature of birch bark biting requires folding a tissue-thin layer many times and then using the eye teeth to create marks as the artist envisions the design. The work is mindful and quiet, as one would offer a prayer.
The movement of Métis along the trades routes saw many settling in the Shuswap territory, around Kamloops and among the Kinbasket and Kooteney. All of this land, abundant with birch trees, offered much opportunity for artistic expression through paper birch.
Mixed media: birch bark, glass beads, porcupine quills, sepia and india ink, watercolour, wax resist on paper.
The original artwork is 26” x 26” and has been shadow box framed with archival and anti-glare glass. Price: $4200.00
The canvas print is 24" x 24", stretched on a 1.5" frame, with a black edge finish and is finished with a matt UV film to enhance the colors and protect your print from scratches and fading. The canvas print is ready for hanging as is, or you could frame it in a floater frame. Please allow three weeks for delivery. Price: $450.00
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About Forget-me-not, Métis Rose: the Far West
Forget-me-not, Métis Rose: the Far West is the third body of collaborative work in the Forget-me-not, Métis Rose touring exhibition by cousins Lisa Shepherd and Kristi Bridgeman. The Far West collection celebrates the culture, tenacity and indeed the very existence of Métis people in British Columbia. The first Forget-me-not, Métis Rose collection showed at the Jasper Museum & Archives and celebrated the Métis stories and the plants endemic to that area, while the second collection showed at the Musée Heritage Museum in St. Albert, Alberta, and told a broader story of the Métis across the prairies. This latest collection, the Far West, localizes the story for the Métis of British Columbia, an often invisible group of people too often viewed through a pan-Indigenous lens. These are their distinct stories.
About the collaboration
Lisa Shepherd and Kristi Bridgeman, Métis artists, met serendipitously through an artist group, where they exchanged stories of family and ancestry. As they pieced together their stories, they began to realize their connection through their common ancestor Suzette Swift. With Suzette watching over them, the artists share their knowledge, explore their culture and create a collaborative body of work honour their Grandmothers and Métis ancestral designs.