“Tony”.

The goldfinch is a constant in my work. It is the language bird in Ojibwe culture. In my work however, I’ve expanded their representation to include the entire Ojibwe cultural and spiritual “tool box” if you will, which also includes the language. What I’ve experienced with Ojibwe culture and spirituality is that it is so much deeper than ...this is what we traditionally eat and traditionally wear, or this is our traditional language or music...it all means layers upon layers more than that...those things explain how to connect to the earth, to the spirits that dwell here, to each other, and to one’s self. Those things are saturated with meaning. The birds represent that depth of knowledge and understanding that my family and other Ojibwe people who follow a traditional path possess about who they are, where they come from, and what their purpose is while they are here. 

This portrait is about my husband’s life work as an educator and an activist preserving his language and culture for generations to come. The goldfinches are flying out of his mouth as he bestows these gifts to our son. This portrait took about 5 full days just to sew it. When I’d finished, and had laid it flat on my kitchen table to admire it, I quickly realized that it would not lay flat. It had ripples that created circles in the center of the portrait. At the time, I’d intended to stretch my portraits over a frame like a canvas…but this one would not lay flat…I cried not knowing enough about sewing to know what I’d done wrong or how in the world I was going to fix it. I felt completely incompetent. I walked away from it in a panic hopeful that if I just took some time to breathe that I’d figure it out. I went to bed, couldn’t sleep, came back out in the middle of the night and spread it out in front of me again.

I’d always felt like these portraits weren’t mine, that I was just the vessel from which they came. Then suddenly when I looked at this piece, and the unintended circular movement that had shown up unexpectedly, they looked like ripples in a pond. That is exactly the nature of my husband’s life’s work. To effect change, one small movement that steadily grows and expands exponentially over time. I don’t know how it got there, but it absolutely belonged there. A sacred symbol for many cultures. The circle, an ancient and universal symbol for wholeness and unity.

Exhibitions:

“Identity” The Atrium at the Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington, MN U.S.A Sept 21- Nov 5, 2023

“Identity” The Edge Center, Big Fork, Minnesota U.S.A July 1 - July 31, 2023

“Identity” Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins MN U.S.A. May 18 -June 17, 2023

“Identity” Great River Arts, Little Falls Minnesota U.S.A. Jan 1- March 1, 2023

“Identity” Northwest Art Center, Minot State University, Minot North Dakota U.S.A Nov 1-Dec. 1, 2022

“Identity” The Whit Gallery, St. Cloud, Minnesota U.S.A March 25 - April 16, 2022

“May Group Exhibition”: The Jones Gallery Kansas City, Missouri May 7- 28, 2021

“Identity” Duluth Art Institute, Duluth Minnesota, October 2020 - January 2021

“Borders 2020” Venice International Art Fair July 23 - August 21, 2020

“Identity Portraits” Watermark Art Center, Bemidji Minnesota, January 10th -March 28th, 2020

“FreeChoice” ArtisTTable International Exhibition April 2020

“All Women” Contemporary Art Gallery Online Feb. 26- March 26th, 2020

Publications:

Sonder Midwest Issue V