In June of 2023, I travelled to the Wood Buffalo Region as Indigenous Artist in Residence with the Wood Buffalo Arts Council and Suncor. I spent 3 weeks in Fort McMurray, working out of Keyano College. We held two public workshops; the first on creating miniature fibre landscapes, and the second on creating fish scale art. I worked on many pieces but the largest was this 80” by 20” fibre landscape painting, beginning with a base of paint and hide scraps on raw canvas. I was heavily inspired by my travels to Fort Mckay and Anzac, but perhaps most evident is the drive each morning from the Super 8 on the outskirts of town, down into the valley and into the core of the city.

ᓂᐢᑕᐋᐧᔮᐤ [nistawâyâw] 

Raw canvas, dyed deer hide, cow leather, fish leather, acrylic paint, dyed fish scales, dyed porcupine quills, dyed caribou hair, preserved moss, wood, various glass beads, shells, freshwater pearls, antler, cow bone beads, brass hoop.