My blogs

Mi'kmaq Quill Art

About me

Location	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Introduction	My name is Cheryl Simon and I am a Mi'kmaq woman from Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island). I began by learning about the raw materials: how to harvest birch bark, how to gather and dye quills and how to gather sweetgrass and spruce root. It took a lot of time and patience. It was a few years before I began to actually insert quills into birch bark. I love that my art is an expression of who I am as a Mi'kmaq person. I would not be able to create my pieces if I was not able to exercise my Aboriginal rights to harvest and gather the materials. It ensures that I know the cycles of the trees and grasses and that I am out in my territory harvesting in a sustainable manner each year. I try to stay true to the designs used by my ancestors. To me, this means understanding the influences which shaped the patterns and construction techniques of the finished items. Over the years, I have developed a technique of depicting the petroglyphs (rock carvings) which are found throughout Atlantic Canada.

Location

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Introduction

My name is Cheryl Simon and I am a Mi'kmaq woman from Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island). I began by learning about the raw materials: how to harvest birch bark, how to gather and dye quills and how to gather sweetgrass and spruce root. It took a lot of time and patience. It was a few years before I began to actually insert quills into birch bark. I love that my art is an expression of who I am as a Mi'kmaq person. I would not be able to create my pieces if I was not able to exercise my Aboriginal rights to harvest and gather the materials. It ensures that I know the cycles of the trees and grasses and that I am out in my territory harvesting in a sustainable manner each year. I try to stay true to the designs used by my ancestors. To me, this means understanding the influences which shaped the patterns and construction techniques of the finished items. Over the years, I have developed a technique of depicting the petroglyphs (rock carvings) which are found throughout Atlantic Canada.