Beading…it often runs in the family. At least it did for Dianne Smith, who started learning from her mom and grandmothers as a child.
We’ve gotten to work with Dianne a few times over the years, from photographing her family’s beaded slippers that were made for the premiers of Canada back in 2016, to her working out at the Jackson Lake Healing Camp. This time, however, we were lucky enough to be able to capture her working away on some personal beading projects with her mom, Annie Smith.
Known in the north for their quality of work, the mother and daughter pair sat quietly working away while we photographed, while family and friends popped in to say hello.
It is incredible how much patience and practice it takes to create something with so much delicate detail, and to be able to capture such knowledgeable and welcoming elders at work was pretty special.
For this same project, we also photographed Kaylyn Baker, Whitehorse based artist, who has her own unique style of beading. Combining bright/bold colours with modern products like skate shoes and heels, her work is proudly displayed at Unorthodox in the Horwoods mall.
We photographed Kaylyn at her home, working away while her baby napped. Again, she emphasized the patience beading takes, while telling us about her journey to becoming the artist she is today. Encouraged by friends, she was re-introduced to beading as an adult when she wanted to make regalia for her daughter’s dance group. Now, she says she can bead for hours on end, and she creates a variety of intricate work.
To learn more about these incredible artists, be sure to check out the latest issue of Yukon, North of Ordinary magazine for the full article by Elaine Schiman. It explores beading as both a tradition, and a way to reclaim culture and we were honoured to have been a part of it!