I learned to beadwork at a young age on Leech Lake reservation in Minnesota where we moved when I was 12. I always liked to make gifts of bead and leather work for my family and friends. I also learned to sew and do embroidery. As a girl I wanted to be an artist and was influenced by woodlands art and beadwork done by my family.

My life’s influences were my mother and father, but I also lived a time with my uncle and aunt in Northern Ontario. That is where I learned how to sew leather work. If I was to give another name it would be my sister Malinda Gray who is a PhD student of Aboriginal Studies at Trent University.

Resin is new to me by 4 years, and I am Self-taught through trial and error. My early influences were when I was 10 and saw a scorpion encased in resin from New Mexico. Also my mother bought a book that had resin art in the pages but I was not allowed to attempt since it was not safe for children. (I always loved looking at that book with the submerged and locked in time Dandelion fluff.) I experimented in natural elements in clear resin to see if I could achieve similar results.

This is where I am today. Is this work Indigenous? YES! I am indigenous and everything I make is too.  My cultural influences are seen in the feathers, shells, flowers, birchbark, quills, and four medicines I capture to create jewelry. My first works were in cabochons which I successfully have sold to many bead artists in Canada. I want to make more of my own signature jewelry and Art. Miigwetch for reading.