BLYN — Combining age-old Native weaving and sewing methods, seven Jamestown S’Klallam women have used materials including Western red cedar bark, sweet grass, deer hide and glass beads to create practical, contemporary works that hearken back to their ancestors.
The new exhibit, “S’Klallam Women Artists,” is featured now through mid-December at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library, 1070 Old Blyn Highway.
The exhibit, curated by Cultural Resources specialist David Brownell, includes works by seven Jamestown S’Klallam artists.
Vickie Carroll, her daughter Veronica Davidson, Janet Duncan, Charlotte Fitzgerald, Cathy MacGregor, Florence Monson and LaTrisha Suggs have created and adorned items including baskets, hats and garments.
An interpretive sign explains the link between the old and new Native arts. One section explains the S’Klallam “wool dog,” a now-extinct breed, the fur of which was spun into yarn for weaving blankets.
In addition to the exhibit, the remaining display cases are filled with S’Klallam treasures including drums, masks, carvings and baskets, a cedar hat gifted to the tribe by nationally renowned local weaver Kathy Ervin, as well as many more items woven by tribal elders MacGregor and Fitzgerald.
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library collection features titles focused on Native American topics, both contemporary and historical, fiction and non-fiction. It is open to the public for research, book lending, as well as public-access computers and free Wi-Fi.
The library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
