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Don Kwan Chinese Takeout Menu Mask Artist Statement I am in Ottawa based interdisciplinary artist with a studio in the Ottawa Valley. My work examines identity and memory using mixed media, found objects, sourced personal text and images. This collection of work is my response as an isolated artist during this time of COVID-19 and the global pandemic crisis. The work explores ideas of isolation, racism, fear, grief, transformation, protection, health, safety and community. Return

Amanda Roy Wild Roses Artist Statement Boozhoo, my name is Amanda Roy and I am Anishinaabek, bear clan from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island where I was born and raised. I am currently living and working in Montreal, Quebec, on Mohawk territory. I’d never made a mask before let alone done birch bark etching. Last Winter I participated in building two birch bark canoes so I had some knowledge of working with birch bark, spruce roots, and pine sap. I had asked the elder who was teaching us to build the canoes how to do etching and he took a scrap of bark, sprayed it with water, then scratched it with his pocket knife and said there you go. The mask featuring a wild rose was my first attempt at birch bark etching and mask making. I had seen people making their own masks with beadwork and was struck by how the shape of them from the side looked very similar to the bow of a canoe. I started thinking how it would be cool if someone made one out of birch bark then the more I thought of it, the more I thought well, why not give it a shot. The problem being, living in downtown Montreal during a pandemic that had shut the city down, and not knowing where to find materials. I started thinking of places close by, parks, trails, and other green spaces where I had seen trees and what variety I had seen. I set out to the park by my place and the walking trail close by and little by little I found what I needed. All materials for these masks with the exception of the deer hide ties have been found and foraged from downtown Montreal. Each mask is made with birch bark, cedar wood to support the nose bridge from neighbourhood hedges, sap and roots from the walking trail by my apartment, deer hide from my mother, and sweetgrass for the edging. Roots were used to sew the two parts together with a sap/bear fat mix to seal the seams and further support the shape of the masks. I chose to use a wild rose for the first mask because all along the walking trails by my apartment there are wild roses growing wherever the city left spaces between their manicured flower gardens. It’s an interesting contrast to these manufactured spaces to have wild roses growing wherever they please, how they please, despite attempts to control and groom these uniform spaces. Return

Margaret Semple For Annick Artist Statement I have entitled this mask « For Annick » in honour of my almost one year old granddaughter whose mother is of French Métis heritage and whose father is of mostly British Isles heritage. I have done embroidery for almost 50 years, although it has been a while since I worked with wool. I learnt how to bead in the 70’s but didn’t really bead until about 5 years ago when I went to my first workshop with Lisa Shepherd. The mask represents both of Annick’s heritage joined together. Done on Melton cloth, the right side is beaded with #11 seed beads and the left side is embroidered with different types of wool. I was in BC visiting with my mother when the pandemic hit and borders closed so all of the wool and some of the beads are what friends here gave me to help. A wonderful example of how friends and community will help each other when the need arises. Return

Krista Leddy Fighting Chickadees Artist Statement These chickadees are in battle, with the image being inspired by the fighting and hoarding of goods we experienced and are experiencing during this time of Covid. Items that were available in sufficient quantities, such as toilet paper, yeast, and soap were hoarded by some, creating artificial shortages that were completely unnecessary. How we were fighting over these resources reminded me of chickadees fighting over a feeder with plenty of seed. Really, fighting over nothing when if we could set aside our greed and fear so we could share, there would be enough for everyone. The design elements of the mask are also a statement of the selfishness, lack of cooperation, and lack of sense we have experienced. The pattern for the mask is ineffective for reducing the spread of the virus. The straps do not tie the mask on securely, but rather are placed for visual appeal and for display. The back of the straps, where they are attached to the mask, is beaded to create a hidden vanity that would be very uncomfortable to wear and have no effective purpose. The straps are finger woven in the traditional style of the Métis sash, and the mask is trimmed with hand tanned deer hide. Return

Lisa Shepherd Be Well 2020 Artist Statement I worked through so many thoughts as I stitched this mask. It was like untangling thread. Frustrating at times, but necessary in order to move forward with creating. Like many other artists I've read about, I took a good two weeks of being entirely unproductive at the start of this pandemic hitting our part of the world. Then, one day, I realized how much I was grieving normalcy. Had it really been only two weeks prior that I was sitting with students at a high school, all talking about spring break plans? How fast that changed! With naming the grief, my inspiration and desire to create came back again. I also thought about our interconnectedness. To each other. To nature. Our family has been escaping to the forest when we can and making offerings to the water. It's a time of feeling very small but, with that, also a release of so much that we seem to carry every day. There is a strange comfort that also comes with loss of all sense of control. Okay, so here we are. Isolating, and at the same time realizing the deep need that we have for each other. For connection to each other and to all living beings. Has anyone else noticed the sheer joy that a car ride brings? After a month of isolating, I have a better understanding of the perspective of my dogs. In a car ride, as we pass through our city that seems to have slowed down to pace of the small prairie town from my childhood, the colours seem brighter, the sounds more crisp, the air is clean and - oh, that sky! How could we have taken such everyday miracles for granted for so long? There is so much for us to feel grateful for. And yet - never has a beadwork project felt so full of paradox, in a time of fear, uncertainty, and loss. We are heading into a long weekend. Our family will be staying home. We are going to take time to say our gratitudes. To Creator, to Mother Earth and to each other. Covid19 has happened so fast and many that have come down sick have gone to hospital alone and passed on to the next world. What was left unsaid? And so, I will try and keep open to all the vivid beauty of the world and try not to take even a single moment for granted. I will tell the people that are dear to me that I love them. I've been saying that a lot lately to every friend that I speak with on the phone or video chat, because I do. On this long weekend, I pray that others will embrace this opportunity to do the same. Stay home. Be well. Return

Adrienne Assinewai Ombaashi (She Is Lifted By the Wind) Artist Statement I chose to create my piece out of wool for its versatility, durability, and naturalness. This medium is one I use often but I wanted to explore preparing it in a different way. I wanted this uncertainty and newness to accompany me while making this mask as it is something most of us felt when faced with the new reality that the Pandemic brought to us. I decided to showcase our delicate but resilient and beautiful first family members on my mask to celebrate our interconnections during this time of distancing. For me they also represent that wish for the return to normalcy and the outside world when the shut-down first began and everyone began tucking away inside their homes. I included the sun at the front of my mask not only because it serves as a mimic in shape to the filtered portion of a medical grade mask but also because as a life giving force I wanted that powerful sun to be out in front protecting the wearer. Finally, I incorporated blue jay feathers to help the wearer hear the vast mosaic of what is happening in the world and eagle feathers to help the wearer understand the truth in what they hear. Return

Jennifer Curran Passion Flower Artist Statement My hooked mask is a passion flower which is used to alleviate anxiety. There is also a representation of snails for patience. Turquoise, on the colour wheel, fits between green and blue - radiating the peace and tranquility of blue and the balance and growth of green. The design represents my thoughts and needs during this time. Rug hooking is both an art and a craft -- craft being a 'useful' piece of art. This mask certainly fits that definition. The piece is made by pulling loops of fabric (cut into strips) or yarn through a woven backing using a hook. For this piece I wanted to use only material I had in my stash-- the backing, the wool, and the yarn were all left over from previous projects. The Passion flower is hooked in a fine shading technique, with strips of wool fabric in 6 values of pink and of green. It was embellished with beads and silver metallic embroidery thread. The snails were created using yarn that matched the wool fabric used for the background. The ties, made with sari silk, were machine stitch around the mask before hooking, and then hand-stitched over the light cotton canvas lining. I am a Canadian rug hooker with Canadian teaching certification from the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild and American certification from the National Guild of the Pearl McGown Hookrafters. Return

Graham Paradis Quillpocalypse Now Artist Statement This Covid mask is an Indigenous futurism inspired by a nightmare of a post-apocalyptic world where the birch bark population (one of our traditional materials used for quillwork) has been decimated by settler resource extraction and we quill on whatever we can. Return

Celina Loyer Assomption of Survival Artist Statement Our fur trade ancestors used the sash as a tool: a belt, a rope, a tumpline. With this mask, the sash is transformed into our tool of survival during the pandemic. Based on the ancient Assomption ceinture flechée pattern and colours, the unique shape of this mask springs from creativity and necessity. Completely woven by hand, sashes usually remain the same width. Shaping the sash to fit the face requires ingenuity and perseverance. The sash is not perfect – changes in thread tension create imperfections in the weave. As we progress through the stages of the pandemic, tension affects people too, revealing flaws and inspiring adaptation of old ways to a new normal. Our people have faced pandemic before: smallpox, influenza, TB. Yet we persevere. The means to survival can feel heavy or stifling, yet we will continue to do what is necessary to ensure our culture thrives. Just breathe. Return

Christina King Inuvialuit Fortitude Artist Statement My name is Taalrumiq/Christina King. I am an Inuvialuit woman originally from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. Inuvialuit are the Inuit of the Canadian Western Arctic. My home community is in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region on the shores of the Beaufort Sea/Arctic Ocean. Currently, I am living in Prince George, BC the traditional territory of the Lheidli T'enneh. Although I am far from my ancestral homeland and community, my culture is what inspires my work. Inuvialuit Fortitude Covid-19 Masks These masks are my Inuvialuit response to Covid-19. Over half of our people were wiped out during the Spanish Flu epidemic approximately 100 years ago and we were on the brink of extinction. We had no natural immunity to diseases brought over by European Whalers and Fur Traders. My maternal grandparents were young children who helped fetch water for the sick and dying during that time. Today's Inuvialuit descend from those who survived the devastating flu epidemic. We also face the same fear with Covid-19. These masks are a testament to our strength and resilience as Inuvialuit People. We are strong, intelligent, successful, modern people who still live according to traditional values and way of life passed on to us from our ancestors. As Indigenous people, our experiences tell us that we aren't really seen, heard, or valued by mainstream society. Yet we are still here despite years of colonization, systemic racism and injustice, genocide, diseases, starvation, residential schools, and ongoing ill treatment of our people. These masks are a sister set, inspired by the resilience, strength, and fortitude of Inuvialuit people and culture; these masks say "I'm here, I'm real, I have value, I exist." We are still here. Our experiences, our history, our future matters, we matter. Both masks feature traditional design elements of Inuvialuit clothing, such as walrus tusks. Walruses were an important resource for Inuvialuit life in the arctic, providing food, material for tools, rope, waterproof clothing and oil for lamps. Mask 2 is made of white sealskin with red walrus tusks and a zigzag bead embellishment. This mask also has red sealskin and mini sequin fringe, beaded trim and natural blue fox fur accents. With braided silver ear pieces, red, white and black trim, this mask is a modern interpretation of Inuvialuit tradition. Individually each mask is beautiful, strong, and makes a statement. Together they are so much more. Like Inuvialuit, together they are stronger! Like all indigenous people, together they are stronger! Return

Marlene Kelly My okomaw Artist Statement Tansi, I am 4th generation Cree-Metis beadwork artist. My ancestral home is Ft. Chipewyan & Ft. MacMurray AB. I am privileged to live in the unceded territory of the K’omoks First Nation. My okômâw talks to me in my dreams. She speaks of medicines, life lessons, cultural ways, ceremony and gives advice when I pray for guidance. I was only in my 20’s when my okômâw first visited me in a dream. We sat beading in front of her tipi on a warm summer evening, the golden prairie grasses blowing in a light breeze. She spoke in Cree. At that time in my life I did not understand our language. For my benefit, her words were translated through subtitles in English. A feeling of enlightenment and pure love brightened in me as I woke from what would be the first of many dreams to come. During the isolation of this pandemic, I had many quiet hours to sit and reflect on my life; my family, my achievements, my failures…. All the good things I have in my life. My mask was created through guidance from my okômâw. “Tell your story”, she said, “You are enough. Show all you are thankful for, all you have been through and have overcome”. This is my story….. The fabric for my mask was pieces of fabric I had left over from my drum bag. I drum and sing with my sacred sisters. My love for them is unconditional and I am very humbled and proud to have each one in my life. The cotton lining inside is patterned with a Metis sash design. The ribbons not only symbolize the colours given to me after my naming ceremony but also the ribbons used on the colourful skirts and shirt that are prominent in our rich Metis heritage. The fire in the middle the first spark and fire that lives within every one of us. The sun and the moon remind me that there is always something to be thankful for at the end of the day and what a blessing it is to wake with the each new dawn. The two blonde women sitting in regalia facing each other represent the young woman I was and the kokum I am today. They symbolize my earth journey through the colonial world and the aboriginal community. A Cree Metis woman with Irish ancestry searching for acceptance on a path of oppression from both worlds. There was a dark time in my life where my life light was almost extinguished voluntarily. The white swan-wing fan was gifted to me the same night my life would have been forfeited. I am humbled and blessed Creator had other plans for me and trusted me with swan medicine. The smudge bowl holds the sage and sweetgrass I use for smudging and thanking Creator for my life. My daughters are represented by the fox and the rabbit. My first born daughter, the fox, brought me the medicine of awareness. I was enlightened to the joys and tears of motherhood. I began to understand what my own mom meant when she said, “you won’t understand until you have children of your own.” She also taught me about being the protector of my family. There still isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my girls. My youngest daughter, the rabbit, taught me to turn my fearful attitude into courage as she fought and beat cancer in her teenage years. I learned not to let myself be overcome by fear over the things that were beyond my control. Cree originated from the stars; we are the Star People.The Seven Sisters star constellation acknowledges my Cree ancestry. All my relatives and ancestors watch and guide me from there. I am here to learn, lowered down on grandmother spider’s web. I will return to the Seven Sisters to sit among my relatives again. The green star in the constellation is in remembrance of my dad. He crossed over in 2018. The green represents our proud Irish ancestry on his side. The hummingbird is my mom. She taught me from a young age how to care for others and how to care for myself. She taught me that sometimes life can stop you dead in your track but you can still make the most of your circumstances by taking a step back, going forward, getting fired up or calming down. Lastly, the bottom of the mask has many semi precious stones sewn on. These represent the good red road I try to walk as humbly and softly as I can. I have always said to myself, You are going to be an ancestor someday, what will be your contribution?” This is mine. Return

Jean Marc Raymond Fiddleheads Artist Statement As a painter, I typically I don’t work on embroidery projects. Breathe. was the inspiration to start work on a mask that drew on my interpretation of all that was happening with the pandemic. What hasn’t changed in my art making practice is that I let myself be inspired by stories and histories. My mask is inspired by stories that were shared with me by my family. I remember learning about how fiddleheads were used to clean out the body after a long winter. Flash forward a few decades, I was working in the garden, transplanting some ferns and I was really interested in the root system and thought it was so beautiful. This immediately transported me back to learning about the powers of this plant and how connecting with the fiddleheads connects me to my heritage and my ancestors. By honouring the cleansing properties of the young fern, I’m embracing the aspect of renewal in this pandemic, choosing to focus on the earth trying to heal herself. Return