Kelly Church
Encyclopedia
Kelly Jean Church is an award-winning black ash basket weaver, Woodlands Style
painter, birch bark biter
, and educator, enrolled in the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
.
and Ojibwe. Kelly studied the Odawa language from her paternal grandmother and learned black ash basketry from her cousin, John Pigeon. She in turn taught her daughter, Cherish Parrish (Gun Lake Band Potawatomi
).
Church earned an Associate of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts
in 2006 and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan
in 2008.
Her baskets range from the utilitarian fishing creels, market baskets, and bark baskets to traditional, rectangular wedding baskets and whimsical strawberry baskets. She creates experimental baskets, with materials such as copper, photographs, and plastic window blinds – the latter a warning of what the future might look like without black ash trees.
bark. The bit areas turn a dark brown that contrasts with the pale surface of the bark. Her designs are both abstract and representational, featuring turtles, dragonflies, and other designs.
of painting created by Norval Morrisseau
, Kelly paints characters from her tribes' oral histories, such as Nanabozho
, or the wildlife native to Michigan, such as Sandhill Crane
s. She typically works in acrylic on canvas and uses contrasting colors for maximum optical brilliance.
, with funding and support from the National Museum of the American Indian
.
Woodlands Style
The Woodland School Of Art, also named Woodlands style, Woodlands School, or Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among First Nations and Native American artists from the Great Lakes area - including northern Ontario and southwestern Manitoba...
painter, birch bark biter
Mazinibaganjigan
Mazinibaganjigan is an ancient folk art made by the Ojibwe , Cree and other Algonquian peoples who use birch bark, by biting down on small pieces of birch bark to form intricate designs. It is also known as mazinashkwemaganjigan and ozhibaganjigan...
, and educator, enrolled in the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Michigan. Derek Bailey is the current chairman of the Tribal Council, whose offices are in Peshawbestown, Michigan...
.
Background
Kelly Church, a fifth-generation basket weaver, was born in 1967. She grew up in southwestern Michigan. Her mother is English and Irish and her father is OdawaOdawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
and Ojibwe. Kelly studied the Odawa language from her paternal grandmother and learned black ash basketry from her cousin, John Pigeon. She in turn taught her daughter, Cherish Parrish (Gun Lake Band Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
).
Church earned an Associate of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
in 2006 and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 2008.
Basketry
Kelly harvests her own trees with her family in swampy areas of rural Michigan. Preparing materials takes far longer than the actual weaving. She removes the bark from the felled log, and then splits apart the growth rings into finer and finer splints for basketry. The splints are dyed then soaked before weaving.Her baskets range from the utilitarian fishing creels, market baskets, and bark baskets to traditional, rectangular wedding baskets and whimsical strawberry baskets. She creates experimental baskets, with materials such as copper, photographs, and plastic window blinds – the latter a warning of what the future might look like without black ash trees.
Birch bark biting
Kelly is one of fewer than a dozen birch bark biters. This traditional Great Lakes art form involves biting designs with one's eyeteeth into folded sheet of young paper birchPaper Birch
Betula papyrifera is a species of birch native to northern North America.-Description:...
bark. The bit areas turn a dark brown that contrasts with the pale surface of the bark. Her designs are both abstract and representational, featuring turtles, dragonflies, and other designs.
Painting
Inspired by the Woodlands StyleWoodlands Style
The Woodland School Of Art, also named Woodlands style, Woodlands School, or Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among First Nations and Native American artists from the Great Lakes area - including northern Ontario and southwestern Manitoba...
of painting created by Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau, CM , also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Aboriginal Canadian artist. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential...
, Kelly paints characters from her tribes' oral histories, such as Nanabozho
Nanabozho
In Anishinaabe mythology, particularly among the Ojibwa, Nanabozho is a spirit, and figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creation. Nanabozho is the Ojibwe trickster figure and culture hero...
, or the wildlife native to Michigan, such as Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...
s. She typically works in acrylic on canvas and uses contrasting colors for maximum optical brilliance.
Honors and projects
Kelly has won many awards for her basketry, including the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Award and the 2008 Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Fellowship. In 2006 and 2008, she organized a symposium about tactics to save the black ash tree from emerald ash borerEmerald ash borer
The emerald ash borer is a green beetle native to Asia.In North America the borer is an invasive species, highly destructive to ash trees in its introduced range. The potential damage of this insect rivals that of Chestnut blight and Dutch Elm Disease...
, with funding and support from the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
.
External links
- The Art of Kelly Church and Cherish Parrish
- Michigan Basket Maker Talks About Her Art. Morning Edition on WKAR, Story #954