Tobacco Bags
This section of my site is dedicated to all the tobacco bags I have created since embarking on my beadwork journey in 2019. These bags carry my spirit and my love for their recipients.
My second ever tobacco bag.
This bag was made for someone who lives in Yellowknife, NWT as a gift. With this in mind, I wanted to honour the people of the land by incorporating stylistic choices which are typically seen in Dene or Métis works from those communities. In this case, I decided to split the colours of the four petal flower and the berries. Splitting refers to the literal act of splitting the motif in half; half brown and half red for the berries, two shades of blue for the flower and two shades of green for the leaves.
This was beaded onto a navy melton wool, using size 10 beads and yarn for the drawstring.
Made in December 2019.
Creeping Bell Flower
Creeping bellflower; an invasive weed that can be found here in Manitoba.
This pattern is very special to me as local artist, Callen Froese, gave me this sketch along with some of her other wild life sketches. This was my first time using size 13s. I also used size 10s along the trim. It was also my first time attempting the stylistic beadwork approach known as the “painterly approach”. I had designed my previous tobacco bags to have more of a traditional approach to the florals, hence their more two dimensional look. The traditional approach is what is most commonly seen in grandmother pieces (also known as traditional pieces). However for this gift, I wanted to honour Callens’ drawing and her artistic talent, and thus stuck closer to the painterly approach.
Made in July 2020.
A Tulip Proposes
This tobacco bag was made for my cousin to use for her proposal. To start, we decided to include my cousin’s favourite flower , a lupin, alongside tulips which represent her fiancé’s Dutch side. For the lupin, I drew inspiration from @jennyfoidart and how she creates her sumac pieces. I used size 15s for the outlines, and filled each petal with size 11s. At the top of the lupin, I used a mixtures of size 11s and 10s, and attempted the beadwork method of beading one bead at a time. For the tulip, I was inspired by @zoeanncardinalcire tulip earrings, which are perfect. They are composed of size 11s and 13s. The initials at the bottom are their initials and I used the same antique metal beads that composed the initials in my bridal belt, tying both our engagements together in a way. The gold beads used around the drawstring are 24k gold beads and were incorporated to match the gold band of her ring.
For materials, we chose to work with a sage green velvet as sage green is my cousin’s favourite colour. Inside reveals a cotton liner that can also be found in my mom’s medicine bags; another clue to link our families together. Lastly the ties, which were braided together by our aunt Michelle. The entirety of this bag showcases the interconnectedness of our family, having both her aunts working on it and contributing in their own way.
Made in September 2023.
among the wild berries and busy hands, two people shared sweet words and planted the seeds of love
This tobacco bag was done for a sweet friend as part of a trade. It includes the initials of the sweet couple and blueberries as the two met blueberry picking. It’s beaded onto velvet using size 11s, 13s and 15s with a variety of vintage beads, like the metal faceted beads for the initials and the yellow white hearts along the edging, and modern beads. The yellow and the orange found in the edging of this piece are to honour the groom’s clan colours. This pattern is loosely based on my photographs of wild blueberries as I am still trying my hand at incorporating colour gradient to add depth into my patterns.
Made in December 2023
Un Sac à Michin pour Eric
This sweet gift was made as a goodbye gift for the president of the Festival du Voyageur. My mom and I worked on the pattern , which includes 2 five petal flowers. The one of the left done in more traditional colours to represent the traditions of festival. The other on the right has more “contemporary” and vibrant colours to represent the new traditions Eric implemented and influenced , with a rose bud to signal the new ones to come.
For inspiration, the team at festival sent over a poem Eric wrote to represent Festival. In this poem , he speaks on the old traditions and the new ones taking root, sprinkling a Hé Ho throughout. As a final nod to the poem , which stimulates your auditory senses (as well as pulls at your heart strings) we included bells in the tassels to make their own sound. We also incorporated the colours composing the festivals official sash through the choice of red wool and the colours in the braided drawstring.
Eric’s poem can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAcYVDhimyE
I am so deeply honoured to have been asked to make this gift for such an influential person.
Made on red wool, using size 13 and 15 beads, with some metal faceted ones used in the centre of the flowers.
Made in July 2024.