Local artist brings unique quillwork to Akwesasne

By Andy Gardner

While beadwork or basketmaking may come to mind when some think of traditional Mohawk art, local artist Kiera Pyke puts a unique twist on it.

She makes wearable pieces using porcupine quills, a style known as quillwork.

"I usually get them myself, like off of roadkill or someone will give it to me, or my husband will shoot one for me," she said. "After that, I pull them all out, pull all the hairs off the porcupine I can use, sort them and wash them."

She dyes them for her pieces using "natural dyes, berry, walnut" or from other sources.

Pyke said a lot of what she makes is ceremonial.

"I make pretty much anything to do with ceremony outfits, I make a lot of earrings too," she said, and also makes moccasins and bags.

Her process is painstaking -- "one quill at a time," she said.

"I sew them onto either leather or felt. For most of them, I usually have to flatten the quills and then sew them on, but there's a bunch of different techniques that I use."

She said it takes a significant amount of time to come up with a finished product.

"I just finished a pair of cuffs, and it took me over a month," the artist said. "Even if I'm just making a medallion, (it can take) two weeks, and that's me quilling all day, every day."

Her inspiration comes from looking at historic pieces and watching videos of what other quillworkers are doing.

"When I was making pieces for my wedding ... I based it off what I'd seen before," she said.

And Pyke is starting to get recognition outside of Akwesasne.

Her wares will be featured at the Heard Indian Market in Phoenix, Ariz., alongside dozens of other Native artists.