Catherine Blackburn was born in Patuanak, Saskatchewan, of Dene and European ancestry. She is a member of the English River First Nation. Blackburn is a multidisciplinary artist and jeweler whose common themes address Canada’s colonial past, often prompted by personal narratives.
Catherine Blackburn x Skye Paul, Mahsi Cho Hunting Bag, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, photo: artist. “This bag, a version of a traditional hunting bag, is a labor of love,” says Blackburn. “The tote design was a collaboration with the wickedly talented Skye Paul of @runningfoxbeads. I wanted to replicate her canvas tote design, which was a play on the plastic grocery bag with the repeated ‘thank you’; however, hers reads ‘thank you very much’ in our Dene language. This handstitched version borrows from Skye’s celebration of the Dene language and forms a beaded couture bag, pulling it from a consumer throwaway item into a slow fashion work of art.”
In her practice, Blackburn merges mixed media and fashion to create dialogue between historical art forms and new interpretations of them. US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland—the first Indigenous cabinet member—wore Blackburn’s jewelry in her well-known shoot for June 2021’s InStyle magazine, and the artist’s jewelry has also been featured in Vogue.
By working with beadwork and other historical adornment techniques, Blackburn creates a space to explore Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization, and representation. Visit her website here.
Catherine Blackburn x Rykelle Kemp, Future Vision, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, facepiece, smoked moose hide, antique and vintage beads, caribou hair, brass and sterling silver details, white topaz stones, leather backing, 7 ½ x 7 x 6 inches (191 x 178 x 152 mm), photo: Patrick Shannon. “This is a one-of-a-kind handmade work made in collaboration with the ultra-talented Rykelle Kemp, of @ahlazuafinearts,” Blackburn says. “It is an ode to the past with a vision into the future. It is made using smoked moosehide, all vintage and antique beads, and beautiful dark blue caribou hair tufts in a pattern inspired by my late Setsunè (grandmother).”
Art Jewelry Forum: Congratulations on being one of the finalists for the 2023 Susan Beech Mid-Career Grant—what an accomplishment! Please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in making jewelry? What inspires your work?
Catherine Blackburn: On my maternal side, I come from a family of traditional garment makers, beadwork artists, trappers, and fishermen who utilize their exceptional skills to live in relationship with the land. As a child, on visits to Patuanak, I would watch as kin returned from hunting trips downriver with wild game tucked away in their hand-built wooden skiffs as Grandma waited on shore, knife in hand, ready to begin preparing all the goodies that would be consumed or reused.
My Setsuné (grandmother) created incredible beaded garments from these animal skins. I would watch in wonder as she skinned, stretched, and smoked them into golden brown hides, a process that can take weeks and requires precision and expertise. Afterward, she would station herself at her beading table, stitching into them beautifully bright and intricate motifs.
Catherine Blackburn x Melanie LeBlanc, Big Aunty Energy, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, photo: Tira Howard. “An original coat revamped into a high/low style,” says Blackburn. “The micro beaded pin is a portrait of my mother/Melanie’s grandma, Cecile. Throughout the Convergence Collection, we honor the matriarchs in our life, centering their strength, beauty, and knowledge.”
Catherine Blackburn x Melanie LeBlanc, Big Aunty Energy, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, brooches, reworked vintage beaver fur coat, custom-designed lining with dye-sublimation printing, antique wooden frame keyhole back detail, rhinestone chain edges inside of frame on the inside of coat, hand-cut fur opening and lining, photo: Billie Chiasson
When I create using traditional techniques or materials, such as smoked moose hide or animal hair, I am directly linked to my culture through a powerful connection that is rooted in ancestral knowledge, sovereignty, and love. Just as my grandmother created work imbued with intention and meaning using slow-fashion processes—processes defined as labors of love—I create work inspired by her. For me stitching is medicine, and when I sit at my beading table, I fall into making in a way that isn’t considered labor.
Catherine Blackburn x Skye Paul, Mahsi Cho Hunting Bag, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, vintage pearl white beads, vintage bead chain, genuine pears, smoked moosehide, hand-dyed rooster feathers, lambskin leather, caribou hair, fox fur, gold-plated chains and findings, 16 x 33 x 2 inches (40.6 x 83.8 x 5.1 cm), photo: Tira Howard
Tell us about the project with which you applied for the grant.
Catherine Blackburn: I was excited to expand into more site-specific documenting that would include some of my wearable collaboration work from the latest collection, Convergence. These works are living vessels on the body, moving present into future as carriers of ancestral knowledges. It is important that these wearable works be documented and activated as I continue to explore embodied connections to the land.
The scope of this project is large. As components of this newly debuted collection are in demand and become dispersed for various exhibitions, it was always my hope to have them embodied through film. My transition into larger collaborative projects over the past four years has been critical to my practice and resulted in fully realized components not attainable through solo exploration. For this component I would continue to collaborate with other Indigenous artists. The geographical barriers and finances required to work with these artists has me at a standstill in its development. This grant would allow the time, travel, and resources to bring this component to fruition.
Catherine Blackburn, photo: Nicole Romanoff
How do you think being a finalist will affect you? Will it influence you in the future?
Catherine Blackburn: I am not sure. Perhaps it will allow more exposure to my practice internationally.
Catherine Blackburn x Rykelle Kemp, We Honor Bison, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, headpiece, sterling silver, fine silver, 14- and 23.5-karat gold, keum-boo, inlaid hand-cut black mother-of-pearl, hand-set faceted white sapphires, micro-beaded bison portrait stitched with antique and vintage glass beads, vintage Swarovski pearl/rhinestone chain outer edge, leather backing with beadwork applied to unsmoked caribou hide, gifted/harvested bison horn, 11 x 9 x 2 ½ inches (280 x 229 x 64 mm), photo: Billie Chiasson
What excites you about the art jewelry field?
Catherine Blackburn: Adorning Indigenous bodies has always been a way of life for Indigenous people. The suppression of these art expressions began in the early 19th century through forced assimilation by the Canadian government and Christian missionaries. My work in wearable work explores the duality of Indigenous presence and absence through exploring tactics of colonial erasure. In this way, adornment is an act of resistance. It’s a political statement in its survival and through its reclamation. In this way stitchwork is a statement of power in its refusal to be erased by the oppressive history of colonization, by instead celebrating the continuum of Indigenous presence and identity.
Catherine Blackburn x Emily Jan, Ancestor Dreamin’, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, headpiece, beaded portrait: vintage and antique microbeads applied to unsmoked caribou hide (courtesy of @cvltvrebead); framed floral area: contemporary size 11/0 seed beads, Charlotte cut gold plated beads, rhinestone chain and tufted caribou hair (courtesy of @kin.harvest.co); edging: pearls; backing: custom-designed dye-sublimated satin; bead fringe at face and back of head: gold-plated charlottes, contemporary seed beads, Swarovski bicones, caribou hair, 26 x 16 x 44 inches (66 x 40.6 x 111.7 cm), photo: Tira Howard. Blackburn says: “Emily Jan created this hybrid caribou/elk/moose using wire, thermoplastic, gold leaf, and other components. It cradles my late grandmother’s (Setsunè’s) portrait, taken by @sweetmoonphoto. Designed after the animals that the Denesuline people have relied on for centuries, this piece recalls history, celebrates Indigenous presence, and powerfully presents a steadfast future where Indigenous beauty and representation become center stage.”
Have you experienced any frustrations with the field?
Catherine Blackburn: I feel it is difficult for people to see beadwork jewelry as anything more than a commodity at times. This type of stitchwork and the materials it is made with go far beyond “product” and “commodity.” Their materiality describes history, medicine, and love for our communities. When you purchase beadwork/stitchwork jewelry, you are investing in an heirloom item that is celebrating culture and honoring an immense amount of love and respect.
For centuries this work has been devalued and viewed as “craft,” when it is one of the oldest forms of high-end, exquisitely luxurious couture work.
Catherine Blackburn, Carry It Forward, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, medicine handbag, photo: Nicole Romanoff. “This handbag doubles as a medicine bag,” says Blackburn. “Beaded with love, intention, and some of my late Setsunè’s (grandmother’s) red beads, this piece is close to my heart. When I was little, my grandma made me a small medicine pouch and I would put all my favorite little things in it. Memory of our loved ones became the roots of this collection as we recall stories and moments with our grandmothers that shaped and inspired us. Two pockets at the back of the purse hold medicine, a cigarette holder for tobacco, and an empty pouch for any medicine of the carrier’s choosing.”
Catherine Blackburn, Carry It Forward, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, medicine handbag, hand-smoked moose hide front and back, rare antique steel cut beads, vintage Venetian denim blue seed beads, vintage striped burgundy/brown beads, vintage pearl seed beads, Blackburn’s late grandmother’s vintage red beads (florals), vintage Swarovski bead chain outer frame, caribou hair, genuine pearl edging, gold-plated thick chain-link handle, leather “Cecile” tag (named after Blackburn’s mother/Melanie LeBlanc’s grandmother), leather medicine pouches/pockets on back, vintage brass frames that hold medicine tags, photo: artist
What direction do you think art jewelry as a whole is going? Do you see any new and inspiring trends?
Catherine Blackburn: I feel that, much as with clothing trends, more consumers are interested in wearable “artworks” and sustainability within their fashion choices. I feel there is more of an interest in knowing where your product comes from, how it is made, and what story it tells. I hope that consumers can continue to learn about the artworks they wear and the deeper connections they offer.
Catherine Blackburn, Carry It Forward (back), from the Convergence Collection, 2022, medicine handbag, photo: artist
Catherine Blackburn, Cloey, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, necklace, antique and vintage micro beads, unsmoked caribou hide, vintage pearl bead lace, genuine pearls, gold-plated beads and accents, photo: Nicole Romanoff. “A micro beaded portrait that honors the matriarchs in our life, centering strength, beauty, and knowledge,” says the artist.
Where would you like your practice to be five years from now?
Catherine Blackburn: I hope to have expanded on new modes of making that add to my wearable works practice, perhaps shifting more into moving image. Mainly I hope to continue to find joy in the making while having my works worn and celebrated.
Catherine Blackburn x Sophia Park, Convergent Evolution, from the Convergence Collection, 2022, facepiece, 18-karat gold teeth caps, gold-plated embellishments/bead fringe, hand-dyed rooster feather details, Swarovski bicone accents, 24 x 4 ½ x 6 ½ inches (609 x 114 x 165 mm), photo: Billie Chiasson. “This is a collaboration with many,” explains Blackburn, “including my husband, @derekboechler, who harvested this bear two springs ago; pattern and construction for all fiber components by @yyesstiny; metalsmithing by Sophia Park, from @spylxn; and my parents, Andrew and Cecile Blackburn.”
