Mary K. Okheena facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary K. Okheena
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Mary K. Okheena in 1977, at Holman (Ulukhaktok)
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| Born | 1957 (age 67–68) Holman (Uluqsaqtuuq), Northwest Territories
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Mary Kapbak Okheena (also known as Memorana, Krappak, or Kappak) is a talented Inuvialuit artist. She is famous for her unique stencil prints, drawings, and beautiful embroidery. Some of her well-known prints include "Musk-ox Waiting for the Tide to Cross Water" (1986) and "Shaman Dances to Northern Lights" (1991). Mary is part of a group of artists who helped make graphic art popular in the Canadian Arctic. She lives in Inuvik with her husband and five children, where she continues to create amazing art.
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About Mary K. Okheena
Her Early Life
Mary K. Okheena was born in 1957 in a place called Holman (also known as Uluqsaqtuuq). This community is located on Victoria Island in the Northwest Territories. Her father, Jimmy Memorana, was a skilled sculptor and printmaker. He also helped start the Holman Island Eskimo Co-operative.
Mary's mother, Nora Memorana, was an expert at sewing. Both her parents were respected drum dancers in their community. Mary grew up watching her father and her aunt, Agnes Nanogak Goose, create prints. They worked for the Holman Print Shop, which inspired Mary to become a printmaker herself.
Starting Her Art Career
Mary K. Okheena began drawing when she was a teenager. At age nineteen, in 1977, she sold her very first drawing. A Catholic missionary named Father Henri Tardy invited her to help with stencil printing. This happened after she created a large embroidery design for his church.
Father Tardy had brought printmaking to Holman. He also helped start the Holman Eskimo Co-operative in 1961. He taught Mary how to make stencils using waxed paper. She started printing in 1977 when the manager of the Holman Print Shop, John Rose, asked her to learn printmaking.
Mary started her professional printing career by printing images made by other artists. These prints were part of the yearly Holman print collections in 1979 and 1980-1981. In 1986, Mary began printing her own designs at the Holman Print Shop. She had worked at the print shop on and off between 1977 and 1982, especially when her oldest children were babies. Mary worked for the Holman Print Shop longer than any other artist there at the time.
Mary eventually left the print shop. This was partly because of health problems caused by the chemicals used in printmaking. She then set up her own art studio at home. Besides printing, Mary also enjoys crocheting, quilting, carving, making wall hangings, and sewing clothes for her family.
Mary Okheena also illustrated a children’s book. It was called The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales by John Bierhorst, published in 1997.
Mary K. Okheena's Artwork
Her Unique Prints
Mary K. Okheena uses a special stencil technique in her prints. This method helps her create soft and glowing changes in color. She often simplifies the shapes of animals and people in her art.
Mary is often inspired by the faces of children. She also uses symbols important to her culture, like the inukshuk, in her work. An inukshuk is a stone landmark built by Inuit people. She has created her own way of storytelling through her art. Her work shows the traditions of both Holman Inuvialuit families and the Copper Inuit. You can see this in her print Shaman Dances to Northern Lights. She mixes Inuit art styles with ideas from other cultures.
Throughout her career, 74 of her drawings have been turned into prints. She personally printed 36 of these herself. She also printed 31 works designed by other artists. In 1988, Mary K. Okheena was asked to create a print for the cover of the Northwest Territories Telephones’ phone book.
Major Art Shows
Mary K. Okheena's art has been shown in many important exhibitions:
- 1989 - Contemporary Inuit Drawings at the Art Gallery of Guelph
- 1993 - Inuit Art: Tradition and Regeneration at the Canadian Museum of History
- 1995 - Keeping Our Stories Alive: An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada at Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
- 2001 - Holman: Forty Years of Graphic Art organized by the Winnipeg Art Gallery
Where to See Her Art
Many museums and art galleries have Mary K. Okheena's prints in their permanent collections. This means you can see her art there any time. Some of these places include:
