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 K. Okheena is a talented Inuvialuk artist. She is famous for her stencil prints, drawings, and embroidery. She is one of the important artists from the Canadian Arctic. Mary lives in Inuvik with her husband Eddie and their five children. She enjoys making beautiful wall hangings and embroidery.
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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 sculptor and printmaker. He even helped start the Holman Island Eskimo Co-operative. Mary's mother, Nora Memorana, was very skilled 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. This inspired her to become a printmaker herself.
Her Artistic Career
Mary K. Okheena started drawing when she was a teenager. By the time she was nineteen, in 1977, she sold her very first drawing. A priest named Father Henri Tardy invited her to help with stencil printing. She had made a large embroidery design for his church.
Father Tardy was the one who first brought printmaking to Holman. He also helped create the Holman Eskimo Co-operative in 1961. He taught Mary how to make special stencils from waxed paper. She began printing in 1977 when the manager of the Holman Print Shop asked her to learn the skill.
Mary started her professional printing career by printing designs made by other artists. These prints were included in the annual Holman print collections from 1979 and 1980-1981. In 1986, she began printing her own artwork at the Holman Print Shop. Mary worked at the Holman Print Shop for a long time, even while her oldest children were babies.
Eventually, Mary left the print shop. This was partly because the chemicals used in printmaking caused some health problems for her. She then set up her own art studio at home. Besides printing, Mary also enjoys crocheting, quilting, carving, and making wall hangings. She also sews clothes for her family.
Mary K. Okheena also illustrated a children's book. It was called The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales by John Bierhorst, published in 1997.
Mary's Artwork
Printmaking Style
Mary K. Okheena uses a special stencil technique in her prints. This helps her create beautiful, soft 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 images that are important to her culture, like the inukshuk. An inukshuk is a stone landmark built by Inuit people. She has a unique way of storytelling through her art. She combines the traditions of her Inuvialuit family with those of the Copper Inuit. You can see this in her print "Shaman Dances to Northern Lights." She blends 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 artwork 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 galleries have Mary K. Okheena's prints in their permanent collections. This means you can see her art there anytime. Some of these places include:
