Invited Guest

Nancy Oakley

Nancy E. Oakley is a Mi’kmaw and Mashpee Wampanoag artist, living and working on the Eskasoni First Nation reserve in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she studied Photography and pottery. After graduating She then moved to Nova Scotia and studied for a year at Nova Scotia School of Art and Design, taking courses in Photography, ceramics, weaving and jewelry making, before leaving to start her family. She is now a mother of 6 and grandmother of 4.

Nancy’s artistic journey embodies the richness of Indigenous heritage and a deep connection to the land. Through softly curved pottery forms created by hand and on the wheel, Nancy creates culturally significant pieces that imbue her spiritual and traditional knowledge and honor her role as a mother. Her process is a collaboration with the land. Clay harvested from mother earth and shaped by hand. Pieces are stone polished and smoke fired outdoors with fir tips, seaweed and sawdust, imprinting beautiful smokey finishes. Her pots are then adorned with traditional Mi’kmaq embellishments such as black ash basketry, beadwork, carved and or painted hieroglyphics and braided sweetgrass.

Nancy’s work can be seen at stores across Nova Scotia and Massachuttes, and has had her work shown in several galleries across Canada.

Note about the piece:

I love being able to collaborate and mix pottery with other traditional art practices.  I first learnt basketry from my Aunt Pauline and Uncle Bopee, helping in their studio at a younger age.  This piece is trimmed with sweetgrass, a aromatic plant used for purification.  When  you dampen the sweet grass, the sweet aroma will come back

“Nemu’loq” translate as “I see you”.