Dec. 3—SPALDING — Whether an artist has just started creating or has been doing it their whole life, it all comes back to sharing something they love with others.
More than 20 artists and booths filled the Nez Perce National Historical Park at the Spalding Visitor Center on Saturday with numerous shoppers looking at craftwork from beading, woodworking, painting and sewing for the 25th Beadwork Bazaar.
The bazaar is also the last event at the visitor’s center before a remodel that is expected to be completed in early April. The visitor’s center will be closed, but the rest of the park will remain open, according to park employees Vivian Henry and Jared Wicks.
At one table was Daisy Ford, of Lapwai, who was selling beaded jewelry, soaps and coin purses. She only started sewing six months ago when a friend encouraged her to start crafting. Ford’s daughter buys scraps from Pendleton blankets from Pendleton, Ore., and Ford turns those into coin purses.
“I love doing it,” she said. “It keeps my mind off things.”
Although she enjoys sewing, Ford wants to grow her craft and learn to do more, like making ribbon skirts. However, she doesn’t put pressure on herself to finish a certain number of items in a week.
“Just whatever the Lord blesses me with,” Ford said.
Crafting is in Ford’s family; her mother was a sewer and her daughter and granddaughter also do different crafts. Her daughter makes soaps and her granddaughter does beadwork using turquoise from Arizona and bones purchased in Lapwai. All those items were sold at the bazaar and next week, Ford is planning to sell more at an event at the Clearwater River Casino.
“It’s a family thing,” Ford said. “We craft together.”
Ford wasn’t the only one turning the bazaar into a family event. Siblings Kevin Peters and Valerie Albert, both of Lapwai, had their own tables at the bazaar. For Peters and Albert, they have been doing various forms of artwork for most of their lives.
Peters graduated from Lewiston High School in 1975 and took art classes there, but said he’s been crafting since he was 10 years old. Then he went to art school in Santa Fe, N.M. Eventually he ended up working at the Nez Perce National Historical Park at Spalding as an interpreter for about 30 years.
“So my art got me into all of this,” Peters said.
Albert has been an artist for 20 years, but will soon start to grow the business side and is now listed in the tribal directory. She is also working on a website rather than having to rely on Facebook and word of mouth to sell her items. For now she’s working out of her house. She is excited to retire in January because she will have more time to dedicate to her artistic crafts.
“This is my love — art is my love,” Albert said.
By the end of the day, Albert had nearly sold out of her items. The most popular was a lip balm made from qaaws qaaws-infused hemp seed oil. It took her a while to figure out how to blend the hemp oil with the qaaws qaaws, but once she found the right blend she was pleased with the result. And so, it seemed, were the people who bought the lip balm.
She also sold soaps, junk journals and mugs. The junk journals were new so Albert only had a few made, but she sold out. She learned about the type of journals, which is a handmade book of different types of material, from an event at Washington State University with Peters. She enjoyed making them and the ones she made with a Native theme seemed to be popular with shoppers.
Although Albert was sold out, she was already starting on her project, drawing a new image in a sketchbook, which will eventually be sold. She said it can be hard to part ways with the things she’s created.
“It is (hard). I never keep any for myself,” Albert said. “I don’t have any of my own paintings.”
Peters had several items at his table from beadwork, paintings and dancing sticks. The dancing sticks were made of pine and painted as a representation of the appaloosa horse, with hair extensions used as manes as well as other beading. Each horse was painted and designed differently from each other. He also designed and decorated a wooden box that was painted in the style of the beadwork he does.
Peters was also part of designing a mural and canoe display at the visitor’s center, and a blanket hanging on the wall behind the front counter, which was co-created with Albert.
Both Peters and Albert enjoy having different artforms to choose from. Peters said he goes back and forth between different media when he thinks of different ideas.
“As an artist, I get influences from all over,” Peters said.
Even though he’s no longer working as an interpreter for the historical park, for Peters his art continues his work.
“It’s still storytelling in a way,” Peters said.
But he still gets the occasional phone call from his former employer.
“Once an interpreter, you’re always an interpreter,” Peters said. “Once an artist, always an artist.”
Albert’s art took on a new role after her grandson, Elias “Suge” Albert-Spencer, was killed in May in Lapwai. She almost didn’t come to the event, but Albert knew her grandson would have wanted her to be there. He always encouraged her artwork and when she showed him what she made, he would say, “Grandma, that’s fire,” she said.
Elias would also come to events like the beadwork bazaar where Albert would sell her artwork. Toward the end of the event if she had artwork left he would take her items around the room until it was all sold.
“He was such a personality,” she said.
Her artwork helped her process her loss.
“It was really healing. I depended on it a lot,” Albert said, even though at first she didn’t want to return to it. “Once I started, then bam — I realized how much I missed it.”
So Albert was also happy to return to the event. For her and others there, it’s more than selling artwork; it’s sharing those pieces with the community.
Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.
