11/18/2025
acimosihkânisak – P***y Willow
Budding p***y willows, furry in the cold as the white of winter melts into spring, anticipating all the colours yet to bloom. acimosihkânisak is p***y willow in nehiyawewin, the Cree language, meaning: "little puppy-likenesses." Our teaching is that dogs love the snow because it carries their ancestors’ spirits. In a joyous reunion, they run around human kin, hard at work frost scraping animal hides. Those hides once smoked will retain the rich scent. There is much visiting and significant work during the winter, but in this slow in-between before the new season, acimosihkânisak represent the beginning, calm days on the precipice of spring as migratory birds begin their journeying while mason bees are awakening from hibernation. My elder told me that all of creation experiences the seasons. We too are reemerging from our burrows, looking out on the possibilities of the new year, fingers savouring the fuzzy touch of the p***y willow buds.
See my new work at the gallery in the current show, White Light.
Reindeer fur, dentalium shells, porcupine quills, smoke tanned hide by artist under mentorship of .and.roe , artificial sinew, seed and delicate beads.
***ywillow
