Melissa Peter-Paul
Mi'kmaw, Abegweit First Nation
2024 Artist Series Kicks Off with the Melissa Peter-Paul Tamarack
"This piece reflects my journey to becoming a professional Mi'kmaw quill artist. When I first learned to quill, I worked on small pieces to develop my skills and the connections required to be open to design inspiration. I completed this piece in 2019, the same year that I debuted as a professional, and I feel deeply connected to it because it reflects the transition from being an apprentice to a quill worker. I am very proud of this piece, and it continues to inspire me to create larger, more complex designs, as my grandmothers did before me."
Meet the Artist
Melissa Peter-Paul
Melissa, a Mi'kmaw woman from Abegweit First Nation, located on Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island, Canada); grew up immersed in cultural teachings and surrounded by a family of basket makers. From a young age, she expressed her artistry through regalia and beadwork, later delving into quillwork, a traditional skill of her maternal grandfather’s ancestors. Accepted into a Mi'kmaq Quill Art apprenticeship in 2015, Melissa mastered traditional insertion techniques and studied cultural teachings and historic publications. Quillwork involves inserting porcupine quills into birchbark, edged with quills, sweetgrass, or spruce root. Through her apprenticeship, Melissa learned harvesting protocols and traditional design geometry, later contributing to the establishment of a community of skilled quill workers. She debuted as a professional Mi'kmaq quill artist in 2019, and her work has been exhibited in galleries across Canada and the United States. She continues to harvest with her family and to train young artists in her community.
