Artist-in-Residence
Nicole Travers
Nicole Travers was born and raised in the small hamlet of Little Port, Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk. Travers is a Mi’kmaw woman and artist. She is a self-taught beader who started practicing just after the birth of her first child in 2015. Nicole always admired the intricate detailed beadwork of her Mi’kmaq ancestors that is now located in museums. Life had taken Nicole to Alberta for several years but returned to her hometown with her partner to raise their two girls. Nicole felt it was imperative that her children be raised with the same relationship with traditions, culture, and land as she. For Nicole, creating art is a process of remaining connected to nature and finding the natural flow of each piece. By following her intuition, visions, and dreams, it often allows her to see the completed piece prior to its completion. Influenced by the traditional Mi’kmaq double curve, petroglyphs and hieroglyphs, Nicole marries historical styles of beadwork with modern day techniques into contemporary form. More recently she has begun to tan various animal pelts and skins into leather using traditional teachings and has started to utilize home tanned fish skin into her art, creating sought after unique pieces.