Project Idea
Welcome to the story behind the project. This is personal project that I came up with a few years ago, and I am currently bringing it to life.
In January 2025, I ordered a print of the map of the reservation from Big Bear Media(Oneida Nation Owned print place). A few weeks later I came back to pick it up, and was new to motherhood. I occasionally would brainstorm what I wanted the project to look like. At this point I wanted the roads beaded, Duck Creek quilled, and the quadrants filled with various combinations of beadwork and quillwork. In February 2026, I traced the map onto tracing paper, attached it to white foundation, and cut out a picture frame(help with stability). Then, I began beading in late February.
…right before beginning to bead roads. I used shiny bugle beads and did two-needle bead technique.
In April 2026, I began raised beadwork on Duck Creek.
As I was finishing up the water, I was drawn towards adding something to else to the map. I used this 13 Moons Turtle image as inspiration, and drew my own on my iPad. Then, used a projector to trace my turtle onto the map.
Spent the whole month of June dyeing over 13 shades of green for each shell of the turtle (or, color for each moon) and colors like blue, brown, and orange to be used in the background. a group of community members joined me at the Oneida Arts Cottage for dyeing and sorting the quills. I attempted to start quilling with the zig-zag technique, but was not comfortable starting quite yet. So, I practiced on a mini version of the turtle.
In mid-July, I gained enough confidence to jump back in and I have been consistently quilling everyday. This image shows just two hours of quillwork for me. It’s a slow process.
This is after a week and a half of quilling 1-2 hours per day.
Getting close to finishing one shell of the turtle’s back. Three weeks of quilling so far. Lots to go.
Check back next week for updates!
Quill Colors
