Together We Rise for Women Artists
July 17, 2023 | https://www.facebook.com/artgirlrising
An enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians (one of six comprising the Haudenosaunee Confederacy) and of German-Scottish ancestry, Marie Watt incorporates community and storytelling throughout her making process as well as in the narratives of her completed works. M. Watt merges the Indigenous feminist customs of the community-centred process, politically charged Indigenous artistic practices, and collaborative methodologies that recentre Indigenous voice and experience.
M. Watt grew up in Seattle, Washington. Her upbringing in the Northwest and her Indigenous identity have shaped her artistic practice. In her textile practice, M. Watt uses repurposed blankets as a marker for our memories and stories, especially of loved ones, such as in Blanket Stories (2004-Ongoing). These blankets refer to Indigenous use and history being reclaimed; M. Watt asserts Indigenous cultural continuity in the history of settler trade, genocidal attempts (settlers giving blankets infected with illnesses like smallpox to Indigenous people), the adoption of the blanket into Indigenous cultural norms (such as gifts to individuals for participating in important events), and, finally, the blanket as an item that accompanies us at birth and in death. The forms of these blankets have totemic sculptural qualities that draw on the conifers and carved totems of the Pacific Northwest. In her other blanket-focused works that include community-based stitching projects, M. Watt employs Indigenous-making practices, or making alongside and with community members, that is more about the process and Indigenous feminist space created by encouraging other crafters to “leave their mark”.
While M. Watt is best known for her blankets, which she started in 2002, she also utilizes other mediums, including painting, printmaking and various materials, such as cornhusks and stone.
