Yup’ik, Cup’ig, and Sámi artist Kelsie Sara Ford says that as a mom to a 7-year-old daughter and eight-month-old son, she doesn’t have a lot of time to herself to do what she wants.
“Being a mom and an artist is kind of hard, the overlap is so significant,” Ford said. “I really have to pick and choose how intentional I want to be with pieces. Do I want to stay up late and work on pieces, or do I want to get some rest?”
Ford says that she began dabbling into skin sewing, tanning and dying her own fish leather, as well as beading and drawing once the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020. She primarily sells her beadwork pieces through her Instagram and Facebook pages.
“I could deep dive more into my Sámi culture and my Yup’ik culture as well,” Ford said. “I had all these materials bought previously with plans of working… once covid hit, I had way too much time and needed an outlet,” Ford said.
Ford says the list of what she wants to work on is always growing, but she has to sit down and actually do it — otherwise she won’t be able to stop thinking about it. Typically, her pieces take two to four hours depending on how intricate the piece is.
The Bethel-based artist describes her art style as neo-traditional and slowly made, and she’s always trying to add her own style to her designs. She doesn’t do custom orders, but instead works at her own pace.
“I just want a little piece of me in my artwork to be put out there for people to either have, to gift, just to be out in the world,” Ford said. “I think that each artist has a different thing they can put in the world that makes it just a little bit better.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
