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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Few can imagine colourful art coming from the back of a moose.

But, moose hair tufting, as a group of women discovered over the weekend, is an exacting art form with rewarding results.

Lucy Simon of Jean Marie River sorts moose hair to add to her tufting picture of a flower with purple and white petals. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Under the guidance of Lucy Simon, seven women created their own moose hair tufting pictures in Fort Simpson during a two day workshop from Feb. 21 to 22 that was organized by the Open Sky Creative Society.

Included in the finished products was a perfectly formed, brightly coloured flower.

Simon, a well known traditional artist from Jean Marie River, said she enjoys teaching moose hair tufting in part because she wants to spread an appreciation of traditional art forms to others. If people do a project they understand the amount of work that goes into it and why traditional artworks can be pricey.

"I want people to know that," she said.

Doing a moose hair tufting project takes a long time, most of which is devoted to prep work. To make something like a picture, a broach or a hairpin you first need a moose, but not just any moose will do.

The hair for the traditional art form has to be taken from a moose in the winter. Winter moose grow thick hair to insulate themselves, said Simon. Only the long hair from the hump on the back of the neck is used.

Hunting the moose, however, is just the first step. The hair has to be cut off the hide using a sharp knife and washed with a mild dish soap to remove its coating of natural oil.

"If you don't wash it it won't dye properly," Simon said.

Dying is the next step. There's a variety of ways to dye the moose hair from its natural white and gray to the bright colours seen in the artworks. Simon's used everything from fabric dye to food colouring to bingo daubers. There are also traditional materials that will work as dyes including high and low bush cranberries.

"But you have to use a lot of cranberries," she said.

Once the hair is prepared making the flowers and other designs is a matter of sorting out the longest hairs and gathering them into small bundles. The hair, which is dampened slightly to make it pliable, is then folded over once or twice. Using a needle and sinew the compressed bundle is fastened tightly in the middle to wherever it's needed on the background, which can be moose hide or velvet.

Details like flower petals are formed by cutting open the bend ends of the bundle and using small scissors to trim the resulting tuft into the right shape. Depending on the size, two to three bundles are needed for every petal and leaf.

The traditional art requires an attention to detail and a keen eye but using her years of experience Simon makes it look easy.

"This is my hobby. I just love doing it," she said.

For the participants the workshop provided an opportunity to find out how the unique works of art are made. The workshop was a learning experience for Shirley Pommier, a nurse from Vernon, B.C, who's working in the health clinic in Fort Simpson.

"It's an extremely unique experience. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world," said Pommier.