LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Lucy Simon slides the needle through the small piece of moosehide as Beth Wiley looks on.

Lucy Simon shows Beth Wiley how to make sure the thread is tight enough to make the moose hair tuft on the hairpin she was making as part of a two-day moose hair tufting workshop offered by Open Sky Gallery on March 21 and 22. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

"You have to make sure the thread is tight, otherwise the moose hair won't tuft properly," Simon quietly tells Wiley, one of the nine participants in a two-day workshop on moose hair tufting.

The workshop is one of a half-dozen being offered to residents by Open Sky Gallery since the beginning of March. From fur mitts, to vest-making and moose hair tufting, residents are getting access to traditional art techniques they may not otherwise be exposed to.

Wiley decided to take the workshop because she set a goal this year to give Christmas gifts to her family that were handmade and from the heart.

"I missed being thoughtful and thinking about what they love and their personality," she said of how Christmas has become more about malls and shopping. "It ends up being a lot more personal."

Moose hair tufting is a form of embroidering which produces three-dimensional images by stitching and trimming bundles of dyed moosehair onto tanned hide or birchbark. The Dene art form was pioneered by Boniface Lafferte (Lafferty), a Métis woman from the Fort Simpson area, who was inspired by a resident nun who was stitching patterns with wool.

Wiley's project consisted of a purple flower made out of dyed moose hair - her mother's favourite flower is a purple pansy - and enjoyed the chance to partake in the workshop.

"We spend so much time worrying about what isn't here and it's great to focus on what we do have."

Simon spent much of her time working with each person individually to address questions and troubleshoot aspects of the moose hair tufting that gave participants trouble.

Simon, in many ways, is a national legend known for her intricate and beautiful work. For 47 years Simon has been moose hair tufting, having learned the skill from her grandmother when she was a young girl. Some of her work is on display at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and on the walls of private art collectors all over the world.

One of the biggest pieces she's ever created was a three-foot eagle she completed in the early 1970s. She said it took her nearly six months to finish and required multiple layers of dyed moose hair, especially on the wings. She estimated she used almost a quarter of a moose to complete the project, one she is proud of.

At one point it was on display at the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, until an art collector from France purchased it and shipped it overseas.

Holly Watt, a board member with the gallery and one of the workshop participants, said while she wasn't sure how she'd fair with tufting, she was surprised by how well she picked it up.

"I used to mess around with my mom's sewing machine when I was young and I was nervous about doing it but it comes back to you quite easily," she said, threading the needle in and out of the moose hide that would eventually be a traditional hair pin. "It's kind of like riding a bike."

Being able to work with facilitators like Simon, who are well-respected for the work they do is a great opportunity for artists all skills levels to learn the art form, Watt said.

"I think a big part of this is sharing these skills and passing it on to future generations," she said.