Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty
Encyclopedia
Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty (born 1969) is an award-winning Assiniboine-Sioux
bead worker and porcupine quill worker, who creates traditional Northern Plains regalia.
in 1969; however, her family comes from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation
, where Juanita spent much of her childhood.
Her mother, Joyce Growing Thunder Fogarty, is also an acclaimed bead and quill artist and the only artist to have won best of show three times at the Santa Fe Indian Market
. Both artists come from a long line of Plains Indians
bead workers. Juanita learned skills from her mother and has been beading since the age of three.
or porcupine quill embroidery
.
Her quillwork
is labor intensive. She gathers her own quills from freshly killed porcupines, then washes and dyes them. She uses both synthetic and natural dye
s, such as bloodroot
, blackberries
, and wolf moss
. Sorting the quills by color and size is the lengthiest step in the process. The quills are then softened in a bath of warm water, and Fogarty flattens them with her own teeth. She then appliqués or wraps the quills to moose or deer hide to create intricate patterns.
The designs of her artwork can are both abstract and realistic and are based on nature, daily life, and the mythology of her tribes. She says that traditional designs of her tribe would, "reflect what the people saw, and what they had going on in their lives at the time ... maybe somebody in their family had gone to war or battle."
Fogarty has won best of class four times at the Santa Fe Indian Market. She also dances at powwow
s in regalia created by her family over the course of seven years. Today she lives in North San Juan, California
.
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
bead worker and porcupine quill worker, who creates traditional Northern Plains regalia.
Background
Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty was born in Castro Valley, CaliforniaCastro Valley, California
Castro Valley is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States...
in 1969; however, her family comes from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation
Fort Peck Indian Reservation
The Fort Peck Indian Reservation is near Fort Peck, Montana. It is the homeland of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Native Americans. It is the ninth-largest Indian reservation in the United States and comprises parts of four counties. In descending order of land area they are Roosevelt, Valley,...
, where Juanita spent much of her childhood.
Her mother, Joyce Growing Thunder Fogarty, is also an acclaimed bead and quill artist and the only artist to have won best of show three times at the Santa Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA over two days on the weekend after the third Thursday in August and draws an estimated 100,000 people to the city from around the world. The Market was first held in 1922 as the Indian Fair and was sponsored by the...
. Both artists come from a long line of Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
bead workers. Juanita learned skills from her mother and has been beading since the age of three.
Artwork
Fogarty creates traditional Plains clothing and accessories, such as purses, pipe bags, dolls, cradle boards, rifle scabbards, and knife cases – all adorned with beadworkBeadwork
Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another or to cloth, usually by the use of a needle and thread or soft, flexible wire. Most beadwork takes the form of jewelry or other personal adornment, but beads are also used in wall hangings and sculpture.Beadwork techniques are broadly...
or porcupine quill embroidery
Quillwork
Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Native Americans that employs the quills of porcupines as a decorative element.-History:...
.
Her quillwork
Quillwork
Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Native Americans that employs the quills of porcupines as a decorative element.-History:...
is labor intensive. She gathers her own quills from freshly killed porcupines, then washes and dyes them. She uses both synthetic and natural dye
Natural dye
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources – roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood — and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens....
s, such as bloodroot
Bloodroot
Bloodroot is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia, Canada southward to Florida, United States...
, blackberries
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
, and wolf moss
Letharia vulpina
Letharia vulpina, commonly known as the wolf lichen, is a fruticose lichenized species of fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is bright yellow-green, shrubby and highly branched, and grows on the bark of living and dead conifers in parts of western and continental Europe, the Pacific Northwest...
. Sorting the quills by color and size is the lengthiest step in the process. The quills are then softened in a bath of warm water, and Fogarty flattens them with her own teeth. She then appliqués or wraps the quills to moose or deer hide to create intricate patterns.
The designs of her artwork can are both abstract and realistic and are based on nature, daily life, and the mythology of her tribes. She says that traditional designs of her tribe would, "reflect what the people saw, and what they had going on in their lives at the time ... maybe somebody in their family had gone to war or battle."
Fogarty has won best of class four times at the Santa Fe Indian Market. She also dances at powwow
PowWow
PowWow is a wireless sensor network mote developed by the Cairn team of IRISA/INRIA. The platform is currently based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard radio transceiver and on an MSP430 microprocessor...
s in regalia created by her family over the course of seven years. Today she lives in North San Juan, California
North San Juan, California
North San Juan is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States, along State Route 49 on the San Juan Ridge in Gold Country. The zip code is 95960...
.