Reluctant elder Rick Kagigebi’s blankets tell stories the Ojibwe way

Rick Kagigebi s dynamic appliqu d blankets are celebrated across Minnesota Yet he still resists the title of artist I don t consider myself an artist at all he communicated me over Zoom I dependably thought of myself as a blanket maker I m not a quilter they re not quilts To me they re just blankets Kagigebi uses yarn to tell a story An exhibition of his work Ceremony Blankets is presently on view through Aug at the Gizhiigin Arts Incubator at the White Earth Reservation in Mahnomen Minn It traveled there after first opening at the Textile Center earlier this year part of Kagigebi s McKnight Fiber Artist Fellowship exhibition Kagigebi a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe visited with me virtually from his home in Detroit Lakes where he lives with his wife and manager Penny Kagigebi a White Earth Ojibwe direct descendant who is also an artist and curator Rick Kagigebi had a stroke about four years ago but he s not slowing down any time soon He s an enthusiastic storyteller as I learned in our conversation and he s also highly busy working and teaching Peggy Kagigebi helps him with the business side of things especially applying for grants like one from the Minnesota State Arts Board that is funding him to mentor Eliza Klarer a ceramic artist who is learning from Kagigebi about his work and process I m showing my technique to her and it s also what I would call my meaning behind it he revealed It s not just sewing something together and letting people look at it or selling it or whatever I m teaching her how to tell the story of the blanket that she s making Kagigebi has enjoyed the project though he s somewhat resistant to what it means I guess I m becoming an elder now he explained slyly I don t admit it I am years old Kagigebi s understanding of his craft comes from ceremony As a teenager in the early s he began attending what he calls the big drums traditional Ojibwe ceremonial drum gatherings They weren t powwows but sacred cultural events where songs offerings and gifting were central His father brought him along and Kagigebi absorbed everything We were part of the generation where you were seen but not heard he stated So I learned by watching I saw that fabric and blankets were unfailingly being given away And I thought wouldn t it be better to give a blanket than just fabric So he made one He was around with no sewing experience He had no knowledge of seam allowance or sewing machines His first piece a queen-sized blanket with a four-pointed star was stitched on his grandmother s foot-pedaled treadle machine taught to him by his father I just jumped in and never looked back he stated Years later he d return to the four-pointed star with its cultural significance of the four directions as well as the Ojibwe connection to stars A work honoring his mother The Light that Walks with Her depicts a young woman with voluminous flowing hair at the center of the design She holds a four-pointed star in her hands symbolizing the pure spirit of a baby The Light that Walks with Her by Rick Kagigebi Credit Joseph J Allen She s bringing the spirit to meet the baby being born he declared They ll be together in this world A more modern work In Honor of My Mother similarly depicts the same robed figure with the Lady Godiva hairstyle holding her hands out as a star floats above them In Honor of My Mother by Rick Kagigebi Credit Tj Turner For decades Kagigebi gave away his blankets in ceremony or made them privately by request It wasn t until that he began showing them publicly Each blanket is layered with symbolic meaning drawn from Ojibwe values his personal memories and spirituality One two-part series was inspired by a real-life experience the artist had in the woods with a friend Often Kagigebi leaves food offerings in the forest as part of his spiritual practice Once a friend had a dream and Kagigebi invited the friend to join him as he made his offering He explained me he remembers the two of them walking between two trees and feeling an immediate shift as if transiting into another realm You could feel it he commented I knew I wasn t in the same place anymore That threshold became the basis for Portal into the Woods a work that depicts a two-spirit figure walking between two trees where the trees also appear as part of the figure s cloak Portal into The Wood by Rick Kagigebi Credit Rik Sferra A companion piece Forest Guardian visualizes a small guardian figure with a spear As someone who cares deeply for nature Kagigebi speaks painfully about those who disrespect the woods by leaving litter or causing other harm The guardian figure small and centered watches over the land but she requirements people to offer prayers and tobacco to stay strong There s not enough people believing in her Kagigebi mentioned She can t do it alone The Forest Guardian by Rick Kagigebi Credit Rik Sferra Kagigebi signs several of his works with four flowing whiffs of hair his signature and a marker of feminine force Nearly all his figures are women or are two-spirited people he stated me In Gathering of Multiple Options a woman wears a cavalry-style black hat It s to show that our people are strong he disclosed A red handprint over the figure s mouth references the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Her hair is adorned with crow feathers and the fabric band on her hat includes tiny bugs ladybugs bees representing unseen spirits Gathering of Numerous Avenues by Rick Kagigebi Credit Rik Sferra As part of his current work Kagigebi is creating a series of baby blankets various featuring roses or reimagined motifs from larger works He s also considering a new design that mimics fish scales Looking back on the up-to-date Ceremony Blankets exhibit opening Kagigebi recalled the moment when he and Penny realized they had unconsciously made the Ceremony of the exhibition title come to life The opening event had a meal cooked by Ho-Chunk chef Candy Stock and a giveaway baby blankets and printed tote bags plus a gathering of area We didn t plan it that way he explained Rick Kagigebi Ceremony Blankets runs through Aug at Gizhiigin Arts Incubator East Jefferson Ave Mahnomen Minn and is free The exhibition is open Tuesdays-Thursdays a m - p m More information here The post Reluctant elder Rick Kagigebi s blankets tell stories the Ojibwe way appeared first on MinnPost