I first met birch bark biting artist and jewelry deisgner Wanesia Misquadace at the Native Treasures show in Santa Fe this past spring. In spite of the fact that we had never met, a couple of months before, she had added me as a Facebook friend. So, we felt like we already knew each other when we finally did meet face-to-face. The mother of little Mossimo, whom she shares with her husband Diné jewelry designer Fritz Casuse (who I will profile later this week on “The Road to Indian Market 2010”), Misquadace also balances a career as wife and artist and does it all well! As a matter of fact, Misquadace is one of only about ten artists in North America that does birch bark biting, which involves peeling the thin layers off of the birch tree, and then biting the bark with the eyetooth to create beautiful designs ranging from turtles to flowers or hummingbirds. Wanesia has been doing SWAIA Indian Market for the last five years, and her birch biting techniques have led to incorporating them into gorgeous fine jewelry as well. Lucky for me, I recently caught Wanesia attending art openings in downtown Santa Fe, and she talked to me about what the road to Indian Market is like for her. If you are in Santa Fe for the 2010 Indian Market on August 21 and 22, come by her booth (#SF519) and say hello. In the meantime, get to know Wanesia by watching her video interview HERE:
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