A Conversation with Karen Ann Hoffman

Karen Ann Hoffman is an artist and citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Since the 1990s, she has been creating peace, beauty, and meaning through her Haudenosaunee Raised Beadwork, an art form that is unique to the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and characterized by lines of beads that arch above the textile surface.

Raised beadwork is an Iroquoian technique developed in the early 1800s in which beads are sewn together to create three-dimensional pieces. This technique reached Wisconsin in July of 1998 when the Oneida Nation Arts Program invited Samuel Thomas and Lorna Hill to teach their style of raised beadwork (see Resource).

Hoffman is one of the 2024 National Art Education Association Artist Series featured speakers. I had the honor of speaking with Ms. Hoffman recently about life, becoming an artist, working in the studio, and other topics.