ALL LEVELS


A Conversation with Karen Ann Hoffman

Frank Juárez

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Photo of artist by James Kelly.

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.

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Karen Ann Hoffman, Rock Art Caribou, 2015, glass beads on velvet, Lake Superior agates in a ceramic frame, 32 x 30" (81 x 76 cm), photo by James Gill Photography.

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Feather Holder, 2014, fourteen-karat gold and glass beads on velvet, 16 x 5" (40.5 x 12.5 cm), photo by James Gill Photography.

First Memories of Making Art
Hoffman stated that she is not sure if there is a difference bet ween making and participating in art. She recalls sitting on her mother’s lap at age three, listening to her read a book. Her mother was a voracious reader. At such a young age, Hoffman was exposed to the literary arts, and they became an important part of her creative life. She also said that as a young child, she would sit and watch her father’s musical performances.

Another memory she shared was creating a watercolor painting in sixth or seventh grade. Her middle-school art teacher scolded her for using too many bright colors. Hoffman explained that her mother was a volunteer at a local library, and she would check out art reproductions for her children. She wanted to expose them to a variety of art forms. All four siblings would choose an art reproduction that they could look at in the comfort of their home. Perhaps she painted such a vibrant watercolor painting in class because she was influenced by the Picasso art reproduction she chose.

The life Hoffman lived as a child carved a path of self-discovery. The way people viewed art was not the way that she viewed art.

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