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.

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.

Becoming an Artist
Hoffman was introduced to the art world by her mentor, Menominee sculptor James Frechette Jr., known for his Menominee Clans Story, which shares the heritage and complex systems of the Native American Nation through wood-carved figures. Throughout Hoffman’s mentorship, he shared that the life of an artist is a painful road that is competitive with often little support.

As Hoffman continued to talk about her mentorship, my mind began to make connections between what she said and how the art world is today— competitive. We both agreed that we favored cooperation over competition. Can you imagine what this world would look like if we worked together and helped one another succeed?

By this point in our conversation, I understood how important it is to share our stories with others and find mentors. As artists, being part of a community is essential to our personal and artistic growth. Sometimes it is good to sit back and observe.

In the Studio
Social media tends to glamorize the studio as a large open space with tall ceilings, large windows, and natural light pouring onto large-scale artworks. We tend to place these types of studios in larger cities such as Chicago, New York, Miami, or Los Angeles. An artist’s studio can indeed vary by size and location. However, a studio can exist anywhere. Artists spend much of their creative time in that space to ponder, research, experiment, and create.

I found it comforting to hear Hoffman say that her studio is at her kitchen table. Although it is for making art, it also has a deeper meaning and serves as a place to gather or have a conversation. Everything she needs is right there. She designs exhibitions centered around the kitchen table.

Hoffman’s process involves contemplation, research, being outdoors, and planning how to honor the Native Americans who came before her. Each of her beadworks can take a year or more to create, which she refers to as legacy pieces. She thinks deeply about tradition. The design, shape, and visual combinations are designed for her, resulting in her work having a voice on current events through a cultural lens. Each piece is emotionally exhausting and demands all her attention. She says, “Legacy pieces are alive.”

Message
As our conversation slowly came to an end, I wondered what message Hoffman hoped that art educators would leave with as she shared her art and story. She summed it up beautifully by saying, “Native art is beautiful, intentional, and deeply meaningful.” When we look at Native art with this in mind, we begin to look at it beyond craft. Art is a living thing.