The Stunning Astronomical Beadwork of Native Artist Margaret Nazon
Margaret Nazon
has spent the past decade building intricate beadwork depictions of outer space. The colorful artworks balance representational and
stylized aesthetics set on black fabric backgrounds to depict galaxies, planets, nebulae, and other astronomical phenomena.
Initially inspired by Hubble space telescope images, Nazon’s celestial renderings are part of a lifelong interest in beading. In an interview with Glenbow, the artist shared that she began beading at age 10, but found the density of traditional beadwork to be tedious.
The abstract nature of celestial images allows Nazon to be more interpretive and incorporate different materials like caribou bones and willow seeds that have location-specific or cultural significance.
Nazon is Tsiigehtchic, part of the Gwich’in
community in what is now the Northwest Territories of Canada. The artist explained that because she is retired, she is able to dedicate significant time to beading, and often rises at
4:30am to begin working. Nazon plans to continue experimenting, including merging her abstract beadwork with her seamstress skills to create artfully embellished apparel.
Nazon’s artwork was most recently exhibited at Glenbow in a group show, Cosmos, and A Beaded Universe at Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. You can read more about her in the Glenbow interview, and explore Nazon’s portfolio on her website.
I saw this when she was a featured artist in Yellowknife and not only is her work incredible, she did work with students in town encouraging them to explore different art mediums— it was super fun!
I have a research background in weight stigma and I currently work in mental health, often with LGBTQ+ clients.
I’ve met nonbinary people who struggle with disordered eating because they only ever see androgyny depicted as featureless thinness.
I’ve met trans women who struggle with disordered eating because they’ve internalized the idea that girls are meant to be thin, dainty, and delicate.
I’ve men trans men who struggle with disordered eating, because they feel women are allowed to be soft/curvy but men need to be muscular or thin and flat.
So many trans people are convinced that weight loss is the key to appearing as their desired gender, even when they want radically different gender presentations.
The societal idealization of thinness and fatphobia falsely invades and derails people’s idea of what their “ideal body” should look like.
The social effects of privileging thinness are so damaging. Like, it’s hard enough to deviate from expected gender roles and binary sexuality but now fat people have to do it on hard mode
Some of the biggest fantasy worldbuilding fails that I see, in no particular order
Gods without religion. The Gods are real and a known historical fact, but virtually nobody is religious.
Cultural racism/discrimination without structural racism/discrimination. Discrimination that exists only in microagressions or mean comments, without existing in any sort of structural way.
Secret history with no clear reason for it to be secret and no clear method for maintaining that secrecy. Major parts of the world’s history are kept entirely secret, even though there’s not an obvious reason to do so and even when history has shown this is virtually impossible to enforce (especially in a world with any movement or communication across borders).
Large, homogeneous countries. Even without immigration, virtually no country larger than the Vatican will be fully homogeneous in terms of culture, dialect, beliefs, traditions, etc., much less a large one with limited communication technology as is often seen in fantasy. The Planet of Hats problem.
