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Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — Sitting at her vendor table amidst delicate looking necklaces, eye-catching earings and small leather pouches, or medicine bags, bearing intricate beadwork and designs, Athabascan artist Karen Rifredi is quick to mention her craft is a dying art.

“This is a skill that really has lost interest,” Rifredi said of the art of porcupine quill needle work that was on display and for sale at the arts and crafts area of the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics held at the Carlson Center this week.

The loss of interest, she surmised, is the level of difficulty, and sometimes the likelihood of a painful poke, involved in gathering, treating and using quills. Looking at the sparkle and shine of the hand-made jewelry and other items on display at her table, however, suggested it was worth the effort — depending on the number of pokes.

“Quills are tricky. You have to pull them out quick and hard, then make the hole bleed to get it cleaned out,” she advised. “They’re not poisonous, but they are oily and dirty.”

Rifredi had dabbled in various craftwork in the past, and heard the call to quill work during a visit to the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota where she witnessed the beauty of quill needle work for the first time. Determined to master the skill but unable to find anyone who knew how to do it — it was extremely difficult to even find any literature about it, she said — she decided to use a “trial-and-error” method. She learned how to harvest the quills — cut out all the hair around them first then hold down the quills with one hand and pull out the ones above the flattened ones, doing it a layer at a time — and how to prepare and utilize them, stitching them in various designs. She started by making wall hangings and eventually graduated to picture frames, medicine pouches and gloves and using quills as accents in jewelry.

“This is a plaited or flattened design,” she said, pointing to a quill accent sewn into a bracelet. “These bracelets sell out so fast. I can’t hold onto them.”

Two years after she started her experimental self-teaching method she came across an instructional book, but she had already taught herself nearly everything in it. She also had learned enough on her own to disagree with some of its advice.

“It says to store the needles in bleach, but I like to just use their natural oils,” she said, adding if she has quills that are a bit messy — the source of much of her quill stock is roadkill — she uses a bit of dish soap to clean them.

It took about 15 years from the time she started practicing quill needle work to feeling comfortable enough to teach it, which she now does for the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage and occasionally at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “I had to come of my shell,” she said of her teaching, having been quite shy before she became used to instructing a group of students on the art. Many of her students can hardly thread a needle when they begin her week-long classes, but, by the end of the week they can do bead work with two needles and quills, she said.

“I tell my students you can make it as an artist with quill work but it is a lot of work,” she said.

While it takes her experienced hands just a half an hour to produce a new, unique pair of quill earrings, that is not counting the many hours of work that lead up to the production. First comes the gathering of the porcupine, which can be “a messy process,” she said. The animal then goes into the freezer overnight, which is a trial in itself because porcupines are “one of the 10 smelliest animals,” she said. Then the plucking or quill harvesting begins, a process that can take 8 to 10 hours. The quills are stored in containers, soaking in their own oils, and when she is ready to use the quills she clips them and soaks them in liquid for an hour or so until they are soft enough to work with. For some projects, like the plaited bracelet, the sewing itself takes up to eight hours.

The man-hours involved contribute to the price of Rifredi’s items — a picture frame made of deer hide from Germany, tanned with cod fish oil and adorned with quills and bead work comes with a $200 price tag — but customers have no quips with making the payment.

“It is definitely worth it. It is beautiful,” a customer at WEIO exclaimed.

The arts and crafts vending is “just a hobby” for Rifredi, who puts most of her energy into her teaching. The skill has also become a family interest, with pieces on sale made by her daughter, Amanda Attla, and her 13-year-old granddaughter, Chelsea Attla.

“Chelsea has more interest in the quill work than her mom,” Rifredi said, pointing to a few jewelry pieces made by Chelsea’s hand.

Amanda also had work on display, mostly done with deer hide and bead work.

The quill needle work was just one of many incredible forms of traditional art displayed at the WEIO arts and crafts sale. Tables were full of hand-carved wood and ivory pieces, paintings, weaving, sculptures, clothing, furs and more. The event is an important part of culture and life, Rifredi said, and offers the opportunity not only to participate in the traditional athletic events that are often in the spotlight at WEIO but also to share other important elements of culture.

“It is such a great atmosphere. Everyone knows everyone, everyone helps everyone. It is a family thing,” she said.

Rifredi lives in the Athabascan village of Nulato near the Yukon River. She has been selling her art at WEIO for the last four years but has attended the event for much longer. Her jewelry, gloves, picture frames and other items will be available on display throughout the remainder of the event, which holds its closing ceremonies tonight.