Tegan Whitesel

Vibrant Basin

Tegan Whitesel brings traditional Métis material arts to her jewellery making practice. Working from her Kimberley home studio, Tegan fuses beading, hide and metal work into her designs, creating wearable art that integrates the old with the new.
Tegan speaks to Vibrant Basin host Shayna Jones about learning and maintaining traditional Métis beading practices in her community. She describes the channel, or blood memory, that she feels between past and present when she is immersed in her work.
Mentorship, motherhood and community are key components of Tegan’s practice. “Motherhood forces you to distill your passions and make them a priority.” She talks about facing her fears of “not doing it the right way,” of not being “Métis enough.” Her advice for facing your fears when starting to learn something new? “Give yourself some grace and have your own back. Be brave.”
You can find Tegan’s work on her website, teganwhitesel.com, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.
The opinions and perspectives shared by our podcast guests are their own and do not represent the views of West Kootenay Regional Arts Council or its partners.