How Christine Tienkamp put the Rockstar in Grandmother

Christine Tienkamp successfully applied for Creative Saskatchewan’s Craft & Visual Arts Production grant to support the creation of her Grandmother Rockstar collection. In celebration of Métis traditional textiles, Grandmother rockstar is an homage to grandmothers.

Tienkamp explains, “The term in my Métis culture not only refers to grandmothers with biological grandchildren…just caregivers of people in the community… I thought about how Grandmothers maybe should be on tour…Grandmothers still rock, dance, [and] sing,” Tienkamp enthused, “Grandmothers are our biggest supporters. They have paved the way for women to stand up and say ‘hell yes, I’ll do that.’”

For this collection, the artist reflected on photos of Métis beadwork of the late 1800s to inspire the pieces she beaded. She envisioned elegant fabrics and fun rockstar elements.

With the support of the grant, Christine had photographs of her original beadwork transferred onto textiles using an innovative small batch digital printing process. Her one-of-a-kind textiles became wearable pieces, designed, cut and sewn by hand. Thanks to her well-prepared inventory, the artist was able to attend the artisan market at Back to Batoche in Batoche, Saskatchewan where she saw thousands of visitors.

Christine’s company SS River Designs is named after the South Saskatchewan River which flows through her hometown, St. Louis, Saskatchewan. “My community is rich in Michif and French cultures and heritage, and a connection to land,” says Tienkamp, which is why she aims to build an ethical, sustainable, and community-minded business. She worked with her Program Advisor at Creative Saskatchewan to find ways to better serve her clientele and align her processes with her values. Using the grant, she was able to hire local artisans to assist in production. “The ability to check in and seek advice from Creative Sask was greatly appreciated. I am thankful for the support.”

Chrisine’s work reached “rockstar” status when friends asked her to bead a custom gift for a famous actor. She had the opportunity to deliver the gift herself—a hand-made medallion with elements of Indigenous culture, and Hawaiian imagery to honour the heritage of the recipient, Jason Momoa.

With the success of her pieces, Christine was able to travel to Cannes, France to exhibit her work in the first Cannes Indigenous Art and Fasion show. This grant, combined with her hard work and talent, has taken her on an incredible journey. “I would not have achieved this without the financial and personal support.”

You can view and shop Christine’s designs on her website:https://ssriverdesigns.com/

Follow SS River Designs on socials:

Facebook

Instagram