Pat Bruderer/Halfmoon Woman
Member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation
Biting Back: Our Cultural Resilience
Jan 17 >> Mar 2, 2025
Biting Back celebrates and shares the art form of birch bark biting, pass on traditional knowledge and reignite interest and appreciation for the sacred art form. A story about survival of tradition, resilience, and hope. A selection from the original 13 pieces, including illuminated laser cut drums. “I feel a great responsibility as a carrier of this traditional art form as well as for the teachings it holds which are many. I’m a mother, kookoom to many and my relationships continue to thrive. Through cultural resilience, I bite back.” – Pat Bruderer, Half Moon Woman.
Image: Pat Bruderer (Halfmoon Woman), Ancestral Heartbeat, hide drum and laser etching, nd. Courtesy of the artist.
Opening Reception and Artist Talk
Friday 17, January, 2025
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Join us for an artist talk by birch bark biting artist Half Moon Woman/ Pat Bruderer. Recognized across the world as a practitioner in this traditional art form, Bruderer is a self-taught birch bark biting artist who has been practicing for over thirty years. She shares her love of birch bark biting, and how works in the Gallery’s permanent collection by fellow Cree artist Angelique Merasty (b. 1924 – d. 1996), also from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in northeast Saskatchewan, inspires her work.
Artist bio
Half Moon Woman/ Pat Bruderer is from Churchill, Manitoba and is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. She is a self-taught birch bark biting artist who has been practicing for over thirty years. To complete a finished piece, she moves through thirteen stages using the elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. Her passion for sharing and teaching has brought her into the classroom to share and pass on the tradition to thousands of students across the country. Half Moon’s work can be found in museums and private collections across Turtle Island and the world including USA, Switzerland, France, and Italy. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.