The newest artist to join the Ptarmigan Arts Co-op, Michelle Anderson, works in a variety of mediums and considers herself an experimental artist. Inspired by her Yup’ik and Alutiiq heritage, she creates root baskets, beaded jewelry and skin-sewn items, including qaspeqs, fur hats and gloves, Eskimo yo-yos, baby booties and dolls.

Anderson has been experimenting with fish skin for the past seven years and creating baskets since she was a child, but has begun creating more seriously during the past four years. For her baskets, she melds natural materials that include roots, fish skin and beach glass, stones and shells.

Her fireweed basket, “Jumper,” is made from fireweed roots she collected in Homer and salmon skin from a sockeye she caught in Chignik. It is adorned with glass, shells and other items she and her mother, sister and brother have gathered on Homer beaches.

“I’m creating my own distinctive baskets, using material like fish skin from halibut, salmon, rockfish and cod, along with fireweed and other roots, as well as glass, shells and stones that my family and I find while beach combing,” she said. “These materials are things that others might throw away, are on hand where I live and are also natural items that I adore and want to share with others.”

Many memories and family ties are woven into Anderson’s baskets. Taking what she has learned from traditional Alaskan basket-making and using a variety of materials and techniques, her work is an expression of both her cultural heritage and her personal creativity.

In addition to making baskets, Anderson has also spent the past four years pursuing a passion for beading. Working in a variety of styles and incorporating different mediums, she makes earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings. One of her earring designs, inspired by her daughter, depicts the northern lights beneath the moon.

“My daughter is an amazing digital artist and when she created a note card featuring the northern lights, that inspired me to create earrings with the same theme,” Anderson said.

Anderson is currently creating a variety of patterns in multiple colors as well as a variety of beaded salmon earrings in different shapes, colors and bead types.

Born in Clark’s Point, a remote fishing community located on a spit on the northeastern shore of Nushagak Bay, 15 miles from Dillingham and 337 miles southwest of Anchorage, Anderson’s earliest cultural and creative influences included village elders, family members and teachers.

“The most influential person in cultivating my native culture was a lady I called ‘Uh-Oh’, Matrona Javier who taught me how to sew grass baskets, skin sew and how to speak words in Yugtun, the Yup’ik language,” Anderson said. “There were also two ladies in particular who would sew beautifully intricate grass baskets, dying their own grass and weaving them into what I now see as prized works of art. I remember being shown where and how to look for, collect and dry beach grass.

“In school, we were encouraged to learn about our culture, given lessons in the language not spoken by those of my parent’s generation and every year there were classes where kids and adults gathered at the school to sew grass baskets, make fur hats and gloves and learn to work with skins such as beaver, sea otter and seal as well as other crafts. We were exposed to a variety of arts, learning to make pottery, stained glass and various other things.”

In 1988, Anderson’s family moved to Homer where she graduated Homer High School and later graduated from University of Alaska Anchorage with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

“When we came to Homer, the only two grocery stores were Trailside and Proctors,” she said. “To me, Homer was a big city compared to where I grew up, with its movie theater, bowling alley, roller rink and swimming pool. Times have changed and Homer has grown, but the same view that took my breath away 36 years ago evokes the same reaction when I drive into town now.”

Anderson is grateful that the community she saw fostering and encouraging artists and others all those years ago remains today.

“I took the required art classes in high school, instructed back then by Mr. Walsh who was very passionate about the arts,” she said. “I know that a few of my classmates have continued to make art and sell things locally, which I love to see.”

During the pandemic, Anderson and her family isolated in Chignik Lagoon, and her sister, who has special needs, stayed with her year-round. Together, the two focused on creative pursuits to keep themselves busy and connected to others, including hosting craft parties on Zoom and beading. At the same time, she and her mother, brother and sister began exploring the foraging aspect of their subsistence lifestyle to a greater degree, learning about the variety of local items available.

“This exploration just took over,” Anderson said. “I began to explore and experiment with fish skins and discovered that I prefer fireweed roots as baskets rather than the roots as a coffee alternative.”

With time to explore her creative side, Anderson gifted many of her handmade items to friends and family who encouraged her to continue pursuing her creativity.

“I began to realize that if others wanted what I made, maybe I could fill a niche,” she said. “I enjoy and want to share a bit of my culture with others, whether it’s a beaded earring or a basket. It makes me happy to share my connection to the history and beauty of Alaska with others and to help others appreciate the stories that these pieces carry.”

One of the newest artists to be accept into Ptarmigan Arts Co-op, Anderson is excited to be among other local artists showcasing their work. Blending traditional techniques with contemporary methods, her work melds both her culture and her creativity.

“To have what I make among such artists is really hard to believe,” she said. “I’m inspired by many of the local and visiting artists and appreciate seeing the variety of work by Alaska Native artists. I am very excited to have a place where people can view and purchase my baskets and jewelry, and while I have been hesitant in making such a commitment, now that I have, I plan on sharing my new and current designs and hope to add some of my favorite sewn items in the gallery in the months to come.”

Find Anderson’s work at Ptarmigan Arts, on her website at tidesout.net, on her Facebook page, Tides Out and @sister_tides_out on Instagram.

“Better Than Coffee” is a basket created by Michelle Anderson in the spring of 2020, one of several now available year-round at Ptarmigan Arts. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts

Beaded earrings by Michelle Anderson are on display year-round at Ptarmigan Arts. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts

Artist Michelle Anderson, wearing a pair of her beaded earrings, visits the beach at Mariner Park in November 2024 to collect items for her baskets. Photo provided by Michelle Anderson