Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Skye, Ken |
Notes |
Ken Skye Onondaga Nation Turtle Clan 1945 - 1999 Ken Skye was from Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario. While he was proficient in the construction of cow horn rattles and produced soap stone pipes, he is best known for his no-face cornhusk dolls. Together with his wife Rhea, Ken learned this art from his grandmother Mary Skye around 1964. Five years later the couple began experimenting with using wire in their creations, a technique that enabled the dolls to be portrayed in animated postures. Hoop, eagle, and buffalo dancers, western drum singers, hunters, and lacrosse players figure prominently in their repertoire. The larger dolls feature a wrapped husk technique, while smaller ones are often braided. Most of the dolls are outfitted in leather with those depicting hunting activities sometimes featuring soapstone arrowheads made by Ken. Less often, the couple constructed apple face dolls on a cornhusk foundation. More ambitious projects include multi-figure dioramas portraying lacrosse games or a historic Iroquois village complete with a miniature longhouse. At the height of their careers Ken and Rhea made dolls full time, marketing their work at powwows, fairs, and craft shows and stocking specialty gift shops. The couple demonstrated their skills at the Roberson Museum (Binghamton, NY) and exhibited at many regional venues including at the Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY, 1972); Erie County Fair & Exposition (Buffalo, NY, 1973); Artpark (Lewiston, NY, 1977, 1978); and events at Haudenosaunee communities such as Mohawk Nation Akwesasne, Seneca Nation Allegany, Six Nations Reserve, and the Tuscarora Nation. Ken and Rhea received 1st place award recognition for their dolls at the Six Nations Fall Fair and Calendonia Fair (Ontario, Canada, 1968). Their work is in the permanent collections of the Iroquois Museum (Howes Cave, NY); the National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian (Washington, DC); McMichael Canadian Art Museum (Vaugh, Ontario); Woodland Cultural Center (Brantford, Ontario), and the Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY). *Bio text cannot be used in print or web publications without IM permission. Use for other purposes (such as research papers, presentations) should credit the IM. |
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