Melanie Tallmadge Sainz was born in Baraboo and raised in the Wisconsin Dells area. She is an artist, cultural arts educator, and enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.
She uses indigenous, natural fibers, including porcupine quills, bulrush, and cattail, in her various woven and hand-sewn objects and locally sourced fibers and clays in her mixed-media clay tile mosaics.
The Saturday, April 26, Porcupine Quill and Glass Beading Earring Workshop at the Oshkosh Seniors Center is for beginners. Supplies for the class will be provided. Please bring a lunch if you wish. Melanie encourages this session to be intergenerational. She begins the session with a PowerPoint presentation that shares the cultural background and context of the program.
Melanie has exhibited her work at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art in Indianapolis, IN. She plans to bring some of her art pieces to view during the class.
She founded the Little Eagles Arts Foundation (LEAF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting American Indian art. The foundation cultivates the entrepreneurial spirit of American Indian/First Nations artists to achieve success and encourage a cycle of economic security.