Lorraine Besito
Saugeen Reserve (Ojibwa)
Lorraine was borne on the Parry Island Reserve and has been doing quilwork since she was a girl. Her mother first taught her the craft and, after many years of study, Lorraine now does quill tufting as well as regular quilwork.
She collects all her own raw material and her boxes show a great variety of designs. Lorraine and her daughters are the only ones on her reserve who do any type of quilwork. They live on the Saugeen Reserve near Southampton Ontario.
Many hours of work goes into each one-of-a-kind box. Porcupine Quils have to be collected, dyed and sorted. Sweetgrass is picked in wet areas in July. The birchbark is becoming more difficult to obtain. The quilbox is a rare work of art done by only a few native artists.
