'There's a lot of Mi'kmaq hieroglyphics': Artist uses pottery as storytelling tool

Potter Nancy Oakley connects with her culture through art.

The Mi’kmaw artist, who lives and works on the Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton, N.S., uses both traditional and sculptural pots as a storytelling tool.

“I find a lot of people want to know more about Indigenous culture, and that's a way for people to come and break the barrier to ask questions,” says Oakley.

“There's a lot of Mi’kmaq hieroglyphics, so people want to know about that, and that brings up conversations about who I am and about my culture.”

A piece of pottery created by artist Nancy Oakley is pictured.

Some of Oakley’s pieces are inspired from conversations with other women. She says one of the common themes is how women put themselves down.

“We're not good enough mothers, we're not good enough this, we should have did this better, that better,” she says.

“So, it's about the scars that we create in ourselves.”

For her traditional pottery, Oakley collects and processes her own clay, which comes from below her studio.

“It would be all hand-built and then traditionally fired outside, no kiln involved,” says Oakley.

Oakley’s pieces are stone polished and smoke-fired outdoors. The pots are then adorned with traditional Mi’kmaq embellishments.

A piece of pottery created by artist Nancy Oakley is pictured.

“The smoke talks through the pot, so that really kind of hit me because when you look at it, everyone is different,” she says.

“Because it's almost like looking at clouds sometimes, like, ‘Oh, I see this, I see that.’”

Oakley’s work has been shown in galleries across the country and can be found at stores throughout Nova Scotia.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.