Sierra Henries
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck
MEDIUM: Pyrography, Birchbark
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Sierra Henries has been drawing and experimenting with many different materials and visual mediums since she was young, but she has always been especially inspired by designs, colors, and shapes in the natural world. Her Nipmuc heritage and her family's involvement with the native community have shaped her desire to express Eastern Woodlands traditional art forms in her own unique way. Through a combination of both these loves, she eventually became interested in working with birch bark, a material that is utilized by many Native Peoples across the world. She gathers her own birch bark from the lush forests around her home. After deciding which part of the bark is best suited for her new creation, she uses a pencil to draw a freehand sketch of what will later be burned into the bark with a pyrography tool. Not only have these trees given her the perfect medium to rest her art on, but they have also given her the opportunity to travel to many a wonderful place. Such amazing experiences have been part of her life, and she is grateful that her art has brought her many of them. Her work continues to be inspired by nature and the people around her.
