Why I Bead
My name is Meg, and I am the maker behind the artistic brand Nelie G. Mae. My connection with my maternal lineage is the heart of my beadwork, and I am a proud citizen of Red Lake Nation. I share my middle name (Elaine) with my mother and grandmother, and the name “Nelie G. Mae” is an anagram of my first and middle names. Working with needle and thread has been a powerful healing practice of cultural reclamation for me, and I am so deeply grateful to have the ability to bead. My grandma gave me my first pair of porcupine quill earrings and a matching necklace when I was little, and she was a professional seamstress.
While my Ojibwe heritage is what grounds my beadwork, my artistic lens expands into the many layers of who I am and where I come from - I also have mixed European ancestry from Germany, Russia, and land throughout the U.K. and Ireland. Being mixed, I value acknowledging the layers of privilege, pain, and healing surrounding my intersectional life experiences. My art practice is an abstract way of visualizing hope within personal, familial, and communal hardships.
Beadwork is a practice that teaches me how to pay attention within each moment, and to always remember the way my life is woven together with my relatives. Miigwech (thank you) for being here!
♥︎ Meg Elaine Veitenheimer (she/they)
photo below taken by my sister, Jane Veitenheimer
