The Embrace

Artist Brit Reed @nitaohoyo

From the artist: 
The Water Panther, is a supernatural being from Southeastern cosmology who resides over the lower world. While we see depictions of Water Panther at Moundville and many other mound building cites, stories of Water Panther persist within the tribes who descend from these sites. The main inspiration for this piece are stories of Water Panther taking on human wives - and the particular story in which Water Panther took a wife and flooded a town in Indian Territory after the Trail of Tears - as a repercussion of the town folks refusing to care for the children of Water Panther and his wife. Black and blue reflective beads were used for the Water Panther to represent its connection both to water but also moving through portals. The halo of silver- lined beads in a fire gradient around its head, is indicative of its supernatural or even sacred nature.
The swirl pattern, inspired by mound building iconography, indicates the energy or power rolling of the Water Panther and its transformative nature. Paired with the seafoam, it gives the sense of rising out of the water towards the open hands waiting to embrace it. While the pyramid beads surrounding the piece may invoke a sense of punk or rebellion for the viewer, these are also a head nod to the tops of the chukka (homes) of a tvmaha (town/village) such as the one that spurred the request of the Water Panther and his wife. The fresh and faux pearls are to invoke our ancestral connection to the waterways and lower world - our own ties to the water panther itself. Finally, the long spikes on the fringe are an additional head nod to Water Panther’s claws.
 
This bag was a part of the Learning From Our Ancestors: Historical Influences on Contemporary Native Art exhibit at the Museum at Moundville Archeological Park. I began working on this bag in 2023 and completed it in Jan 2025. The water panther is featured with size 13/0 sheen beads. 24k Gold size 13/0 beads were used for the eyes. Additionally, size 13/0 beads were used for the hands as well. Silver-lined and regular size 11/0 czech beads were

throughout the piece on the bag and the beaded rope strap. The sea foam is comprised of a mixture of seed beads - including glow-in-the-dark seed beads- and various sized faux pearl beads. Abalone shell beads float atop the main beadwork. Pyramid glass beads and faux pearl beads were used to line the border of bag. Freshwater pearls, brass beads, and metal spikes were used on the fringe of the bag. Brass metal facets were used to connect the detachable strap to the bag.