Loon mask in Healing Waters textile

As the demand for face masks grew in spring 2020, Afro-Métis artist Karlene Fortin sold masks on Instagram made from Indigenous textile designs. The loon, a bird with a distinctive call, symbolizes peace and quiet on Canadian lakes. The smoothly finished cotton was originally produced specifically for quilters. The highly successful design, called Healing Waters, was licensed by Northcott Fabrics from artwork by Mark Anthony Jacobsen (b. 1972), a Woodland artist from Sioux Lookout, Ontario, living in British Columbia.

Karlene Fortin for Scarlett J Designs, Canada

April 2020

Designed in British Columbia, Canada

Made in British Columbia, Canada

Cotton, flat bed print

Royal Ontario Museum
2021.27.28

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