Artisans gathered in the town hall this weekend for the sixth annual Aquinnah Artisans Holiday Fair. Neighbors exchanged warm greetings while sipping on soup from Orange Peel Bakery, while artisans shared new techniques and styles they used to make their ceramics, clothing and jewelry.
Heath “Strong Fox” Widdiss, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), displayed his air-dried pottery. He harvests the clay from the Aquinnah cliffs and spins the red, yellow, white and black colors into decorative pots and miniature canoes.
Mr. Widdiss learned to make pottery from his grandmother, Gladys “Wild Cranberry” Widdiss who was Tribal Council President from 1979 to 1987. She taught him how to use a hand-building technique and signed each of her pieces with a carving of cranberries. She died in 2021.
“[My pottery] is a connection to my family that is no longer here and most importantly, it’s my connection to Gay Head... a place that I consider home,” Mr. Widdiss said.
He handed out free clay coins which he calls a “friendship token,” to share the art he loves with the people he loves.
“The connections that you are making with the people in the community.. sometimes means even more than the sales themselves,” Mr. Widdiss said.
He sat beside his father, Donald Widdiss, who is well known for his wampum jewelry and currently has a belt on display at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum for an exhibit titled “Generations: A Legacy of Art and Culture.”
At the fair, Donald Widdiss sat stringing purple and white hand-carved beads into bracelets.
Newly-elected Martha’s Vineyard Commission and Tribal Council member Jannette Vanderhoop displayed jewelry and leather pouches lined with fringe and secured by a wampum button.
Aquinnah Cultural Center program coordinator Tysonnae “Butterfly Women” Aiguier-Bolling prese ted books about Wampanoag culture, along with mini moccasins and jewelry of her own from her business Red Tail Boutique.
“I make a lot of contemporary pieces that still have some traditional elements,” Ms. Aiguier-Bolling said. “They will either be made from material that was used historically or from animals that we find in our area.”
She had created earrings made from deer antlers she received from tribal members who hunt. She said she slices the antler until they are thin circles and then layers them on top of one another.
In the center of the room sat 16-year-old Claus Smith. His smile beamed from behind a rainbow of green, blue, brown, copper and white pieces of pottery he created at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
Claus has been making pottery for the past three years, ever since he decided to take a Crafts and Sculpture class taught by Brendan Coogan. Something about the clay slipping between his fingers scratched an itch in his brain, he said, and he has been experimenting with different shapes and glazes ever since.
“I’ve been focusing on functional kitchenware stuff that you can use to drink out of: bowls, mugs, pitchers, all that stuff,” Claus said. “I’ve recently been getting into more sculptural [work] like larger vases, [tea pots] and moon jars, which are really round.”
A few tables down, Gimili Gita Glavin unveiled a myriad of quirky works made from recycled materials. Along the edge of the table she lined up flowers made from film and wire, giving her booth a whimsical feeling.
“Art, for an artist, sort of rides off of whatever emotional state you’re in,” Ms. Glavin said.
While Ms. Glavin’s table was full of vibrant chaos, nearby Mary Sossong had a modest table with six piles of crocheted snowflake ornaments.
Ms. Sossong is 83 years old and has spent much of her life twirling yarn. The ridges and grooves of her snowflakes resemble lace, and the dainty loops convey the kind of talent only a veteran crocheter can create.
“I first did them just for all my family... and then I started to sell them,” Ms. Sossong said. “I realized they are a perfect non-denominational gift for your kids, teacher, coach or co-worker.”
Ms. Sossong said the celebration of community and unique art makes the fair one-of-a-kind.
“Everybody is incredibly friendly,” Ms. Sossong said. “People come and talk to each other, have food and the music is going. People come by and say, ‘Oh, I bought one of these last year...’ it’s just wonderful.”
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