Nicole Travers Fish Leather Tutorial | FARR Program 2021

FARR artist Nicole Travers makes beautiful beadwork on the fish leather she creates at home. This process has been used worldwide, and continues to be an accessible way to make leather. You might even have all the materials you need right in your kitchen!

In this video, Nicole will walk you through each step of scaling, dying, stretching and drying salmon, cod, and eel skin.

Materials:

Fish Skin (fresh, frozen, or store bought will all work. Salmon skin is recommended for beginners)
About 90 tea bags
Table Salt
Oil (vegetable or animal oil)
Spoon
Knife
Large Pot
Large Container

If you have any questions about the process, or if you would like to show off what you made, you can send us an email at [email protected]. Nicole will be happy to hear from you and answer your questions!

Born and raised in Little Port, Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland), Nicole Travers is a Mi’kmaw artist, creating a multitude of inspiring pieces. Nicole draws inspiration from old style beadwork found in museums, hieroglyphs, and petroglyphs. Nicole marries historical styles of beadwork with modern day techniques into contemporary form. More recently she has begun to tan various animal pelts and skins into leather using traditional teachings and has started to utilize home tanned fish skin into her art, creating sought after unique pieces.

See more of Nicole's work on her IG: @blomidonbeadwork