Stacy Garbani
Stacy Garbani
Stacy Garbani is a 38-year-old Pecháangawish Payómkawish indigenous woman from the Pechanga Band of Indians, granddaughter of Lucille Garbani Leake. She grew up on the Morongo Reservation, located north of Palm Springs, CA. To still her hands and mind, Garbani began beading in 2019, a creative journey that has fostered healing and a sense of community within her as she learned from beaders all over Indian Country.
In her own words: “My works represent the threads that connect our ancestors, our descendants, and ourselves. I envision threads elaborately woven into the fabric of our communities, culture, language, laughter, and art. In the present we work to heal. We draw strength from those who walked before and will walk ahead. Through our healing, we offer good medicine to our ancestors and descendants.”
IVDM is excited to be exhibiting three of Garbani’s recently created mixed media works, that incorporate photography, beading, and acrylic paint on canvas, as a part of Native Voices | Native Truths: A Contemporary Experience.
You can find more of Garbani’s work in the zine Grief as “Shapeshifting: Spells for Coming Undone.” and find her on Instagram @StacyGarbani.
Self Portrait, 2023
mixed media: photograph, beads, and acrylic paint on canvas
16 in x 12 in
This is a photograph of the artist surrounded by five beaded pansies. The artist heals, explores, and reclaims her own body after experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, and oppressive religious systems. The pansies are inspired by the book Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
Nopíit, 2023
mixed media: photograph, beads, and acrylic paint on canvas
12 in x 12 in
The work is centered around a photograph of the artist’s niece, Evelyn Rhodes. The path cultivated for her is lush and fertile. The path before her has scattered gold beads, representing a chance for her to make her own way grounded in ancient teachings and ways of being. She is light and playful, bringing good medicine with her very presence in this world.
Mending, 2023
mixed media: photograph, beads, and acrylic paint on canvas
16 in x 12 in
This is a photograph of the artist’s hands mending a beaded anatomical heart. There is scarring, color, pain, and hope in the hands. All of it is being injected into the mended parts of the heart. She is becoming herself.