DEBBIE YOUNG CANADAY
Traditional weaver of Haida style basketry
Debbie and her husband, Dayton, live with their two dogs in Hood Bay, located on the southwest side of Admiralty Island, in southeast Alaska. They are off the grid with no roads and commute by boat, which is how they get mail (weather permitting), from the closest village of Angoon, about 12 miles away.
Debbie was born and raised on a farm in Michigan and moved to Alaska in 1982. In 1986, while living in Hydaburg on Prince of Wales Island, she had the good fortune to enroll in a traditional Haida basketry course taught by a master Haida weaver, Delores Churchill. Delores is the daughter of the late great Selina Peratrovich, also a master Haida weaver in her time. From Delores she learned how to gather, harvest and prepare the materials needed to weave traditional Haida style basketry. She also learned how to create the different techniques of weaving used in traditional Haida baskets & hats. Other mentors who have helped her to achieve the quality of weaving that she strives for include Holly Churchill, April Varnell, Diane Douglas-Willard, and the late great Grace Dewitt.
Debbie's traditional art has been recognized with honors in art shows from Ketchikan to Anchorage, Alaska and as far east as Frederick, Maryland. Several pieces have been selected for showing in the “all juried” art show “Earth, Fire and Fibre” in 1991, 1995 and again in 2001, in Anchorage, Alaska. Her work can be found in private collections across the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the British Isles.
This December, 2006, Debbie will be celebrating two decades of weaving traditional Haida Style basketry. She is quoted “I am eagerly looking forward to the next decade of weaving and learning more about this traditional art form.”
Thank you for your interest in her artwork.
