Sugpiaq artist Larissa Kramer gives two free talks at Sitka's Sheldon Jackson Museum

Sugpiaq artist Larissa Kramer will give two public talks in Sitka this month, part of a residency at the Sheldon Jackson Museum that runs through September 11. Both are free.

The first, "Alaska Native Art & Cultural History," is set for noon Thursday, September 3, at the museum and on Zoom. The second, on artifacts from collections storage and on exhibit, is scheduled for noon Friday, September 11, also at the museum and on Zoom. Both are recorded and posted online afterward.

Kramer builds model boats and makes jewelry from botanicals, resin, and fish skin.

Kramer credits June Pardue, whose classes she took at the University of Alaska and who helped revive fish skin tanning. "Because of her, I know how to bead, weave, woodwork, skin sew, tan salmon skin, and even improvise like a true artist," Kramer said.

The Native Artist Residency Program dates to 1988.