Melanie Tallmadge Sainz was born in Baraboo and raised in the Wisconsin Dells area. She’s an artist, cultural arts educator, and enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.
Porcupine quillwork of the Native peoples of North America represents a true American art form. Melanie specializes in the use of natural and dyed porcupine quills. As a mixed-media artist she also blends natural fibers including bulrush and cattail in her various woven and hand-sewn objects. Her hand-built clay vessels and mosaics include locally sourced clays and wood.
Melanie’s work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC and the Eiteljorg Museum of Western and American Indian Art in Indianapolis, IN. She has exhibited her work at the the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ and the Autry Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Melanie has been the Artist in Residence at the Institute for American Indian Art in Santa Fe, NM, the Eiteljorg Museum, and the University of WI – Whitewater.
Her working space is located at the Little Eagle Art Foundation’s Maawakacak (Sacred Land) Art studio.
The building is located on Ho-Chunk tribal lands and shares the same entryway with the Museum of Badger Army Ammunition located directly across the highway from the Citco station in Bluffview. Look for the Fall Art Tour signs as you drive the ¼ mile on to tribal land. Melanie looks forward to our visitors viewing the demonstrations and exhibition of her work in her studio!