Oglala Lakota Nation
Jared Lanz was born in 1996. He grew up on several different Indian reservations across the country. He began to take up quillwork and beadwork a teenager in order to preserve the craft he learned from his family and mentors. He also wanted to hone a discipline for tedious perfection that quilling and beading requires.
"My grandfather, who was a lifelong carpenter would always say: 'Countless details are often the difference between excellence and mediocrity!' I Try to apply that to my work. There are many lessons that a porcupine, a set of needles, a piece of moose hide, and elk sinew can teach if we pay attention. I try to make my work something the 'old ones' would be proud to look at and wear in their ceremonies and life in the buffalo days."
Residing mostly in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Jared travels around the country in the summertime and comes back to his needles and quills in the winter months. His work has found its way to many collectors around the western states as well as in some parts of Europe.
"When people see my craft, I would like them to see a piece of an ancient nomadic culture that reflects the simplicity of using natural materials that were available. Also, the complexity of colors and techniques that gave women high status and made men decorated warriors."
