Exhibitionists·Video

How to make a fish bone butterfly, from start to finish

Artist Charlotte Overvold is showing you how to turn fish bones into a handmade butterfly.

There's nothing fishy about this Yellowknife artist's technique

There's nothing fishy about making this art with fish bones

8 years ago
Duration 2:54
Artist Charlotte Overvold is showing you how to turn fish bones into a handmade butterfly.

We can all agree fish bones aren't glamorous. But learning how to use them to create beautiful things makes de-boning a trout a little more appetizing.

For Yellowknife-based artist Charlotte Overvold, making her fish bone butterflies is not a part of traditional art — but it's part of a traditional way of thinking about using every part of the animal. Charlotte has learned the technique of creating 3D art pieces using fish bones from her mother. After much thought and consideration, she has decided, in consultation with elders, that it is best to share this knowledge with young people rather than have it disappear.

In this video by filmmaker Caroline Cox, Overvold teaches you how to make a fish bone butterfly, from start to finish.

Overvold has been teaching workshops on fish bone art over the past few month at Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife.

Caroline Cox is a filmmaker based out of a remote homestead in the Canadian sub-arctic. Her wilderness lifestyle inspired her to create the documentary TV series Wild Kitchen.

Watch Exhibitionists Sundays at 4:30pm (5 NT) on CBC.