Flintstitch Beadwork • Perlage Flintstitch

Ananda X. Suddath, the artist behind Flintstitch Beadwork, was raised in the historic fur trade community of Fort-Coulonge, situated along the Kitchisippi (Ottawa River) in Western Québec, Canada. As a versatile professional electric guitarist since 2009, she has played with a number of Montréal’s award-winning artists and ensembles (jazz, contemporary classical, indie pop/rock).

In 2021, at her family’s cabin on the river, an unsolicited hiatus from music gave her the time and space to pursue a longstanding calling to explore traditional Indigenous beadwork. The experience—a fortuitous artistic residency, of sorts—gave rise to an all-new creative outlet, one that has since blossomed into a full-fledged parallel artistic practice. From late 2021 to early 2023, thirteen pieces were completed in as many months, after which point Flintstitch Beadwork was officially launched (August 2023) and a steady stream of sales and commissions began to materialize.

Along with establishing herself as an emerging visual artist both online and off, Suddath's creative plans for the near future include exploring larger formats, making more expansive use of color, texture and non-geometric shapes, and developing a more elaborate approach to composition.

Flintstitch Beadwork is currently based in Montréal.