Trelace Sigo

Trelace Sigo

Trelace made her first jewelry debut into the Stonington gallery at the age of 28 with the family exhibition called 5 Generations in March of 2021. She comes from a long line of artists including her mother Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, her grandparents Ruth and Andy Peterson, and the eldest artist in that show was her great grandfather, Dennis Allen. Trelace being one of three people in the fourth generation of this show, she also is the mother of Eden Sigo, the youngest person in that exhibition at the age of 7. Learning and teaching beading has been apart of every memory she can remember. Starting around 4 years old her mother taught her how to string beads and she took off with it. Her and her siblings grew up watching their elders carve bentwood boxes, masks, and panels. She observed and studied those making button blankets, and family members stretching deer hide over wooden frames to form drums. She was exposed to master weavers of both cedar and wool, but over the years she loved picking up beading and creating all sorts of jewelry, as this is her favorite medium.

Trelace was born in Olympia and raised in Shelton, WA. She attended school there and proudly earned her GED and a Cosmetology License at the age of 18. As a Squaxin Island Tribal Member, Trelace has been attending & participating in jams and tribal canoe journeys, including paddling which is a true honor. She is a huge supporter of Tribal Recovery Ceremonies/Dinners, because beading saved her life in her recovery story. Today, Trelace stands 4 years being clean and sober.  In the beginning of her recovery, beading helped her focus. With each new jewelry she made it afforded her to buy more beads and continue to make more. She loves to tell her recovery story to peers. She believes it is o.k. to step aside and find that gift that centers oneself. To this day, this remarkable woman is not only teaching her children the stories, the trade, and her passion, but she also works at the Northwest Indian Treatment Center where she teaches a new beading style each week. Her recovery testimony is inspiring so many people at the treatment center and from tribes near and far. A true warrior, this one!