JJ Orloff

Medium: Skin Sewing, Beading, Carving

Alutiiq artist JJ Orloff has ancestral ties to the Alutiiq communities of Afognak, Larsen Bay, Karluk, and Chignik. She is a skin sewer who has been creating gloves, blankets, and pillows for more than five years. Orloff particularly enjoys working with Kodiak’s plush sea otter furs, but she also sews with a variety of local skins, including fox, seal, and salmon.

Harvesting furs is a family activity. Her sons trap and hunt local animals, and then work with her to clean and stretch the hides harvested. These activities bring her family together. Knowing they are doing something their ancestors did creates a strong bond and instills pride in their heritage. Orloff also enjoys beading and carving miniature masks.

Orloff learned to sew and bead from Susan Malutin, June Pardue, and Leona Haakanson Crow. She enjoys studying ancestral pieces. She doesn’t replicate ancestral works but interprets them with a personal twist. Her artwork reflects the beauty of the Kodiak environment—especially wild flowers—and she enjoys collecting and working with beach glass. Orloff sells her work locally, by word of mouth and at events.