A pair of lightweight drop earrings featuring Friends by Santee Oglala Sioux artist Maxine Noel.

The flowing blue, green and gold artwork is set in a teardrop shape with hypoallergenic, nickel-free hooks.

Artist receives royalties from sales of this product.

+ About the Artist

Maxine Noel is a Santee Oglala Sioux artist born on the Birdtail Reserve in Manitoba. She spent her early years with her mother and grandmother before being taken to an Indian residential school at the age of six. That history later became part of her public work, including speaking to students about the residential school system and its continuing effects.

Noel first supported herself as a legal secretary but continued drawing and painting throughout those years. During an advanced design course, a teacher encouraged Noel to use shape and line to suggest movement. That approach became central to the flowing forms that now define her work.

She eventually left legal work and became a full-time artist, working in painting, drawing, serigraphy, etching, stone lithography, cast paper and bronze. Noel signs her work with her Sioux name, Ioyan Mani, meaning “Walk Beyond.” The name fits both her career and the emotional range of her art, which often moves between grief, endurance, tenderness and spiritual strength.

+ Behind the Artwork 

Maxine Noel describes Friends with the words,
“True friendship is as deep as the ocean and as constant as the tides.”

The ocean speaks to the depth of a bond that cannot always be seen from the surface. The tides bring another truth: friendship is not motionless. Time passes and circumstances shift, but a lasting friendship continues to return.

Noel reflects that idea through the flowing forms that surround the figures. They are clearly in motion but not separated by it, suggesting a relationship that remains steady even as life changes around them.

+ Product Details

Artwork: Friends
Artist: Maxine Noel
Affiliation: Santee Oglala Sioux
Size: 0.7" W x 1.2" H
Material: Zinc alloy
Detail: Hypoallergenic and nickel-free
Royalties: Artist receives royalties from sales of this product.

+ Shipping Options

Ground shipping in USA and Canada: US$11.95 
Faster services and international shipping calculated at checkout.

+ Returns

If you’re not happy with the item you received you may return it within 2 weeks after delivery. Please contact us at hello@lightcodesstudio.ca for return address.

The only condition is that the item and its gift box are both in perfect condition. Upon receiving your return you will be fully refunded.

One favor: Please tell us in a few words why the item in question failed to meet your expectations. We'd like to learn from our mistakes.