Madison Judkins

Born in 1999 in Aberdeen, WA, Madison Judkins is a proud member of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe. She is an artist, cultural bearer, new mother, and owner of Beading Hearts, based in Olympia, WA.

Madison has spent much of her life exploring creative mediums—painting, illustration, wood carving, sewing, digital design, and more. In 2021, she found her true calling in beadwork after dreaming of her late Chitcha (grandmother) Lorraine, who asked her to follow her and fix something she had made long ago. That dream sparked a journey of healing and purpose. Her work reflects personal growth through depression, anxiety, addiction, and loss. Beadwork became not just art, but a lifeline.

Though enrolled in the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Madison’s roots also trace back to the Chinook Indian Nation, the Lower Chehalis Tribe, and the Nisqually Indian Nation. Her pieces are deeply informed by ancestral knowledge, but reimagined through her own lived experience. She strives to preserve and reinterpret traditional stories, legends, designs, and traditional language. “There have been many pressures for tribal communities to turn away from oral storytelling,” she says. “They want everything to be documented now. This is my story.”

Exhibitions & Publications:
Evergreen House of Welcome’s 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Olympia, WA; Shoalwater Celebrations at Astoria Visual Arts, Astoria, OR; South Puget Sound College’s 16th Annual Native Arts Exhibition, Olympia, WA; Featured in the MMIWP Report, Washington State Attorney General (2025), Chinook Observer (2023)

Headshot: Madison Judkins, 2024