Artist Bios
Jenn Carman: Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation - Beading
Jenn Carman a member of Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation. I started beading in Winter 2022 as I was searching for a way to connect culturally and for something fun to do. I took a workshop locally and learned the Peyote Stitch. Instantly I felt connected to the process. I found beading to be a way to relax after a busy work day. I have grown with my beadwork a lot in 2023 and I love being able to share my work with others.
Crystal Chapman: Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation - Cedar work
As a member of the Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation, Crystal has studied her family background to further her skills and knowledge of cedar work. She has previous work experience with other local non-profit organizations teaching children of all ages the importance of cedar and what it means to First Nations culture.
Jerry Chapman: Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation - Drum Maker
Jerry is a Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation member and ministers to his local community in Cowlitz County, Washington, throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada and overseas. He has been gifted with a unique form of prophetic worship through drumming, which led to the name of his ministry: “Drum speaker to the Nations.” He not only ministers through worship, but he also presents the Gospel to First Nations people in a culturally relevant way. He hand-crafts most of the native drums and percussion instruments he uses, and often presents drums he has made as gifts during ministry events he is invited to.
Jerry crafts each drum with intense intercession and prayer focus, and he believes that every beat of the drum is a proclamation of the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ that will reverberate throughout eternity. He has spent many hours over the last several years teaching traditional drum crafting, as well as First Nations customs and traditions.
David Schneider: Sq’ewá:lxw (Skawahlook) First Nation - Wood turner
David is a wood turner with varied interests. He is well known for his ability to perform any task, also known as the “jack of all trades”. David lives on Skawahlook Reserves and is an outstanding community member. His work covers a wide spectrum of woodturning from bowls to Christmas ornaments.
Most of his products are made of local hardwoods that he has harvested, although he does use a small amount of exotic woods from managed care forests for special orders or projects. He also does custom work and "One of a Kind" pieces.
All his work is hand done on a lathe; therefore, no two pieces are exactly alike. There is much attention to design and workmanship. Hopefully these pieces will be passed down to future generations.
George Price - Seabird Island - Carver
George Price is a Coast Salish carver from Seabird Island, BC, Canada and has been practicing his craft for more than 40 yrs. He works primarily with the mediums of red & yellow cedar, inner cedar bark, alder, birch, diamond willow and is now also working with white pine, black spruce, ash and acrylic paints. George also utilizes various adornments in his work such as abalone, opercula, copper, whale bone and feathers.
George apprenticed under the guidance of teachers Alfred Robertson, Jackson Robertson, Tom Whonnock, Dave Jacobson, and John Jacobson. They taught him shape, design, depth, traditional teachings, stories and how to carve masks, bentwood boxes, and totem poles.
Throughout the years George has been practicing the Kwakwakawak and Coast Salish style of carving forms, designs and techniques honouring his nation and culture. He has been commissioned to carve totem poles, masks, canoes/birchbark canoes, house posts, doors, podiums, coffins, bentwood boxes (urns) and relief carving plaques.
Rocky LaRock: Coast Salish Carver
Claude “Rocky" LaRock was born in 1958 in Seattle Washington. At 12 years of age Rocky moved to his mother’s homeland, a First Nations Community called Sts'ailes (Chehalis), located in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia.
At 19 years of age Rocky found his calling as a carver. He was walking along Jericho beach and came upon a man carving a mermaid out of the driftwood and was hooked. Shortly after Rocky began his apprenticeship under First Nations master artists Francis Horne Sr. and Ron Austin. After three years under their direction he leaned the skills, techniques and stories of hand-carving the traditional way. Rocky took these teachings and added his own contemporary style.
Throughout the last three decades Rocky has maintained a steady career as a First Nation’s artist. Rocky’s art is greatly influenced by the forests and surroundings wildlife and a lifestyle rich in the Coast Salish native culture. Rocky continues to reside with his family in Sts'ailes and is an active member of the community and its cultural traditions.
Stan Greene: Mission Painter & Carver
Stan Greene is a Salish artist born in Mission, British Columbia on April 15, 1953. His mother was Halq’emeylem (Stó:lō) and his father was from Semiahmoo (White Rock). His grandfather on his father's side was full blooded Nez Perce that traces back to the great Chief Joseph. He was raised by his grandparents and exposed to Salish culture from an early age and began carving at the age of 13. His grandfather had a small collection of carvings and a set of carving tools that Stan studied with as a young man. At the age of 21 he began carving for a living and in 1977 he attended the Kasan School of Art where he learned northern (Tsimshian) design. His teachers were Walter Harris, Ken Moatt, Earl Muldoe and Vernon Stevens. In 1978 he did his first Salish designs for the limited-edition prints, "Human and Thunderbird" and "Man with Wolves", which are some of the first examples of pure Salish design to be marketed in the Northwest Coast art scene.
Stan carved at Vancouver’s Expo 86 representing the Salish people and has travelled to Japan where a 27-foot pole he carved was raised in Kanazawa Park in Yokohama. Stan now carves in both the northern style and the Salish style, but he believes that they should not be mixed. There was no one to teach him the Salish design forms so he did his own research, studying the old pieces in the British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and questioning the elders in his community. Today there are still only a handful of artists that understand the Salish art form. Stan is striving for more understanding of this culture.
Joseph Campbell: Coast Salish (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm- Musqueam) Nation
Born in 1948, Joseph Campbell was raised on Musqueam land in Vancouver, BC. His ancestral name is Katxalacha and it was handed down to him from the Paul family of the Squamish Nation situated in North Vancouver.
Joseph took an early interest in carving and had the opportunity to observe his late father, Sylvester, who carved culturally significant ceremonial masks and house posts, using the traditional Coast Salish form line. Joseph’s late brother Danny Campbell gave him his first carving knife and demonstrated numerous carving techniques and styles, including the structured and complex northern form line, a style which Joseph continues to use in most of his work.
Joseph began carving small scale works, swiftly progressing to larger scale, with objects such as talking sticks, masks and panels. Joseph began designing and building bentwood boxes under the guidance of his good friend and mentor, master bentwood box carver, Larry Rosso.
Campbell studied Advanced Design with Master Haida artist Robert Davidson, and has worked with instructor George Rammel at Capilano College on the art of bronze casting.
His bentwood boxes can be found in collections across Europe, United States, Canada, Asia, and the South Pacific.
Carl Stromquist: Hope, B.C.
Carl was born in 1969 and is Interior Salish, of Thompson descent; living in Hope, B.C. Carl has been strongly influenced by Northwest Coast Native traditions and culture. He began working as a full-time artist in 1992 with the production of original paintings and limited- edition prints. He is deliberate and focused; deliberate in his desire to paint with excellence and focused on his quest to generate artwork which honours the Gift of Life and the richness, depth and teachings of the Canadian First Nations.
Carl is self-taught and has spent time studying the works of renown Native artisans as well as the timeless truths embodied in the elders’ stories and legends. His art is influenced by his profound love and respect for nature.
Carl credits Robert Davidson, Dempsey Bob and Charles Edenshaw as influences in his work.
“If we give back to the Circle, the Circle will remain strong.”
Eric Parnell: A Self-taught Haida Artist
Eric was born in Prince Rupert in 1961. Eric is a member of the Masset band from the Haida Gwaii Nation. His crest is the Eagle and family clan is the Frog.
Eric describes himself as “self-taught,” saying that “books were my teachers”. He studied the traditional Haida art forms in books on this subject, learning the formal descriptions of the shapes and subjects of paintings and carvings, and adapting and creating his own distinctive paintings within this tradition. He also began to share with other artists, absorbing their examples and suggestions, but always following his own inner vision of what he wanted to portray. Eric specializes in limited edition prints, though originals can be acquired.
Noreen Hunt: Painter
Noreen Hunt is one of the few women working as an artist within the Kwa Gulth tradition. She is the daughter of Henry Hunt, an artist of international stature. She lives and works on Vancouver Island where she teaches design and carving.
Pauline Tise: Alaskan Jeweler
Pauline Tise is from the Heilsuk First Nation; the traditional Heiltsuk territories on the central coast of British Columbia around Bella Bella. The Heiltsuk nation consists of four clans: Raven, Eagle, Killer Whale and Wolf. Pauline is from the Killer Whale clan.
Pauline grew up in Vancouver and has maintained an interest in her cultural traditions and in First Nations art. Pauline studied Literature and the First Nations history in university. After graduating University Pauline went on to become a founding director of the Heiltsuk Lower Mainland Society, an organization founded to improve the cultural and educational opportunities for lower mainland Heiltsuk youth.
In the summer of 1999, Pauline began to learn engraving from her cousin, Sheldon Williams, an artist, jeweler, and wood carver. Pauline continued her studies in the Jewelry, Art, and design program at VCC. Pauline works mainly in silver and gold, and employs the techniques of engraving, repoussage, stone settings, enameling, and smithing.
Sherman Moore: Princeton Carver
Sherman Moore is a carver. He was born in 1972, in Quesnel BC and grew up on a farm in Princeton, BC. Sherman’s heritage is Irish and Scottish and Cree.
He has been drawing and painting all his life and later discovered his true passion; “Carving”. He was taught to carve by Robert Bagger “Bird Man” a West Coast Native Carver in Bella Coola BC. Robert taught him the meaning of the traditional ways of Native culture. He was taught the meaning of the totem and what different carved animals represent. He was shown and
participated in traditions. Not only did Robert teach him the traditional ways of carving and helped him discover his passion, but he also changed his life in more ways than one.
West Coast Native Art for Sherman is very spiritual and traditional. It helped him to heal physically, spiritual, and emotionally. He has so much thanks and respect for the native brotherhood and the men who helped him those years ago. This will stay with him for the rest of his life.
Sherman carves masks, totem poles, boxes and plaques, real life carvings, soapstone carvings, as well as working as a technician in the movie industry, (I.A.T.S.E. Union).
Bruce Alfred: Alert Bay Carver – Bentwood boxes
Bruce Malidi Alfred is a Kwakwaka’wakw artist of the Namgis band and belongs to the whale and sun crest/ clans. He was born in 1950 in Alert Bay, British Columbia. He was raised primarily by his Grandmother Angus Alfred and has spent his life immersed in the cultural practices and pot latching traditions of his village. Bruce comes from a long line of prominent artist; including the Hunt brothers and throughout his career has worked with, and been inspired by, such outstanding artists as Beau Dick, Wayne Alfred, Tony Hunt, Richard Hunt and William Wasden.
Bruce began his career in the mid-1970s in an apprenticeship program offered by renowned artist Doug Cranmer and it was here that he learned the elements of traditional Kwakwaka’wakw design, carving print making, and the steam bent technique for making boxes. Bruce maintained a close personal and working relationship with his mentor until Doug’s death in November 2006. Although he produces work in a variety of mediums and has worked on numerous monumental projects over the years, it is the bentwood box and its complex flat design that has become primary focus of his artistic expression.
He maintains active community involvement through donations to various fundraisers events, producing potlatch pieces, coaching sports, and giving countless box-bending demonstrations for schools and island visitors.
April White: Haida Gwaii Prints - Painting
April White was born on Haida Gwaii, off the Northwest coast of Canada’s British Columbia, of the Yahgu’ Jaannaas Raven Clan. The First Nations people are known by their original name, the Haida.
April White received her Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the University of British Columbia. She has worked as a geologist in remote areas of the Canadian West, an experience that has been of assistance in developing the visual faculty essential to creating her works of art.
Entirely self-taught, April’s natural inclination stems from her Haida heritage, where being an artist is an honored profession and from her father, a direct descendant of the world-renowned Haida artist, Charles Edenshaw, of the Eagle clan. She is also a relative of the late Bill Reid, the equally famous contemporary Haida sculptor, carver, print maker and jewelry designer.
April realized after a few years in the bush as a geologist, that she was inexplicably possessed by painting, particularly watercolors, for their portability. After graduation, she finally had time to realize that she had always been drawn to it. In the 1980’s she made the decision to put down her rock pick and hand lens and pick up her paintbrushes for good. “The Haida have a saying, ‘Life is like living on an edge of a knife. When you walk, watch your steps or you will fall off the edge of the earth.’ Inherent in the creation of my art is the suspense and awareness of the knife’s edge.”
Andy Everson: Comox, BC Prints - Painting
Andy Everson was born in Comox, BC in 1972 and named Na̱gedzi after his grandfather, the late Chief Andy Frank of the K’ómoks First Nation. Andy has also had the honour of being seated with the ‘Na̱mg̱is T̓sit̓sa̱ł'walag̱a̱me' name of Ḵ̓wa̱mxa̱laga̱lis I'nis. Influenced heavily by his grandmother, he has always been driven to uphold the traditions of both the K’ómoks and Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw First Nations. In this regard, Andy has pursued avenues where he can sing traditional songs and perform ceremonial dances at potlatches and in a number of different dance groups, most notably the Le-La-La Dancers, the Gwa'wina Dancers and the K’umugwe Dancers.
Pursuing other areas of traditional culture has also led Andy to complete a Master’s degree in anthropology. His thesis focused on notions and expressions of contemporary Comox identity. Andy’s work in anthropology provided him with a background in linguistics which subsequently inspired him to create a company, Copper Canoe, Inc, that specialized in the creation of Aboriginal language media.
Although he began drawing Northwest Coast art at an early age, Andy's first serious attempt wasn’t until 1990 when he started designing and painting chilkat-style blankets for use in potlatch dancing. From these early self-taught lessons, he has tried to follow in the footsteps of his Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw relatives in creating bold and unique representations that remain rooted in the age-old traditions of his ancestors. The ability to create and print most of his own work has allowed Andy to explore and express his ancestral artwork in several contemporary ways.
Eric Lester: Inuit Soap Stone Carver
Eric is known by his Inuit name “Amireq”. He was born in Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories, and raised in Tuktoyaktuk, North West Territories in Northern Canada.
Eric is a self-taught carver and started carving in 1980. He carves on soapstone, antler, argillite and ivory in many different animal forms such as bears, snow geese, whales and inukshuk drawing his inspiration from the natural world around him. Eric is known all over the world for his soapstone work and his recent claim to fame is a licensed design of his inukshuk that is manufactured in silver and sold worldwide.
Wade Stephen Baker: Coast Salish - Carver
Mintle-e-da-us (Wade Stephen Baker) was born in Vancouver, B.C. in June 1956. His Kwakiutl native name is Mintle-e-da-us which means “place of plenty”. Wade prides himself on being part of the most powerful spiritual dancers in Kwakiutl ceremonies. His mother is a high-ranking nobility of the Kingcome Inlet People, Kwakiutl Nation of B.C. His late father, descendant of Chief Capilano, was Coast Salish, Squamish Nation. Wade lives with partner/wife and daughter in Vancouver.
Jonathan Jacobson: Kwakwakaw'wakw First Nation - Carver
Jonathan is a member of the Kwakwakaw'wakw First Nation is a versatile artist who expresses his culture through many different art forms. “I am learning to weave, and I love to weave. I think my Tlingit ancestry is showing in my weaving… I dance, I sing, I’ve drummed all my life… I love being a part of the drum and it brings out the reason for the mask and the reason for the song and the owner of the mask. When I drum songs, I become Kwakiutl and use Kwakwala language… To be Kwakiutl, I have to think outside of myself and be greater and have a respect and love for one another.”
Trevor Angus: Gitxsan / Wetsuweten - Carver
My name is Tka’ast from the House of Wii minoosik. My given name is Trevor Angus. I am Gitxsan / Wetsuweten born and raised in Kispiox, B.C. I have been carving for most of my life. I carved my first plaque when I was in grade four under the instruction of Victor Mowatt of Gitanmaax. I also had Dan Yunkws as a teacher in high school. I also spent a lot of time during high school at Ksan watching the carvers there.
After High School, I was accepted to the Kitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian art at Ksan in Hazelton where my instructors were Master Carvers Vernon Stephens and Ken Mowatt. I completed the four-year program in 1998 learning to design and carve plaques, ladles, panels, masks, rattles, paddles, and steam bent boxes.
I had the opportunity as well to watch and learn from Master carvers like Earl Muldon and the late Walter Harris. I continue to meet and learn from different artists as well as my teachers from Ksan to this day. It is a long journey to becoming a Master Carver myself; a goal that I have held since I picked up my first set of tools.
I am presently living and carving full time in Vancouver.
Charles Brown: Lytton, Nlakapumux Nation - Soap Stone Carver
Born in Lytton in 1959, Charles has always had an interest in art but never dreamed he would be carving in soapstone. In 1995 he learned some techniques of carving soapstone from Native and Inuit carvers. Amazed and surprised with his first carvings he began a new career as a sculptor.
As well as carving the beautifully colored soapstone from around the Nlakapumux territory, he has begun to use alabaster. The gold inlay that Charles uses in some of his pieces he collects from the Thompson and Fraser Rivers.
Charles' love and respect for nature has provided him with the inspiration to carve representations of wildlife. He also has an interest in carving his version of the ancient stone artifacts made by his ancestors.
Charles is happy to be one of the first in a soapstone carving revival by the Nlakapumux.
Joe Campbell: Coast Salish (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm - Musqueam) Nation - Carver
Joe is a self-taught artist. He began carving in 1974 and since then has produced many yellow and red cedar wall carving, talking sticks, totem poles, masks, and rattles. Joe recently completed an advanced design course with Robert Davidson, and he worked with George Rammel at Capilano College on bronze casting techniques in 2003. Joe also creates carved and painted bentwood boxes of all sizes for various corporation in and around Vancouver.
Sheldon Williams: Heiltsuk Nation - Jeweler & Carver
Sheldon Williams was born to the Raven Clan of Naglisla, Heiltsuk Nation in 1968. His interest in the art of his people began in his early teens. Since that early beginning, he has created a wide body of work that includes poles, masks, paintings, blankets, plaques, chest, and bentwood boxes as well as gold and silver jewelry. He is a skilled carver, and his jewelry frequently shows unique settings.
Derek Thomas: Métis artist, Duncan - Jeweler & Carver
Derek Thomas is a Métis artist who was born in 1982 in Duncan, B.C. Being raised in the Valley surrounded by the culture of the Coast Salish people he was drawn at a young age not to his Métis heritage, that he was unfamiliar with, but to the art and culture of his environment. Mostly self-taught, he started carving in 2005, and was also inspired to paint by his Coast Salish uncle Richard Johnson.
Thomas is a versatile artist who creates two- and three-dimensional designs as expressions of traditional art forms and expanded on them by creating modern pieces with unique color schemes. Thomas credits his growth as an artist to private art collectors who have supported him, most notably - Frank Weyman.
Thomas’ work is collected worldwide.
Richard Krentz (1945-2014): Sechelt First Nation - Jeweler & Carver
Richard Krentz’s first name was Kwatamus in the Coast Salish language of the Sechelt Nation; a man of two worlds. He was one of Canada’s most renowned Aboriginal artists and a natural entrepreneur who long ago met the mainstream economy on its own terms and conquered.
As the artist Kwatam-us, Richard Krentz specialized in the creation of beautiful silver and gold jewelry featuring Coast Salish design. He won an international reputation as a leading carver of totem poles and other major pieces, as well bentwood boxes. Richard was the instigator and organizer of a unique collaborative project that saw the world’s tallest totem pole erected at the Victoria commonwealth games in 1994.
Marcel Mousseau (1963-2021): Ebb and Floow First Nation - Painter & Carver
Marcel Mousseau (July 10, 1963- July 2021) was Ojibwa and a member of the Ebb and Flow reserve in Manitoba but called the Lower Mainland home for many years. He was a well-known and popular resident of the Vancouver’s Downtown East Side (DTES) and was the first vendor at the DTES Market and designed its first logo.
Mousseau’s artistry varied from dreamcatchers to lighter cases to prints. His larger works can be found in galleries such as the Ruby Creek Art Gallery while smaller and more transportable pieces of art such as lighter cases and bandanas were sold at the market.
“Art is a healing tool which allows one to explore one’s inner strength and courage.”
Alano Edzerza: Tahltan Nation - Painter
Alano is a Tahltan multimedia artist and entrepreneur based in West Vancouver, British Columbia. He has had numerous group and solo shows in Canada and abroad and is one of the key artists in the contemporary northwest coast art movement.
Alano cemented the reputation of his growing company during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games when he designed the outerwear for the Dutch Olympic team. He is the owner and director of Edzerza Gallery, Edzerza sports and Edzerza Artworks and has been running his own business since 2007.
Edzerza has taught and volunteered with the youth organizations KAYA (Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Association), the Freida Diesing School for Northwest Coast Native Art, and NYAC (Native Youth Arts Collective) as well as been a judge for the YVR Art Foundation Scholarship for young Native artists. In 2009 he was the recipient of the 2009 30 & Under Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Victor Michael West: Tlingit/Cree and Irish - Painter & Carver
Victor Michael West is of Tlingit, Cree and Irish ancestry and currently resides in Ucluelet, British Columbia.A self taught artist, Victor has studied First Nations Masters such as Bill Reid, Robert Davison, Reg Davison, David Boxely, Charles Edenshaw and Dempsey Bob and has worked with notable artists Thunderbird Jack, Dr.'Old Bill Holm' and Clarence Mills.
The fine workmanship and artistic eye of Victor Michael West are seen in his meticulously carved contemporary Tlingit carvings, precise clean paintwork and the sharp-edge designs of his contemporary Tlingit limited edition and open-end prints.
Victor prides himself in his artwork, which he pursues with gusto. As a carver he mainly works in Vancouver Island red and yellow cedar. His pieces depict images of Eagle, Raven, Killer Whale, Wolf, Owl and Salmon. Many of his designs are inspired by old Tlingit bent wood boxes.
Mike Dangeli: Nisga’a, Tlingit and Tsimshian Nation - Carver
Mike Dangeli Michael is of the Nisga’a, Tlingit and Tsimshian Nation; his traditional name is Goothl T’similx, which means “the heart of the beaver lodge”. He belongs to the Beaver/Eagle clan. The Nisga’a originates from the Nass River valley of northern British Columbia.
Michael began learning his people’s ways at an early age by attending traditional feast/ceremonies and gathering/preparing traditional foods and performing in his families dance group. Michael began studying Northwest Coast art while still attending high school in Metlakatla, Alaska. Striving to understand and appreciate his people’s rich art form, he then majored in history at the University of Alaska Southeast-Ketchikan. In 1994 Michael began a yearlong apprenticeship under his uncle, Master Carver Randy Adams of Prince Rupert, BC. From his uncle, Michael learned two-dimensional plaque and panel carving, mask making and design.
http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/michael_dangeli.htm
Patrick Amos: Nuu-chah-nulth Nation - Prints/Carvings
Patrick Amos is from the Mowachaht Band of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation. His works include silkscreen prints, drums, and red and yellow cedar masks, boxes, and totem poles. Patrick has worked with Art Thompson (Nuu-chah-nulth), Calvin Hunt (Kwakwaka'wakw/Nuu-chah-nulth), John Livingston (adopted Kwakwaka'wakw), and Gene Brabant (Cree).
In 1979 he apprenticed with Kwakwaka'wakw carver Tony Hunt Sr. at the Art of the Raven Gallery in Victoria, BC. He then apprenticed with Hesquiaht/Nuu-chah-nulth artist Tim Paul at Thunderbird Park at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC, where he worked on totem pole projects with him. Patrick is an active member of his community. He participates in carving demonstrations at various schools in the Port Alberni School District each year and has taught a Native art class in Ucluelet, BC, since 1991.
Clarence Wells: Gitxsan (Gitsan) Clan of the Tsimshian (Tsimpshien)
Clarence A. Wells was born in 1950 in Prince Rupert, BC, and is a member of the Blackfish (Killer Whale) clan of his tribe; Gitsan Clan, Tsimpshian Port Simpson Tribe. The artist is well disciplined in the Northern styles of the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimpshian.
Tyler Tobacco: Painter
Tyler Tobacco is a self-taught artist from The Pas, Manitoba. He has been pursuing his passion for art since he was a child, starting with pencil drawings. When Tyler was 20, he moved to B.C. to learn painting skills and techniques from his father, well-known B.C. artist Garnet Tobacco (1964-2022). In 2019 Tyler was a 1st place winner in the Peace Hills Trust Art Contest.
“I’m not quite sure what drew me into drawing and painting. I guess my dad provided the fuel needed to pursue it more. All I did was draw until I was an adult.”
“It took a lot of time to develop my art talent, probably thousands of hours over the years now,” said Tobacco. “It took some self-motivation and a willingness to sacrifice my time to something and that’s how I developed my skill and talent.
Lately Tyler has been creating murals including a 25-foot mural in the RCMP’s office in Thompson, Manitoba that depicts important themes and elements including the Seven Sacred Teachings and the smudge ceremony.
Roy Henry Vickers:
Roy Henry Vickers was born in June 1946 in the village of Greenville, in northern British Columbia. Roy has stayed on the northwest coast of British Columbia ever since, residing at various times in Hazelton, Kitkatla, Tofino and Victoria.
Roy's father was a fisherman with the blood of three northwest coast First Nations' Tsimshian, Haida and Heiltsuk flowing in his veins. Roy's mother was a schoolteacher whose parents had immigrated to Canada from England. This unusual mixed heritage has had a strong influence on Roy's art.
Roy studied traditional First Nations art and design at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in Hazelton.
Vickers is best known around the world for his limited-edition prints. He is also an accomplished carver, design advisor of prestigious public spaces, a sought-after keynote speaker, and publisher and author of several successful books.
In addition, he is a recognized leader in the First Nations community, and a tireless spokesperson for recovery from addictions and abuse.
Roy has received many awards and honours for his art and community involvement. Among them are a hereditary chieftainship and several hereditary names he has received from Northwest Coast First Nations.
Roy's work can be found in private and public collections and galleries around the world including the National Museum of Man (Ottawa, Ontario), University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology (Vancouver, British Columbia), the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg, Ontario) and the National Museum of Japan (Osaka).
Dick Joseph
Kwakwaka'wakw ( Kwakiutl ) carver Dick Joseph was born in Alert Bay in 1952. He is a long-time resident of Campbell River.
Dick Joseph is a member of the Tlowitsis Tribe which was originally from Turner Island and is among the 12 tribes that make up the Kwakwaka’wakw North Coast Nation.
He was trained in carving by his late father-in-law, well known artist Sam Henderson Jr, who was a high-ranking chief amongst the Kwakwaka’wakw people.
Dick Joseph is known for his large carved pieces, including totem poles, paddles, plaques and large masks.
Sandra Seaweed
My name is Sandra Seaweed, I am originally from Tlowitsis tribe of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples; located on the coastal area of Northern Vancouver Island. I currently reside in Mill Bay BC. I married into the Namgis First Nation.
I began carving jewelry in 1992 taught by master carver Paddy Seaweed.
I specialize in sterling silver and gold. I have a passion for creating earrings. I also make pendants, rings, spirit beads and bracelets. Creating art is an outlet and helps me connect with my culture.
Cristiano Bruno
(MATILPI) has been a full-time, professional artist and carver since 1997.
The Kwakiutl (pronounced Kwa-gyu-thl) First Nation originally hail from Alert Bay ('Yalis) in 'Namgis Territory where his mother is from.
Cristiano was born in East Vancouver and moved to the South of Italy for his first 12 years of his life. Surrounded by art, music and culture in Italy, Cristiano began drawing and sketching various historical monuments in the city of Cosenza and this inspired him to become an artist.
The dream of becoming an artist came quite swiftly when Cristiano moved back to Vancouver at the age of 15. His uncle Charles Harper; a master carver of the Carrier Nation who in the mid 1970’s apprenticed under the great Lloyd Wadhams, began schooling Cristiano in the basics of precious metals, the art form of the family and engraving. He progressed very quickly at a young age and fell in love with this new art form.
Cristiano is still learning his culture and looking at new ways to express himself. Cristiano has been blessed beyond words by the Creator and is thankful to his family members of The Matilpi, Wadhams, Harper and Seaweed for schooling him in the basics of precious metals and his family designs.
John P Henderson
John P. Henderson is a member of the Wei Wai Kum First Nations band in Campbell River, BC, Canada, as well as an artist, carver, father, grandfather, a former band counsellor and a man determined to raise awareness of the future fate of the lands of his 'Nakwaxda'xw ancestors.
He learned to carve from his late father Master carver Sam Henderson, who belonged to the'Nakwaxda'xw First Nations from the Village of Blunden Harbor. His father Sam moved to Campbell River in 1934, where he married May Quocksistala, the eldest daughter of the local Wei Wai Kum Band's Chief John Quocksistala.
Sam was a well- known Master Carver who’s very collectable totem poles, masks, talking sticks and other works of art are represented in museums and private collections worldwide.
John learned his father’s unique carving style and has been carving and keeping up the traditions since then.
James McGuire (Haida Nation)
James is a member of the Stastas Eagle Clan from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii, where he was born in 1953. He comes from a long line of famed Haida carvers including his Grandmother Mary Tulip, the eldest niece of carver Charles Edenshaw.
He spent his youth watching and learning from Haida craftsmen including his uncle Edmund Caulder and his late older brother Patrick McGuire. James was carving on his own by 1970, beginning with argillite then moving on to working with silver and gold, creating beautifully pieces of engraved jewellery.
