Haida Gwaii All Island Art Show 2015 Artists Catalogue

Aayaay

“Headband” $1,200 Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Ronda Bell

“Celebration” Pencil, pen, ink NFS I compiled this image from some photographs taken a few years ago. I wanted to see if the subject and the background could be combined effectively.

Bill Bellis

“Whirlpool of Spawning Sockeye Salmon in a Forested River Served on a Plate” Repousse casting, hand-tooled, soldered, inlaid silver, oxblood coral, turquoise, spiny oyster shell, ivory, pea gravel from Balance Rock, yellow cedar camping plate from Copper Bay $700 per fish Georgia Bennett “Xuux”” Chilkat NFS This weaving is called the Chilkat butterfly, but I added sparkle wool so this is what you get when you cross a butterfly with a raven -- Xuux. I use a combination of traditional skills and contemporary materials, which gives me limitless color combinations that I can use to make one- of-a-kind pieces of art. I am striving to become a Master in Traditional Ravens' Tail Weaving by working with master weavers Evelyn Vanderhoop and William White. I am greatly humbled and feel very grounded when I am doing what I love… WEAVING!

John Brent Bennett

“Golden Eagle” Yellow cedar The bulge bowl has 81 inlaid opercula. Linda Berston

“Lunch at the 4th Hole” Acrylic NFS This work was inspired by actual lunches at the 4th Hole of Dixon Entrance Golf Course. Any serious golfer knows that this is simply not done. However, after more than 10 strokes per hole, a rest was necessary. I hope I have captured the fun and silliness of our lunches while the serious golfers play through.

Rolf Bettner

“ififellin…” Photograph Daniel Binnema $299.99 Whatitis “Emergence” Acrylic NFS Emergence is the phenomenon of a whole being more than the sum of its parts: the creative force out of which life emerges. It is only through the relationship of the parts, the continuous web of interconnected nested wholes, that we exist. Caitlin Blewett

“Okanagan Evening” Felt NFS This joyful creation of soap, water and fibre was inspired by the sunsets over Okanagan Lake that featured in almost every evening of my childhood summers. Fraser Brown

“It Will Pass” Acrylic $360 “It Will Pass” is an analogous image based on considerations around Impermanence and uncertainty. Humanity to date has proven to be a powerful agent of change upon our planet, but we are not the apex existence that Darwin so damagingly bestowed upon us. It is as simple as being caught out in a downpour while trying to cook a weenie for one to understand that there are larger forces at play in our universe than ourselves.

Julie Busshoff “Sunflower” Felt NFS As a quilter, artist, knitter, and tole painter who has worked with a number of media for more than 30 years, this is a further extension for me, creating art in mixed media, and most especially using natural wool which has always been a special material to me. I am also a gardener and so choosing a flower design was enjoyable and an easy decision. Felting has proved to be a fascinating creative process that has opened me to many new ideas.

Jason Camp

Betsy Cardell “One Million Gallons #1” Ink $550 “The Green Man” No tankers Salt clay, white glue, Cabbage Lungwort, lichen, acrylic paint, LED lights, wire NFS I had the great pleasure and privilege to travel to Bali to visit some very good friends. Each neighbourhood where I stayed, I would make a point of walking the little streets and byways, marveling at the sights. There would always be fabulous doors and roofs, but my favourites were the little hidden shrines. The spirits they were meant to honour were unknown to me. However, their peaceful smiles and calm presence is something I carried away in my heart.

Shyla Cross

“Tawla Jaad” Tie-dye, acrylic NFS I am by no means an artist and this was my first attempt at painting. This was made for my friend’s birthday and she is from the Gak’yaals Kiigawaay clan of K’uuna ’Llnagaay clan. On this piece there are two of the clan’s crests: Tawla (rainbow) and Xuuya (Raven). One of my favourite scenes is lying on the beach at Skedans and admiring the rainbow stretched across the village while listening to the ravens. So here it is shown in art form.

Kayoko Daugert

“Grandma’s Yo’s November Visit” Watercolour $420 Mother loved to visit in summertime – days were warm and garden bountiful. She never came in winter, but she may have liked an autumn visit. At first she would miss the garden and be put off by stark, bare alders. But there would be that moment when her eyes would light up – when flocks of geese and ducks came gliding in with the incoming tide while the muddy tide flats, saturated and gravid, would gleam under slanting sunlight.

Jennifer Davies “Caitlin’s Doll”

Linen, cotton floss NFS This cloth doll, made by Maggie Karibjani (a Lawn Hill resident at that time) was given to our daughter in the late ‘70’s. She sits on an antique chair and is unique and sentimentally very special. My husband made an etching of her in the 80’s. Now I have portrayed her in this form using simple embroidery techniques. Laura Dutheil

“Woman Becoming Kelp” Silver, kelp, stones NFS Silver carved bracelet of a woman resting on her side morphing into kelp. An Eagle watches overhead. It is displayed on dried kelp attached to a black boxed frame with an acrylic miniature study of a woman becoming kelp. I like to observe and imagine before I carve. This piece is a way to show the process.

Lexi Forbes ”K’aaw” Fran Fowler Fabric $175 “West Coast – East Coast” Fabric NFS

Traditional style rug hooking mat, using recycled cotton T-shirts and beach-combed treasures. A favourite place … so walking on carpet, instead of the beach.

Abby Fraser

“Breathe” Paint, plaster, rope NFS This piece is the final product for my entry project based on Transformation for Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Here I depict the roots of the tree transforming into the bronchioles of the lungs. This symbolizes how much we rely on the environment to keep us alive and healthy. Trees photosynthesize and produce oxygen that we inhale and turn into carbon dioxide that the trees require for photosynthesis. There is a deep interconnection between humans and the environment in that we provide for each other. The trees are the lungs of the earth.

Debby Gardiner Jason Goetzinger “Coffee in Sienna” “The Beginning” Silk, beads Acrylic $350 NFS

In this work I used the techniques of underpainting and glazing. Influences for the style of imagery come from many different cultural art forms, including Japanese, Celtic, and Egyptian. I am interested in the simplified forms of ancient artists and how they used the distribution of space and proportion in their designs to achieve beautiful results. Inspiration for the subject matter of my work usually comes from observing people and nature.

Laura Granger

“Nereocystis luetkeana” Acrylic $150 Growing up on Vancouver Island, I have always been drawn to the beauty of the ocean and the west coast. Having lived in Tofino and now Haida Gwaii, I have been consistently inspired to paint sunsets and seascapes, and painting kelp has allowed me to indulge in my love of vibrant colours.

Geoff Greene Tony Greene “Blue” Acrylic “Chuckie Bear” $500 Copper

NFS

My influences are traditional art and modern artists like Mark Rothko. By combining colours from the sky, sea and land with traditional art is the start of new ways of expressing myself.

Robin Hawse

“The Reckoning” Acrylic $650 I am fascinated with fantasy – larger-than-life visuals. My technique is to map out my work, then paint from light to dark. Focal points are tinted very light and pop out with a kind of energetic vibrancy. The end results should cast an entertaining spell on you and whisk you away into a forgotten realm… Nancy Hett

“Fish Vessel no. 1” Clay $90 I have recently been inspired to try some sculpture. Most of my work is wheel-thrown, so that’s how I began this piece. It became a vessel because that’s what I know best. It is thrown, coiled, pinched and hand-built. I enjoyed making it and I think that gave it the jolly expression it seems to have.

Cacilia Honisch

"Winter Alders at the Tlell River" Watercolour NFS With each new season, I have been wanting to paint some of the wonderful landscape scenes we have here on Haida Gwaii. This year I finally tried to capture the alders at the Tlell River in winter. I hope to be more involved with painting in watercolour in the future, now that I am truly retiring and can follow one of my hobbies.

Ding Hutchingson

“Swan Bay Rediscovery – Tribute to Slatechuck” series Argillite, copper, silver I was generously gifted with argillite from the kids who journeyed up Slatechuck Mountain as part of the Swan Bay Rediscovery program. It had been many years since I had argillite to work with, and I was inspired by their kindness to create these containers and sculptures that share our old Haida stories. Remembering how difficult the trip up the can be, I wanted to make sure they see the work that was produced. Their seat and mine went into these pieces. Together we’ve helped carry on the ways of our ancestors. Haawa Sheila Karrow

“Reflections: Four Worlds” Watercolour $950 This image summarizes my experience in a tidal pool – feet immersed, body bent over, wide- brimmed hat creating the cast shadow over the water. Seeing many worlds simultaneously creates a metaphorical depth. Can you see the four worlds of experience in this tidal pool?

Sandra Kennedy

“Seven Stones” Driftwood, wire $135 Most of my projects start when I find something eye-catching on the beach – my magpie tendency to pick up anything unusual or interesting. I had been collecting “pierced rocks” for quite some time, but had no plan for them. The short chunk of brightly coloured 200-strand cable was so eye-catching I just had to bring it home. When I found the crooked salmonberry branch on the beach, it was decorated with a webbing of eel grass and kelp, which gave me the idea to recreate a web with “non-plant” materials.

Delavina Lawrence

“Wing” Acrylic copper paint, sand, glue, seashells $300 Raven LeBlanc I am from Old Massett, Haida First Nation and belong to the Eagle clan. My art is based on nature by using the environment resource products which I collected from Haida Gwaii. My inspiration is my ancestors who lived and breathed on these beaches and how they used natural resources for everyday items. The Wing represent the raw material that brings out the simplicity and rough textures, but yet retains its own colours, making its unique and natural beauty.

Raven LeBlanc

“The Four Symbols” Acrylic NFS I am an artist who has attended Emily Carr University of Art + Design and studied under different mentors of Pacific . I have always been interested in art, with my beginnings starting in Japanese cartoons (also known as “anime”). This piece is a hybrid of my interest in Asian culture, anime, and also my own culture – Haida. The figures in the piece are the four Symbols in Chinese Constellations: the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Turtle of the North. These four are creatures in some of the anime I watched while growing up. Don Leech

Dove Chow Mein Watercolour NFS Frank and I were strolling along San Pedro town in Belize, and came across about 100 bird cages raising doves. Interesting, we thought. The next day we walked past a restaurant and on the menu was dove chow mein. We went for pizza instead. This is my version of a dove.

Dominic Legault

Jack Litrell “New Life”

Photograph “Havana, Cuba” NFS Photograph

$350

In this picture the grand capitolio building, a reflection of prosperity long past, serves as a backdrop for Cubans who get by with a lot less, with hope for a better future.

Alexander MacDonald

“Consuming Junky” Photograph and poem $250 This year I believe my piece will speak for itself, but just to be clear I further offer; this piece is conceived of as an expression of the abhorrence I feel when I witness rampant consumerism – in others and myself. My thanks to my son Keir for taking the picture and accepting my composition ideas for the photo. Thanks also to Sandra Price who, just by being herself, once again supported my creative process. Thanks to you too, who take the time to read artists’ statements, for being willing to look more deeply into my offering. Lori Macfarlane

“Forest Spot” Acrylic $200 I live in Tlell and love to be in nature. I took a new canvas and paint to my favourite spot and painted this.

Kayleigh Madore

“They Swim” Watercolour, acrylic, ink $375 For me, the contrast of black ink against the white of a page is incredibly satisfying. It’s like peeling tape off a painted canvas exposing the crisp clean line and edge below, or pulling back the skin of an orange to reveal the fleshy fruit within. It is refreshing to have a clean line, and the contrast between different layers adds a complexity and depth. The process of building up and combining different textures, of creating a sense of multiple layers is something that I continuously find unconditionally pleasing. Enjoy.

Val Malesku

“Dano’s Day Trip” Watercolour NFS “It was a dark and dreary day…” This is a watercolour done with a variety of blacks and hints of blue and green. I restarted my graphic arts three years ago, being known for bright colours. “And now for something completely different,” in Monty Python’s words. The painting was done from a photo taken by Sara Eaton’s grandson, Dano, on a kayak trip with his girlfriend Leah, his brother Muki, and Corey, a friend from Vancouver. His series of pictures going up Skidegate Inlet start with a bright day, further up becoming the incredible shadows the islands are so well known for. Ron McKee

“Runoff to Beach – Haida Gwaii 2015” NFS Silver Gelatin Photograph In black & white photography I apply various means in manipulating the processing of film and paper. The objective of this manipulation is to control the contrasts, tonal range and textures to define and enhance the features of my landscape subjects. When I have successfully accomplished my desired enhancements, I gain a sense the resultant photograph is no longer “mine”. It exists independently; An experience consistent with the creative arts: the culmination of a fulfilling endeavour.

Jessie McKenzie

“Hooter” Watercolour, ink $185 I believe to create is an essential part of the human experience, in all forms. That’s why I paint.

Madison Mills

“Rivos Geminus” (Twin Rivers) Watercolour, ink $130 This is a river that goes for a long time; I just don’t have the time or energy to finish it. I think it’s a very nice river. It is pink. Darrell Oike

“Gucci Bag with Carp” Clay NFS This past July, I spent four weeks in Italy where I immersed myself in the art and culture of Tuscany, Rome and Venice. For two weeks I lived in rural Tuscany and attended an intensive ceramic sculpture workshop by Richard Notkin at La Meridiana International School of Ceramics. One of the pieces that resulted from this period of study was Gucci Bag with Carp.

Maryann Ojala

“Koi Study no. 2” Windsor Newton oils plus speciality metallic/interference/iridescent oils. Random cat hairs throughout. NFS Like playing scales on a piano in order to learn to play music.

Sandra Price

“That Which Grounds Me” Machine- and hand-embroidered cotton, wood buttons. NFS One day I gazed from my float-house deck onto Skidegate Inlet. I was clearing my mind for a fresh start writing about Haida button blankets when I found myself transported west to Kagan Bay. It has taken me 20 years to summon the courage to express in text and image what I saw that day. Like the previous four quilts in my current series about knowledge on Haida Gwaii, I first wrote the haiku poetry. Balancing the literal with the subtle challenged me throughout the four months of writing and stitching. A Gwaii Trust travel grant helped with a techniques workshop.

Keith Randall

“Cast Away” Papier mache, fiberglass resin, acrylic paint, and much more $500 My current work is an exploration of process, surface and universal imagery. I use imagery which is automatically identifiable to the viewer, and represents the everyday of human existence. The surfaces I choose offer an opportunity to question the obvious form and find new interpretation and alternate perceptions.

Angela Ransom

“Fronds 1” Watercolour $575 Sword ferns have always enchanted me, verdant, hardy and delicate. Walking through the trail we became surrounded by them, reaching for the sunlight. I could’ve stayed in that spot for hours. This painting was created with that afternoon in mind, the density of the forest and the multitude of magnificent fronds beaming in the sun. This watercolour is the first in a “Fern” series that I am currently exploring with varied mediums.

James Reid

“It Was All in Fun, Just a Charivari” Acrylic NFS I have long been fascinated by the charivari and desired to use it as a focus for a piece. The charivari was a protest custom dating back to the Middle Ages. At its worst, it was called “riding the stang” and protested adultery. However, throughout history there were times where it was a vehicle for the lower classes to loudly demand change. Here is my modern day charivari.

Debbie Reindl

“Sea Lion Cliff” Oil NFS This picture is very symbolic to me because of the person who took the photo that inspired the painting. It is a reminder to me that Life is a precious gift.

Janet Rigg

“Inter-Con-Nected” Oil on sewn canvas NFS Random pieces of canvas are machine sewn together, stretched on a canvas, and then the looser areas are stitched for tightness. Then the collaboration occurs. What does it look like? What do I see? This piece is a triptych that miraculously fit together. I saw trees, I saw branches stretching from one canvas o the next. I saw interconnection. I have been creating sewn canvases since 2001 and the results always surprise even me.

Alex Rinfret

“Tlell” Ink, rubber stamp NFS I like working with a big block of text. But it has to be just the right text: something abstract, not a story that compels the viewer to read through from top to bottom. Something you can look at every day and that can still reveal some new thing. I like to use small, plain words and repetitive phrases, like an incantation or a spell. I usually like to work with found text but I wrote this one myself. These are all observations from many years of living in Tlell. I like the way the days, the months, the years pile up. Certain things happen over and over but on slightly different days; each year ordinary and remarkable at the same time.

Laura Sample

“Petroglyph Impressions” Weaving in the Theo Moormon technique $1,500 As a hand-weaver, I am always searching for unique weaving techniques. I enjoy the challenge of both the creative and the technical aspects of different weaves. This weaving is a type of tapestry weave called the Theo Moorman Weave. It is ideal for portraying the textures and impressions of ancient petroglyphs. This weaving is the most recent of several in a series portraying ancient rock art.

Benita Sanders

“Seaweed Rocks” Cori Savard Pastel NFS “Oceanic Insurgence” I wanted a bit of mystery in the rocks, perhaps a Acrylic sea creature hidden under the seaweed. $2,350

I was thinking of the threat, imposed by pipelines and supertankers, to our coastal way of life when I created this piece. It is my rendition of all that is at stake. Clams, shellfish, marine mammals and the supernatural beings of the sea. From the deepest depths to the rolling waves at the surface, all are silently fighting for their lives as the human race decides their fate.

At our darkest times there is still beauty emanating from us. It is unconsciously Chelsea Scott there, even though we may not see it ourselves. To discover this centre is a powerful truth. Then you find yourself stepping through the Gateway. “The Gateway” Acrylic $550 Leanne Seifert

“Mom: Atticus, Adam and Erik” Oil Jason Shafto NFS “Amanita Abstract” Photograph $450

A constant in my creative photography has been a strong tendency to make abstract images, even though a photographic image is typically a very realistic visual representation of a subject. I prefer to introduce abstraction to my images in-camera, and do so using a variety of techniques and tools. This image is organic in both subject and technique. Abstraction is achieved by composing for overwhelming juxtapositions of colour and shape, as well as disorienting depth and perspective. Viewers may be further overwhelmed by the size of this piece, which is bigger and bolder than anything I've hung before.

Kara Sievewright

“Sea Lion Swarm” Acrylic ink $200 I am interested in exploring narratives, the interplay between images and text, and in adapting stories to different media, including comics, books, illustrations and websites. Thematically, my work often explores the interactions and sometimes conflict between human and non-human environments.

This is a picture I found on-line and it was just beautiful to me. I asked my Lorette Smillie friend to teach me about painting water and showed her the picture I wanted to paint. I was told it was a very ambitious picture for my first oil painting, but “Choka” she said to go for it!! I am so glad I did. Thank you, Debbie Reindl, for your Oil NFS awesome instruction and encouragement. This experience with oil painting has

given me confidence and excitement to follow my heart. “Choka” is surfer slang

for Bitchin’ Awesome Great.

Manzanita Snow

“View of Heaven” Acrylic $250

Marlene Specht This is the first of a series. Yes, it is heaven – my version – I believe anything is possible. I welcome debate on this. It only encourages “On Wathus Island” me. Other artists depicted Hell and got famous. I’d rather do this. Water-miscible oil NFS Inspiration comes from the many beautiful places I have seen on the islands.

John Thomas and Donna Duffy

“King Moon” Manipulated photographic image $250 Using figure transformation to tell a story has been our approach to art photography for the past six years. In a sense, we work like painters using photographic tools in place of the paint brush. An original photographic image taken with the camera is the beginning. From there, we add shapes, colour, and distortion as a painter might apply paint to a canvas.

Benjamin Van der Beke

“War and Spruce” Yellow Cedar NFS This piece was commissioned by the Port Clements Historical Society for their exhibit showcasing Haida Gwaii’s harvest of Sitka Spruce, an essential component of the World War II de Havilland Mosquito Fighter-Bomber. The best airplane- grade spruce in the then British Empire was found here, Post-war sale of Aero logging camps to the Powell River Company Ltd secured Juskatla’s role as a local economic focus ever since.

Kiki van der Heiden “Stillness in Movement” Wool, silk NFS This piece is an ode to Odilon Redon’s painting, “The Buddha”. I wanted to explore if I could bring a more painterly approach to felt making. Investigating the playful and abstract shapes and colours, combined with the realism in the figure, allowed me to play with different techniques to create this painting in felt.

Wendy Van Riesen

“I Am Here” Acrylic $300 On North Beach, absorbed by the relentless power of wind, sky, and sea, I am witness to its mythology; stones become living creatures and I am but stained air.

Mario Veldhuis

“Eagle Princess” Elk antler, salvaged old growth cedar, copper NFS These pieces together or apart, tell a story of transformation – the story of the power of love to transform. The infinite ways, love with no limits can transform into magic. In this case, from eagle to princess.

Robert Vogstad, Lupdaagaa

“Great Shining Heavens” Acrylic, gouache NFS “He had little people hanging head-first from his eyelashes,” page 36, Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida, by John R. Swanton.

Maureen Weddell

“Napali Memories” Fabric NFS This is a fabric interpretation of a painting my son gave to me after kayaking the Napali coast of Kauai, Hawaii. After receiving a piece of fabric with puffins on it, I thought they’d make a great subject for this piece. When I travel, I seek out interesting fabric to be used in quilts or in the fabric images I am drawn to create. My inspiration as always comes from nature – the peace, joy and sometimes humour it provides.

Wellness Warriors

“Visions to the Left” Acrylic $350 Wellness Warriors is a weekly gathering of people focused on nurturing wellness. The work is an image of yin-yang (balance) with four coloured feathers (wholeness and diversity) hanging down. This image is broken down into four separate canvases. We pass the canvases to our left (opening the heart) every 10 minutes or so. As they go around, we each contribute shapes and colours in dialogue with the other shapes and colours on the canvas. The art reflects our group intention: everyone is contributing to the process of creating something beautiful – something that is more than the sum of its parts. You could call that something wellness and we, its warriors.

Bert Wilson

“Scaana” Acrylic NFS Killer Whale with supernatural connection Sylvia Young

“Diane” Cedarbark NFS

In loving memory of my beautiful friend, Diane Richardson.