Marvin Tallio was born in 1966 in Bella Bella, British Columbia. Marvin is part of the Bella Coola Nation (also known as Nuxalk) and takes the Killerwhale, Grizzly Bear and Eagle as his family crests. Marvin began carving small plaques as a youngster in 1973. In 1985, while attending the[…]
Read More »Sonia Triebwasser is a Kwakwaka’wakw artist born September 25, 1972 in New Westminster, British Columbia. Sonia has been carving since 1994. She completed two years of Jewellery Design courses at Vancouver Community College. She primarily works in gold, silver and wood. Sonia is especially skilled in creating Jewellery with gemstones[…]
Read More »Joe R. Wilson was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia in 1966. His tribal affiliation is ‘Na_mg_is from ‘Ya_lis of the Kwakwa_ka_’wakw nations. He is a grandson of the late ‘Na_mg_is Hereditary Chief K’odi U’dzistalis (Alvin Edgar Alfred). Joe began carving at the age of 21 after being inspired by[…]
Read More »George Stokes was born in Vancouver in 1969. He began carving at the age of fifteen and within a year was assisting Bill Reid and Don Yeomans with an eighteen foot totem pole for Kitsilano Secondary School. The totem now stands in the school auditorium. George enjoys carving in yellow[…]
Read More »Steve Smith was born in the Kwagiulth Nation of Campbell River, British Columbia in 1968. At the age of 20 his father Harris Smith-Lalkawilas introduced Steve to carving and painting. After his lengthy apprenticeship, Steve branched out on his own and has since developed his own innovation and distinctive style[…]
Read More »Russell Smith was born March 19, 1950 in Alert Bay, British Columbia. At the Northeast Coast of Vancouver Island, Alert Bay is part of the Kwakwaka’wakw territory that reaches the adjacent mainland and covers the many Islands inbetween. The Kwakwaka’wakw – "speakers of Kwakwala" – or Kwakiutl Nations, are the[…]
Read More »Jay Simeon was born in Fort McLeod, Alberta in 1976. He is a member of the Eagle clan of the Haida Nation. Jay began his artistic training at the age of fourteen, under the guidance of his aunt, Sharon Hitchcock. After being introduced to Andrew Williams, an argillite carver, he[…]
Read More »Dorothy Shepherd was born October 5th, 1945 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She was born into the Nuu-cha-nulth Nation who inhabit the southern region of Vancouver Island. Dorothy takes the Killerwhale, known as a powerful and skilled underwater hunter, as her family crest symbol. Dorothy is one of the few[…]
Read More »Rupert Scow was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia in 1957. He comes from a long line of carvers and grew up with a strong sense of cultural and traditional art. His great grandfather was Chief John Scow and his great grandfather on his mother’s side was acclaimed artist Mungo[…]
Read More »Ray Scow was born in the village of Alert Bay, British Columbia in 1965. He is one of seven brothers. Ray’s grandfather was a chief, and as a result, Ray grew up with a strong sense of the culture and traditions of his heritage. Ray has worked alongside one of[…]
Read More »Rod Smith (Galuyagmi “Great First Birth”) was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1966 and now resides in Qualicum Beach, BC. Rod is an artist who discovered his love of art and learned his craft under the the watchful eye of his father, the late Kwakwaka’wakw artist Harris Smith (Lalkawilas).[…]
Read More »John Spence was born in North Vancouver, BC in 1970. He is a member of the Squamish Nation and from the Killer Whale clan. John is a grandson of the late Chief Simon Baker (Khot-la-cha). John is a talented wood carver who has worked and learned under the watchful eyes[…]
Read More »Brad Starr is a Haisla carver born in Kitimat, British Columbia in 1957. In 1995, while working in the construction industry, Brad was presented with a set of carving tools by his brother. Inspired by art created by his uncle Sam Robinson and his grandfather Solomon Mackay, Brad began to[…]
Read More »Morris Sutherland (Moy) is from Ahousaht, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. He is of the Nuu-chah-nulth nation. His native name is Hiish-Miik, which translates as “someone who gets whatever they are after”. As a young man he worked in the forests of British Columbia where he always found[…]
Read More »Terry Starr was born in Prince Rupert in 1952 and belongs to the Eagle clan of the Tsimshian Nation. He purchased his first set of carving knives in 1982, and although he had no formal training, he did receive guidance from Richard Hunt and Tim Paul at the B.C. Provincial[…]
Read More »Ernest Swanson was born in King County, Washington in 1981 and grew up on Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia. He is a matrilineal descendent of Charles Edenshaw, and grandson to the late Rufus Moody. In addition to completing two design courses with Robert Davidson, Ernest has[…]
Read More »Kelvin (Kelly) Robinson was born on May 18, 1981 in Nanaimo, British Columbia. He grew up in Bella Coola, BC. From an early age, he showed interest in learning and refining the art of his ancestors, specifically the unique form of the Nuxalk. Under the guidance of his uncle, noted[…]
Read More »Wilfred Sampson was born in 1957, in Hazelton, British Columbia. Wilfred is from the Gitksan Nation, which inhabits the northern coast of British Columbia. Wilfred has been designing and carving northwest coast art since 1981. He was initially self taught, looking through books and observing other artist’s works. Motivated by[…]
Read More »Justin Rivard was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia in 1964 and exposed to the Coast Salish culture from an early age. With his father, who at the time was Executive Director of the Native Brotherhood of BC, Justin travelled throughout the native communities on the West Coast of BC. He[…]
Read More »Bill Reid was born in 1920 to a Haida mother and a European father. While working as a broadcaster with the CBC in Toronto in the early 1950s, he studied jewelry-making at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, and later studied classic European jewelry-making at the London School of Design. He combined European[…]
Read More »Joshua was born in Victoria, BC, though his cultural origin is Saskatchewan Cree. He has resided in Victoria for more than half of his life, but did travel and live with his family in others areas of Canada when he was young. Joshua attended High School in Victoria where Native[…]
Read More »Mark Redsky was born into the Anishnabe Nation in Kenora, Ontario. Mark discovered his artistic talents for stone carving in high school and has continued to work on his craft since 1995. He has also expressed himself artistically in the form of poetry and acting. Being Anishnabe, Mark draws upon[…]
Read More »Susan Point was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia in 1952 and now resides on the Musqueam First Nations Reservation in Vancouver, BC. Susan began her art career in her late 20’s, carving rings, pendants, bracelets and other Jewellery. Her works are distinct in their expression of traditional Coast Salish[…]
Read More »Mark Preston was born in Dawson City, Yukon. He is of Tlingit and Irish ancestry and presently resides in Whitehorse, Yukon. He learned about his Tlingit ancestry through his family and school. Initially, he began studying art through studying European masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo but later[…]
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