The Whimsical Wolf is placed on a pedestal with his bright costume streaming from his magnificent shiny body.  This continuous flow of energy is infused into the often over-justified Northwest coast animals.  No mythical stories attached, this is a freeform interpretation of the wolf, through layered metal materials poised on painted patterned maple planks.

Carnival Series

Date: 2000

Client: Artist’s inventory

Dimensions: 36" x 64" x 8"   

Material: Brass and Maple

Whimsical Wolf

The Radiant Raven stems from Northwest Coast personalities associated with the raven as trickster and collector of shiny objects, and she is wisely cunning. She sits on a stage made of beautiful shiny aluminum with plumes of red emitting from her body, capturing the essence of the southwest carnival dress, backed with the reminder of the Northwest coast in a curtain of stylized S-shapes.

Date: 2000

Client: Private collector

Dimensions: 30” x 22” x 36”

Material: Aluminium, Maple, and Fabric

Radiant Raven

Like  the Baroque era, this work embraces the frivolity of the carnival, married with the stately protective quality of Northwest Coast bear, and celebrates the highly ornate qualities of both the carnival and the baroque era.

Date: 2000

Client: Private collector

Dimensions: 48” x 36” x 84”

Material: Copper, Maplewood and Wool Fabric

Baroque Bear

With Northwest Coast culture under the bright lights of the world stage, these three artworks reflect on the carnivalesque by contrasting the strength of cultural ancestry with a trickster wit and a humour that is the essence of many aboriginal families.

In our globalized community these pieces illustrate the merging of a contemporary aboriginal culture their with their traditions and strength colliding with the grand tradition of carnival showmanship. They draw on the theatric traditions of many cultures, playing with the idea of the stage, the mask, the costume, and ornate backdrops. The First Nations' richly historic potlatches documented historical happenings through dramatic performances; these traditional performances are merged with southern carnival costumes and the theatre atmosphere of the stage.  The carnival is instantaneously full of life, with new rules of the carnival that can merge with historic northwest coast elements. They honour our essence of play and difference.