ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I was born and raised in Southeast Alaska, surrounded by mountains, forests, and the sea. Totem poles and the rich visual traditions of Northwest Coast Native art were part of my world and inspired a lifelong engagement with the arts and cultures of Indigenous peoples of the region.

 

Alongside my professional life as an archaeologist, museum professional, and teacher, I studied carving and silver engraving with several Native mentors. Following retirement, I turned my focus to painting, creating works that expresses both my personal experiences growing up on the Northwest Coast, and the profound influence of past and present Native artists whose traditions I studied, documented, and deeply admired.

 

 

 

I am not Native but I am a native of the Northwest Coast. I have tasted its salt, wandered in the shadows of its cedars, and felt the power of its storms. I have heard the croaking of ravens, the spouting of whales, and the whispers of artifacts made in other times by other hands. My work is not Native art but that of an outsider privileged to look in