Nest Box Art Show & Auction
The 14th Annual WildWings Nature & Arts Festival’s art show is a little different this year! All of the pieces, artist-painted nest boxes, will be up for auction. This includes several of the Cowichan Valley’s best-known indigenous artists like the Marston brothers, Maynard Johnny, and Stuart Pagaduan, as well as some of our better-known artists such as Robert Bateman, Will Millar, Coco Jones, and Laurel Hibbert. All of the nest boxes can currently be viewed at Just Jakes in Duncan.
All proceeds from the nest box auction will go toward building Malcolm’s Place, an extension of the Somenos Marsh Open Air Classroom (OAC). The elevated boardwalk and viewing platform will bring even more accessible wildlife viewing to the OAC. The project is named in honour of one of the SMWS’s valuable advocates and volunteers, Malcolm MacLeod, who suffered a serious accident and is now wheelchair bound. You can find more information about the project on the SMWS website.
1. Laurel Hibbert
Moon Wonder
Oh won’t it be a wonder when the gazing crowd staring at the Super Moon sees that the “Man in the Moon” is female and a bird!
Wonders never cease!
Laurel Hibbert is an award-winning Cowichan Valley artist. Her work can be found across Canada. Her paintings capture moments of joy and perfection in everyday life. Each image has a story to tell.
2. Catherine Fraser
Estuary Patterns
The Cowichan Estuary, a special place where I live, meditate, walk and experience gratefulness of being. I am aware of the moods of the place, the changing sifting sands, colours, flora, fauna and vistas. I love the seasons, patterns and rhythms. In front of my home the river patterns change, even since raising the bridges more debris is accumulated in the bay increasing sedimentation. Artworks are created in series with a strong interest in colour, design and trusting in the process through drawing, tracing and painting. I enjoy plein air painting and I love the feeling of the outside elements of the wind, sun, and rain, while challenging it is exhilarating. Depicting new landscapes in different moods and lighting is exciting and worth the special effort.
Catherine has painted professionally since 1983 with art studios in Victoria and the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, BC Canada. She works in oils, acrylic, watercolour, graphite and pastels, photography and mixed media and is constantly exploring and experimenting with new artistic responses to the world around her. Catherine is an accomplished and award-winning artist having exhibited in over 25 one-woman shows, in Canada, US and Europe. Her artwork has been selected into juried shows and she has received many awards. She has BScN, University of Victoria, diploma Art Therapy BC School of Art Therapy and Certificate in Fine Art from Vancouver Island School Of Art and divides her time between careers as an artist and an art therapist.
3. Jeffrey Birkin
Woodpecker Trying to Steal the Light
The inspiration for this nest box is based on a painting I did last year called “woodpecker trying to steal the light” which I painted in Stoney Hill where I have my home studio gallery. The piece incorporates a giclee image of the original painting, hand painting in acrylic, feather, and semi-precious stones.
Jeffrey Birkin is a listed Canadian professional artist who’s been exhibiting since the early 1980’s. In the Cowichan Valley he is past vice president of CVAC and has exhibited at Just Jake’s, Visionquest, Fletcherphoto, Shibui gallery, Ladysmith arts council, CVac spring art show and many others. He has exhibited provincially with a solo show at the Richmond Art Gallery, as well as numerous group shows in the lower mainland and throughout the province including a government sponsored show where he was awarded a provincial award. He’s also had numerous exhibitions on the Sunshine Coast where he was born and raised. Internationally, he has shown in the United States, Germany and Mexico where he spends his winters painting and most recent solo exhibition was in Oaxaca Mexico.
4. Cher McKittrick
Dancing in the Moonlight
Cher McKittrickk lives in the beautiful rural area of Cobble Hill, on Vancouver Island. This self-taught artist has explored multiple mediums including (but not limited to) Watercolors, Acrylics, Mixed Media, Hand Built Clay oddities, and Glass.
Her style can be described as eclectic, and she thrives on the exciting possibilities available in every medium.
Cher has opted to no longer post art on Social Media sites, but if you wish to view older posts, look her up on instagram: @CherMcKittrick
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” – Andy Warhol
5. Lorna Robertson
Dawn Chorus
Lorna Robertson is a self-taught artist who creates and plays in the Cowichan Valley area. This artist constantly delves into new and exciting mediums, exploring each one with an eye for creating something unique and funky. Her style generally leans towards bright colors and clever combinations of mediums.
6. Elora Wall (Age 10)
Dancing Stream
Elora is an aspiring artist and constant creative. She painted her stormy scene looking out her kitchen window at the green rolling hills and grey skies where she often watches the sparrows play. The stream came dancing into her mind and spilled out onto the scene quite unexpectedly. She now feels a stream is the missing element on the otherwise perfect landscape of her backyard.
7. Frances Westermann
Blue Skies
I was born in the King’s Daughters’ Hospital in Duncan, and have lived mostly in the Cowichan Valley. All my life I’ve been an enthusiastic nature lover and bird watcher, and that led me to be a supporter of the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society since its conception.
For the past twelve years or so, my husband Tom and I have spent the winters in México, where the culture is steeped in colour and creativity. That enticed me to try applying paint to wood, which I have enjoyed doing very much.
This project was fun, and has inspired me to get back to it and do some more!
8. Will Millar
100,000 Welcomes
Will Millar, as the former leader of The Irish Rovers has now returned to his first creative love of Painting. In this he is a voyager into the Ireland of his youth, portraying the country in the 1950’s. Before glass supermarkets and traffic jams clogged up small villages. Before, as he puts it, “Ireland rushed into the Euro world like a Celtic tiger”. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, Will Millar grew up in a family where music and art were encouraged. His mother supported his first art lessons. He recalls fondly how he used to thin his oil paints by dipping his brush into the glass oil lamp that lit the home, with dinner being eaten at a table strewn with paints and brushes and small unfinished works of art”. His art lessons also included happy days spent learning from an elderly art teacher who lived nearby in a house “full of glorious clutter”, as he writes in the preface of his new Art book, ‘Scenes from my Irish Rovings”. Will used to cut sticks for her fireplace and in return she gave him art lessons. Not an arrangement he cared to share with his neighbourhood tear-aways!
Will Millar’s purpose in painting is meditative, but it is also a basic desire to remember his roots, the Ireland of his youth. The artworks in “Scenes from my Irish Rovings” are paintings of a by-gone era: plough horses, steam trains, hay-raking by hand, gypsy caravans and tinkers (the original Irish Rovers), old girls in their Sunday-best hats playing cards in a pub, the men with their cloth caps and pipes, horse fairs and farmers’ markets, old storytellers and donkeys on the beach, jigs and reels and shepherds with their dogs. All his cherished memories come lovingly to life on his canvas.
9. Jan MacKirdy
Angular Ascent
I did some research on colours that deter and attract birds. I chose water-soluble stains from a Canadian manufacturer, “Sami” an environmentally safe option. The piece has then been finished with a beeswax polish.
In the heart of the Cowichan Valley, where verdant landscapes meet the rhythm of rural life, Janice MacKirdy has cultivated a unique artistic vision that mirrors the harmony between nature and human ingenuity. A self-taught creative and maker, Janice has spent nearly five decades nurturing her craft and her community, embodying a philosophy that celebrates recycling, up-cycling, and environmental sustainability. Janice’s journey as an artist began not with a formal education, but with a profound connection to the land. Growing up on a homestead and working as a farmer, she developed an intimate understanding of nature’s cycles and a deep appreciation for the value of resources. This background instilled in her a commitment to creating art that reflects her values and her environment. What others might overlook as waste, she transforms into works of art that are both visually stunning and rich in narrative. Her creations are a dialogue between past and present, an homage to the resources that have shaped her life and a statement on the potential for renewal. In the Cowichan Valley, Janice actively engages in local initiatives, sharing her knowledge and passion for up-cycling with others, and inspiring a collective movement towards a more mindful approach to art and life. Janice MacKirdy’s work is a celebration of the intersection between creativity and conservation.
10. Pauline Dueck
Give A Finch An Inch & They Take The Whole House
Pauline describes herself as an unapologetic painter of happy art, hoping to create a moment of joy in a world with a growing sense of despair. Her subjects frequently reflect her agricultural roots and 20-year career as a veterinary technologist, featuring animals and bold florals, often with a whimsical twist. Her intimate association with animals and understanding of their anatomy is reflected in her detailed depictions. She was recently selected as the People’s Choice Artist at the 2024 Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show, a coveted award which she also won in 2021. She is an active volunteer with the Cowichan Valley Arts Council, curating many of their shows each year. Pauline’s nest box celebrates her fondness for the American Gold Finch, a muse that frequently shows up in her paintings.
11. Renske Sagar
La Grange à Oiseaux
The birdhouse project was a fun challenge. I was inspired by the many lovely old Cowichan Valley barns. I hope it brings pleasure to its new owner and becomes a cozy bird’s nest for years to come.
Renske has been painting for about 15 years and it has become her favourite pastime. Her love of nature defines her paintings, whether realistic, abstract or a combination of both. She paints mainly with acrylics, often dabbling in other media.
’’I see possibilities for a new painting wherever I go.’’
12. Coco Jones
The Love Shack
I was born on the unceded territory of the Saugeen people
In what settlers call Southampton Ontario.
I was born coco.
I was very dark, hairy, smiley and Buddha- like (as mom said).
Hyper aware from my first steps, I remember not liking the smell
of old people, or the feel of plastic on furniture. (NOW I AM OLD(er)
From my first solids it was evident that I came here for the food.
Singing in a funeral choir as a child didn’t seem strange until
I said it out loud to a friend recently,
but it trained us to be able to witness very hard things,
and honour them with our voice, to sing for those who could not.
(It’s how I work even now, just with paint.)
I found myself on this coast in the summer of 1990
Deployed here with the navy, and never looked back.
I followed a boy whom I loved, my Rickie, and we had our four children,
Dylan, Jacob, August & Enya Penya.
That I LIVED to see my grandson Artemus Moon Jones, and my granddaughter Ava Marie Jones
is a brilliant highlight in my life.
I also need nature, my drums, my Seiðr(s),
running around the forest (with friends)
& my dog Hera.
Music IS life.
13. Trisha Lawton
Seasons
Winter is the ROOF which is overcast, cloudy, mostly drab and wet.
Spring is the FRONT which depicts the bird breeding season -frantic, chaotic yet serious.
Summer is the RIGHT SIDE with full on florals, bright and sunny.
Fall is the LEFT SIDE waning leaves and plants, tired, but still beautiful, after the fast paced growing season.
Resident of North Cowichan living in the scenic corridor of Maple Bay. Member of CVAC, in 2010 Graduated from the Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA) with a Certificate of Visual Art.
My art practice reflects my love of colour and nature. I consider my style bright, abstract, whimsical, decorative and organic. I use many different mediums and collectively they represent my vision and creativity. I love to work with watercolour, gouache, acrylic, oil, ink, paper (gel printing) and fabric.
14. Shirley Dickie
Bird Nature in 4 Seasons
I wanted something different this year. Looking around my garden and outdoor space the inspiration of the 4 seasons of the year jumped out at me. I have painted all 4 images in a somewhat animated style, I thought it would be fun and that the audience may enjoy it too. Each year I appreciate the privilege of participating in this fundraiser.
I was born in Penticton BC and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. I am essentially self-taught, though as a young artist I attended various workshops and classes at the Vancouver Art School. I painted in all types of media practicing such styles as: realism, abstraction, symbolism, and inner intuitive expression. Going beyond the learning curve of my early work gave me the groundwork for the art I practice today. I create from my inner experience and depend largely on dreams and imagination for ideas and vision.
Now, my painting has become like an abstract thought. It allows me to enter another world. It is as if spirit is speaking to me out of that universal connectedness. It calls me to use identifiable images to hook and link people to that same place. Through my painting I am drawn to enter points of view and places in my imagination that are mostly intuitive. My paintings examine things like groups and flocks, movement, feelings, and mystery. I am as much the medium of expression as the brush, the paint, and the canvas.
15. Rachel Cruse
Hope
This nest box remained unpainted in my studio for quite a few weeks because I had so many possible ideas for it. I finally opted to depict a classic west coast sunset, which is the vibe I am known for. Working on this caused me much dismay and cursing. I find painting the nest boxes to be much harder then it looks. The surface is unforgiving, and since I don’t usually work in acrylics I was making plenty of unhappy brushstrokes. It was only my ‘hope’ that eventually it would all come together that got me to the finish line.
Rachel Cruse is a Vancouver Island artist currently residing in the Cowichan Valley. Her paintings reflect deep longings for nature and simplicity. They embody light, flow, spaciousness, room to breathe and a profound heartfelt love for the natural world.
16. Victoria Blouin
Petite Hideaway
I chose the colours for this bird box to match the scenery of the marsh and the valley. A recent obsession of mine has been including fungi within my art work. I included little mushrooms & growing vines to create the effect of natural overgrowth. I knew I wanted to add little windows with creatures inside to help give the feeling that the bird house was lived in.
I want someone to look at this box and ask, “who are these creatures?” Or “what have they been up to?” To be able to write their own stories. Channel their inner childlike wonderment.”
Victoria Blouin is a watercolour painter, oil painter, and printmaker from the Cowichan Valley. Her artwork explores themes about nature, fantasy, body positivity, and the human form.
Victoria graduated from Vancouver Island University in 2023, earning her BFA (Bachelor of Arts).
Her family comes from Montreal, Quebec where she was born in 2001. She was 3 years old when her family moved out west to the Cowichan Valley located on Vancouver Island. Art has always been an important part of her life, an interest passed down on her mother’s side of the family.
17. Chantey Dayal
Free the Land
The symbols, patterns, and intention of this piece, are a prayer for Indigenous peoples’ (the world over) calling for return of their lands into their governance. Indigenous law acts in right relationship with the land. The attitude is one of reciprocity and cooperation rather than extraction and dominance. May the birds who come to nest in this box, carry the message, and help us free the land.
Chantey gratefully lives, and makes art in Quw’utsun’ mustimuhw Territory. She is a colour addict, a stargazer, a plant lover, a meal maker, a conscious dancer, and is always on the lookout for delight. Her paintings are an earnest celebration of life. As a first generation Canadian of Indian and Middle Eastern descent, Chantey’s art strikes the viewer through a bold use of colour, shape, and contrast. She is often steeped in poetry, mythology, rhythm, ritual, and the fables of faraway places. This ignites and compels her towards all that is deeply feminine and life-giving. Her process has abstract beginnings, which then gives way to recognizable forms themed on women, nature, and patterns. The result is a juxtaposition of visual playfulness, and serious yet heartfelt content.
18. Karen Severson
Leaves and Stems
After receiving a BFA in printmaking at UVIC. I did a lot of etching and mono-print, eventually moving into painting which I have been doing for thirty-five years. The nest box is painted in acrylics. I thought painting a nest box would be easy but it turned into quite a challenge, but in the end it was fun. I hope some little birds will enjoy raising a family in it.
I was born in Victoria, lived on Vancouver Island most of my life, 30 years in the Cowichan Valley. I am inspired by nature’s beauty here: clouds, the river, trees, animals, birds.
19. Andrea Fritz
Growing
Like the animals inside, the plants on the outside grow with beauty and purpose.
Andrea Fritz is a Coast Salish artist and author from the Lyackson First Nation of the Hul’qumi’num speaking Peoples on the West Coast of Canada. She learned West Coast Native art in the Victoria school district from Victor Newman (Kwagiulth). Andrea strives to express her People’s history and all our futures using her art. She focuses on animals and scenes of the West Coast of Canada and our intricate relationships with them. Andrea works in the mediums of acrylic on canvas/wood, serigraph, vector art and multimedia. She has had numerous shows of her work including at Eagle Feather Gallery, the Place Gallery and The Outpost at Ketchikan.
Andrea teaches Coast Salish art to students in the Victoria school district and throughout the province. Andrea has participated in community based art pieces including Oaklands walking signs, Sir James Douglas Elementary mural and an elder gift from her nation for an Elder’s retreat to Lummi. Andrea plans to continue sharing her knowledge of the art as well as create new art to inspire change. She hopes to show the beauty of the people, places, animals and stories in our corner of the world.
20. Family Collaboration
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Art in the Alley during Saturday Market. I would have a separate table so children and adults can play with the art materials on paper, canvas and today was the crafted bird box donated for Somenos Marsh Fundraiser. So this family of 5 helped me with the project of Bird Box 2. We delighted in conversations, sharing space, and using art materials supplied. It was great fun and loving spending time together on the Bird Box Project for Somenos Marsh. – Catherine Fraser
Painted by Grandma Rutherford painting with acrylic paints, Arle Wakeman, age 4, painting with watercolours, Jenelle Wakeman using watercolours and Siri Wakeman, age 6, using pencils and watercolours.
21. Cim MacDonald
Hook, Wine & Sinker
When I first thought about doing a bird box, I had no idea what it would entail. After I picked mine up, I couldn’t get my head around painting it. After asking if I could change the contour and got the ok, I decided to make it look like an old fishing shack. The roof and 2 of the walls came easy but I drew a blank on the last one. Then it came to me that I had been the curator of the murals in Chemainus for 25 years, of course a nautical mural could be the answer. It is by far the smallest I have ever painted.
22. Darlene Tully
Flight Home: An Homage
This piece is an expression of her fascination with the flight of swallows. Striving to capture a likeness, this painting is both an homage to the birds and environment, and a home to provide safety in their plight.
An artist and nature enthusiast, Darlene is also a clinical counsellor and art therapist. Darlene’s artwork spans different styles and themes, and her paintings in acrylic often involve an evolution of ideas that culminate in an intuitive process piece that leaves her wanting to continue to add, to shift, and to extrapolate. Not to be pinned down, she likes to move from fine detailed work to larger chunky brush strokes.
Find her at embellishingjupiter.com
23. Gabriel Abney
Anacreon
“From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.”
-excerpt from The Cloud, by Percy Bysshe Shelley
This painting is about love, basically. And, perhaps, not so basically.
Gabriel’s art education started early. His grandmother, Genevra Sloan, a professional artist and university art teacher, was teaching him colour wheels and figure drawing at the kitchen table as a child, and often had him tagging along to shows, galleries or to her studio. Although his focus in college was digital art and ‘new media’, Gabriel’s first love was painting and print-making. His paintings often contain bold contrasts and textures and heavy use of the palette knife. He works in silkscreen printing, and has painted on and off for his whole life – mostly in the abstract expressionist style favoured by his first art teacher.
24. Bev Thompson
Little Red Bird House
Various print making techniques inspired this birdhouse. Halloween was her inspiration.
25. Raven Gibbon
Pumpkin Chicken Birdhouse
Provided by Bonaventure Support Services.
Duncan Community Inclusion.
26. AB
Yellow, Purple, White Birdhouse
AB likes these colours and hopes the birds will too. AB was inspired from walking at the Estuary and seeing her favorite birds red winged black bird and herons.
Provided by Bonaventure Support Services
Duncan Community Inclusion.
Halloween was her inspiration.
27. Robert Bateman
Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days. He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism. In his early thirties he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists depicting the world of nature.
Bateman’s art reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. Since the early 1960’s, he has been an active member of naturalist and conservation organizations, now on a global scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fund-raising efforts that have provided millions of dollars for these worthy causes. Books about his life and art have had sales of over 1,000,000 copies. His latest book, Robert Bateman’s Canada, was released in October 2017. He has also been the subject of several films and television programs. His honours, awards and honorary doctorates are numerous and include Officer of the Order of Canada. It is in honour of Bateman’s contribution to art, teaching and conservation that one public and two secondary schools have been named after him; as well, he has been awarded 14 honorary doctorates.
28. Robert Burke
Silent Hummingbirds
I was born in Fort Smith, N.W.T., in 1944. My father was an American Negro soldier and my mother a local Métis. At four years old, I was sent off to residential school in Fort Resolution, on the shores of Great Slave Lake, almost 100 miles away. I went to work full-time as soon as I was able to land a job. It was in the logging industry, which eventually led to a career in the bush that spanned 20 years. In my 30s, I began my apprenticeship to become a heavy machine operator and mechanic. Gradually I shifted away from mechanics and became a full-time contractor, running projects in British Columbia’s West Coast forests. I retired from contracting at the age of 53. I took out a student loan and enrolled at the Victoria College of Art, where I spent the next four years studying. I have always been fascinated by art and its practice. Drawing was a favourite pastime of mine, mainly because I could create a world that I liked. I picked up painting methods from books early on, because I didn’t know any artists who could teach me. At art school I learned and experimented with a variety of techniques and was able to hone my skills as a painter, drawing upon personal experience as well as the Aboriginal side of my ancestry. And school also taught me how to work as an artist. I will always be grateful for the guidance provided by Victoria College. After graduation, I became a practicing artist, focusing on social issues. With the goal of earning a living via my artwork, my original intention was to paint imagery that would appeal to corporations and the commercial public; however, my desire to express myself as a dark-skinned Canadian with Métis roots proved to be the path I followed.
29. Autumn Goodwin
Cultivating Agape
For this piece I took inspiration from folk artist such as Maria Prymachenko and Maud Lewis. My piece displays flowers growing out of a heart representing, the meaningful action to show love to others producing wonderful things in the future.
(Agape being one translation of the Greek word for love, meaning to show love to everyone)
30. Jennifer Hedge
Somenos Afternoon
Jennifer Hedge is a Vancouver Island artist and has worked professionally as a Head Scenic Artist for 40 years, currently holding that position at Pacific Opera Victoria, and Chemainus Theatre. Theatre sets painted by Jennifer have been enjoyed by audiences throughout North America and Europe, and she has earned recognition as one of the best in her field.
After an extended hiatus from pursuing her own artwork, Jen returned to painting in 2007. Her main inspiration comes from nature. The impact of humanity on wild places and the creatures which inhabit those places is a recurring theme throughout much of her artwork. She paints dramatic sky and seascapes, and referential landscape scenes from her Coastal environment. She is influenced by the painters of the Romantic movement and their expression of personal ideas, visions and emotions; the imagination governing the creative act rather than convention.
31. Maynard Johnny
Raven
I chose to create a Raven as the Raven is a trickster and would probably play pranks with bird using the birdhouse.
Colonial name is Maynard Johnny Jr traditional name is Thii Hayqwtun (translates Big Fire). Maynard was born in Campbell River BC, he is Coast Salish on his father’s side and Kwakwaka’wakw on his mother’s side. Maynard has created the Salish Heron design on a BC Ferries vessel and has received the Fulmer Award in First Nations Art from BC Achievement. Maynard’s work is on Greys Anatomy since the beginning of the tv series. His work is all over the world in private collections, galleries and museums. Maynard has created the first Coast Salish mural in Chemainus the unceaded traditional territory of Pune’luxutth Hul’q’umi’num people.
32. Rachel Laina
Rose Buddies
I was farm raised, free-range in Cowichan— and although I meander beyond this beautiful valley- the nature (human, flora and fauna) will always delight my artistic sensibilities and draw me back home again. It was a joy to feature some of my favourite local characters nestled amongst aromatics that transport me to place memories dotted throughout the Cowichan Valley. I’m especially fond of the field of wild roses beside Somenos Creek, past the end of York Rd. Polishing the copper shingles and stars, I couldn’t help but wonder how nice it would sound from inside this nest box on a rainy day.
33. Luke Marston
Luke Marston (Ts’uts’umutl), a member of the Stz’uminus (Chemainus) First Nation, was born in 1976 on Vancouver Island to carvers Jane and David Marston. He learned Salish history and traditional stories from the late Coast Salish artist Simon Charlie, and honed his talents in form, design, carving, and detailed finishing from Haida/Nisga’a artist Wayne Young. Luke then worked for five years at Thunderbird Park at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, alongside Jonathan Henderson, Sean Whannock, Sean Karpes and his brother, John Marston.
Relentlessly working to broaden his horizons, Luke has explored stone carving, painting, jewelry and printmaking; however the majority of Luke’s work is created in wood. Marston’s style is characterized as bold and dramatic, combining a deep knowledge of Coast Salish heritage with his personal contemporary aesthetic. Luke aims to preserve his culture by sharing his art with the public.
His fine artworks grace many private collections and have been exhibited nationally and internationally — including exhibitions in Canada, the United States, Japan, and Portugal. He has had major commissions from the Canadian Government, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, the Vancouver Airport, and much more.
34. John Marston
Stz’uminus artist John Marston (Qap’u’luq) carves according to Coast Salish tradition. His tools replicate those of his ancestors, his artistic process similar to theirs. The youngest of seven children, Marston learned primarily from watching his parents (Jane and David Marston, both accomplished carvers), as well as renowned Cowichan Tribes master carver Simon Charlie. He began carving at age 8, along with his brother Luke (also a renowned carver), he spent considerable time observing elders, absorbing the traditional methods. From watching, listening and learning, Marston progressed to spending five years at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, carving with artists from across the province at Thunderbird Park, including his fifth and last year as Artist-in-Residence. Earlier in his career, Marston replicated the designs of older Coast Salish pieces and artifacts. By 2005, he was carving his own designs — or as he says, he began working in his own imagination. His designs, however, are far more than imaginative — they are intensely personal and emotional or spiritual expressions, while also encompassing an inherent connection with Coast Salish culture and legend. Marston’s completed carvings are worked to a knife finish — meaning that a perfectly smooth surface is achieved only with traditional carving knives — a skill he continues to refine. And just as he progressed into sketching his own designs and then translating the design into a carving, he now finds himself often carving right away, with a design still in his imagination.He strives to continually learn more about his culture through his art, and similarly continues to challenge himself artistically, including exploring new materials. He’s worked in wood, cedar bark, horn, metal and glass, and stone — another traditional Coast Salish medium.
35. Stuart Pagaduan
Tth’utth’ush & Smuqw’a’ (Dragonfly & Heron)
Bold and bright acrylic bring this little house alive. Quw’utsun teachings is to respect all living things in life…big and small.
Stuart Pagaduan is a local Cowichan Tribes member and active community advocate for Cowichan teachings and language. Stuart has spent most of his life living as an inspirational Coast Salish Artist, while using his creative flow to build bridges between the Cowichan People and the larger Cowichan Valley community. He also creates a lot of imagery used within many schools and classrooms that help enhance student learning of Hul’q’umi’num’. Stuart works in a variety of mediums and has works around the world and continues to bring modern style to the Coast Salish Arts.
Stuart was fortunate enough to be raised by his grandparents, late Ben & Violet George. They shaped and guided him to be the speaker and leader he is today.
36. Leslie Robert Sam
Leslie Robert Sam is a Coast Salish artist, born in Duncan, BC in 1973. He adopted the artist name lessLIE in reference to the deception and betrayal that First Nations peoples suffered as a result of colonization. When lessLIE was six months old, he and his mother moved to Seattle to be closer to other family members, in particular his grandfather, Gary Rice. lessLIE credits his grandfather with instilling in him, and encouraging the passion to be an artist. He believes that having spent those formative years in a large urban centre has influenced the direction of his art, as it relates to issues of environment, dispossession and race.
lessLIE holds a B.A. in First Nations Studies. While working on his degree, in 1995, he began studying Coast Salish art, in particular, the works of contemporary artist Susan Point. He was also encouraged and inspired by his cousin Joe Wilson. Other influences include Manuel Salazar, Maynard Johnny Jr., Shaun Peterson, and Luke Marston.
lessLIE’s works can be found in collections around the world and form part of the collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) and the Westfälisches Museum für Naturkunde in Münster, Germany.
(bio from Cedar Hill Long House)
37. Kelsey Towe
38. Angela Andersen
She Kept Some Roots to Herself
During a recent trip to the forests in West Bamfield I encountered an old growth nurse tree growing from a grandmother root ball. The imagery on this nest box speaks to the life-giving force of generations of a forest; branches become roots, roots become hosts. An eagle nestled in the top cantilevered tiers. From root to tip, life hosts life.
Born in Metchosin, B.C. Angela Andersen is an artist and art educator working in the Cowichan Valley for nearly 25 years.
39. Katherine Phethean
Meadow
The wild daises that bloom prolifically in July are a timeless symbol of long, lazy summer days, and the simple joy of being in nature.
Katherine was born and raised in Scotland and studied at Edinburgh College of Art. She has lived in the Cowichan Valley since 2005.
40. Daniel Elliot