Doug Lafortune was born in 1953, in Bellingham, Washington. He was raised near Victoria on Vancouver Island, B.C., where he attended High School and later studied Fine Art at Camosun College. Uncertain of what he wanted to do, he went logging until 1972, when a visit to Simon Charlie at Kohsilah kindled a desire to carve. Simon, already a world renowned artist, took Doug on as an apprentice, and it was here with Simon’s teaching and influence, that Doug developed his unique and successful style. Doug has carved many pieces, from a 14 foot totem, to masks, feast dishes, talking sticks, rattles and animal figures. He also does a lot of design sketching and painting. This has led to the release of several silkscreen prints, one of the most striking being the “Cowichan Crest”
This mask was commissioned by HeeNilth. HeeNilth had not seen many hummingbird masks since her mother pearl danced the humming bird dance honoring George Clutesi in 1952. Doung Lafortune created this mask out of red cedar and using abalone in the eyes.The back of the heardress is lined with red cedar bark.
By Jimmy Joseph
Jimmy Joseph is a Kwakuitl artist . Jimmy has been carving for many years now and enjoys carving the animals revered in his culture by his people. These large plaques have colors that were used traditionally by Northern tribes. These designs are similar in style and form to designs painted onto the Long Houses that lined Alert Bay.
By Jimmy Joseph
Jimmy Joseph is a Kwakuitl artist . Jimmy has been carving for many years now and enjoys carving the animals revered in his culture by his people. These large plaques have colors that were used traditionally by Northern tribes. These designs are similar in style and form to designs painted onto the Long Houses that lined Alert Bay.
By Eddie Jules
Eddy Jules has been carving for many years and currently resides in Nanaimo. Eddy’s ancestry stems from the Kyuquot Nation. He was taught to carve by the late Norman John (also shown at this site). Eddy carves in a traditional style of keeping his adzing within the carving, this process was partially made famous by Norman John. Adzing is the art of chiseling the work with a hooked knife to create a form. Today, Eddy is continuing the style and art of his teacher, all of his work remains in an unpainted form as this is what Eddy prefers best.
By Dick Joseph
To see carvings currently in stock click here.
Floyd Edwards, Coast Salish artist, self taught in the art of carving. Each design is of Floyd’s own creation while still keeping with the traditional carving principles. Floyd offers both painted and unpainted versions of his carvings as seen below. Each carving is made from yellow cedar, one of the more malleable woods of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Floyd continues to bring a continuous diversity of designs of coastal animals seen around his homeland.