The Grizz Who Looked Back at Me - Red Cedar Mask
The Grizz Who Looked Back at Me - Red Cedar Mask
14" x 10" x 4"
With abalone inlays and operculum shell.
"During a mid-April hunting trip, I was some 40km up the upper Kitamaat River valley. It had been a very uneventful day until I came to the top of a small hill. Out of nowhere, a very large male Grizzly stood up from is resting spot on the side of the road! I stopped dead in my tracks as my brain was trying to process what was no more than 50 yards in front of me. He didn't seem to mind my presence, so over the course of an hour I followed him (at a safe distance, of course). Many times he stopped and looked back at me and I knew at some point I had to carve a mask of him. The experience has left me with a deeper appreciation for these animals and how intimidating a large Grizzly can be..."
Nathan Wilson
CULTURAL GROUP:
Haisla
BORN:
July 10, 1986
BIRTHPLACE:
Prince Rupert, BC
Nathan Wilson has been carving since 2007. He has been exposed to Haisla artwork since he was born, and is proud to work in a Haisla style. Nathan is the nephew of celebrated Haisla jewellers Barry and Derek Wilson. He has studied design, and has worked with Kwakwaka'wakw carver Alfred Robertson, and Cree carver Troy Bellrose. Between 2011 and 2013, Nathan attended the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art to develop his design, painting, and carving skills. In 2013, Nathan participated in Lattimer Gallery's Annual Charity Bentwood Box Event, wherein the sale of his box generated $1,200.00 CAD to be donated to Vancouver's Urban Native Youth Association. While Nathan began carving traditional media and formats, he is interested in creating more unconventional pieces. For example, he carved and painted a full-sized skateboard in 2009. In 2017, Nathan was hired as an instructor at the Freda Diesing School, his alma mater. Nathan is a two-time YVR Art Foundation Scholarship award recipient and has received both an Emerging Artist Scholarship in 2012 and a Mid-Career Artist Scholarship in 2019. In 2020, Nathan was awarded the BC Achievement Award in First Nations Art.
