Protector of the Fish

62"w x 59"h x 28"d

Available for $7,500.

MATERIALS: Cedar driftwood fencepost, low fire clay, high fire porcelain, fused glass, raku clay and custom made glazes, mahogany, ebony, fly fishing flies, rawhide, recycled fly rods, copper wire, glass beads, buffalo horn, bone, wild turkey feathers, acrylic paint, and down feathers

YUP'IK MEANING: This is a challenge piece, meaning that I was given an object and asked to make something with it. Ed, a good friend, gave me the Cedar driftwood fence post that he collected during one of his fly fishing float trips having it under his feet for the two week float trip. Since we’d done some fly-fishing together, I thought I should make something connected to our experience.

Ed lost a number of flies on one of our trips so I decided to make a fisherman-teasing mask, which I like to call “Protector of the Fish”. When I thought about it, I noted that Ed spent some time untangling rescuing flies from logs and trees on the river. In looking at the piece of wood, I imagined a spirit that was protecting the fish from fisherman.

Note all the fly fishing flies caught on the driftwood. The salmon swim over salmon eggs being protected by this protector. Whoever gets this piece will have to remove all the flies and use their own flies on the log. They will also need to attach 3 retired fly reels on the rods standing upright.

This may be considered a memorial piece for someone who enjoyed fly-fishing but is no longer with us.

Northwind

43"h x 31"w x 19"d

Pair available for $42,000.

This mask depicts Negaqvaq, the North Wind spirit. It is one of two masks that are to be sold together, according to Yup'ik tradition.

YUP'IK MEANING: North Wind masks were traditionally used to welcome and celebrate the onset of the winter winds and winter activities.

This was one of a pair of masks included in a traveling museum exhibition that took place from September 2005 to January of 2008 to museums including: The Museum of Art and Design; the Institute of American Indian Arts; the Eiteljorg Museum; the Naples Museum of Art; the Philbrook Museum of Art; the Anchorage Museum of History and Art; the Weisman Art Museum.

Being a winter wind mask, it is designed to float and have custom hangars.

The appendage coming out of the head leads to three rings that represent the wind spirit’s breath. The light colored top represents winter, and the black-colored bottom represents summer. The hands without thumbs are a warning against greed. They tell the viewer to hold back from overharvesting natural resources and to be a good steward of the earth. The holes cut into the hands are points of entry for spirits. The inner ring represents the here and now of our existence in the physical world. The outer ring represents the unseen part of our existence where spirits move freely. Both rings are connected to each other, symbolizing the traditional Yup’ik belief in the constant connection between the physical and the spiritual worlds.”

Other Ways of Seeing

5'5"h x 40"w x 10"d.

Available for $17,000

A functional dance mask

MATERIALS: Carved redwood driftwood with various media including: copper wire , bronze, porcelain raku, wild turkey feathers tipped with down feathers, dentalium shells, pearls, corral, buffalo horn beads, glass beads, oak, walrus ivory, brass rod & wire, deer horn, caribou antler bite plate, rawhide, and acrylic paints.

YUP'IK MEANING: “Mecigiuq” means, "It became more visible; he became more able to see” and is the Yup’ik name of this piece. In English, I simply call this piece, “Other Ways of Seeing”.

This is a challenge piece with the wood being gifted by fellow artist & friend Rick Bartow. I did the rough carving in Rick’s studio and did all the finish work in my own studio.

The mask is functional, with many deep meanings and represents a person living with the veil of blindness (dentalium shells); having the gift and openness to see in many other ways. By making a deeper connection to the other senses, a blind person can see better - in more ways - then the average person. There are 7 pairs of spirit eyes and hands moving upward on this piece representing “Mecigiuq” the ability so see better or other ways of seeing.

LEARN MORE. Click to learn more about Other Ways of Seeing and the meaning of the elements used to create it.

Medicine Series

#10 in the Series

One of a series of 14 monotypes printed on Rives BFK white, various hand-made papers and acid-free transfer film. Paper size 30 1/4" x 22 1/4". Collaborating printer, Frank Janzen, TMP

YUP'IK MEANING: This series of monoprints represent what traditional "medicine" means to different Native peoples.

• I blended common cultural themes of different tribes.
• Each image features one of my masks worn by the Angalkuq (Shaman) during a healing ceremony.
• The main body represents the healer during a healing ceremony, giving blood to heal the people and the land.
• An image of drummers (printed with toner on handmade paper) sits around a large 48" ceremonial buffalo drum.
• The Kuskokwim mountains are in the background.
• The mask image was taken from one of my original three-dimensional large masks and was printed on acid free mylar with quality inks and modified.
• The symbol on the left hand side is the mark used by my grandfather's village in Alaska to indicate harpoon heads.

Medicine Series

#12 in the Series

One of a series of 14 monotypes printed on Rives BFK white, various hand-made papers and acid-free transfer film. Paper size 30 1/4" x 22 1/4". Collaborating printer, Frank Janzen, TMP

YUP'IK MEANING: This series of monoprints represent what traditional "medicine" means to different Native peoples.

• I blended common cultural themes of different tribes.
• Each image features one of my masks worn by the Angalkuq (Shaman) during a healing ceremony.
• The main body represents the healer during a healing ceremony, giving blood to heal the people and the land.
• An image of drummers (printed with toner on handmade paper) sits around a large 48" ceremonial buffalo drum.
• The Kuskokwim mountains are in the background.
• The mask image was taken from one of my original three-dimensional large masks and was printed on acid free mylar with quality inks and modified.
• The symbol on the left hand side is the mark used by my grandfather's village in Alaska to indicate harpoon heads.

Tangvagal

He Is Watching Them

First in the series of two-color lithographs printed on Somerset Satin white and Rives BFK white. Paper size, 30’’ x 22 1/4’’; image size, 10 5/8’’ x 8’’. Collaborating printer, Frank Janzen, TMP. Edition 16.

Sold only as a quadtych (all four pieces), unframed: $2,000

YUP'IK MEANING: This set of four prints tells a story of the artist's great, great grandfather and namesake Aarnaquq, during an intense healing ceremony. Aarnaquq was a well-known, powerful, and good shaman in the lower Kuskokwim area. This set of prints represents four stages in a traditional Yup’ik healing ceremony, indicated below. The artist used images of himself, altered with a mix of media, to create these pieces.

• Image 1: Tangvagai - “He is watching them.” Aarnaquq is protecting his eyes and carefully watching to see if a bad spirit is possessing someone.
• Image 2: Caugai - “He is confronting them.” Represents Aarnaquq confronting a bad spirit who is hiding within a person's soul.
• Image 3: Callugai - “He is fighting them.” Represents the spiritual battle Aarnaquq is engaged in as he pulls a bad spirit out of a person's soul.
• Image 4: Pellugtaa - “He brought him through." Represents the disfigured shaman after the spiritual battle, ready to continue battle when necessary.

Caugai

He Is Confronting Them

Second in the series of two-color lithographs printed on Somerset Satin white and Rives BFK white. Paper size, 30’’ x 22 1/4’’; image size, 10 5/8’’ x 8’’. Collaborating printer, Frank Janzen, TMP. Edition 16.

Sold only as a quadtych (all four pieces), unframed: $2,000

YUP'IK MEANING: This set of four prints tells a story of the artist's great, great grandfather and namesake Aarnaquq, during an intense healing ceremony. Aarnaquq was a well-known, powerful, and good shaman in the lower Kuskokwim area. This set of prints represents four stages in a traditional Yup’ik healing ceremony, indicated below. The artist used images of himself, altered with a mix of media, to create these pieces.

• Image 1: Tangvagai - “He is watching them.” Aarnaquq is protecting his eyes and carefully watching to see if a bad spirit is possessing someone.
• Image 2: Caugai - “He is confronting them.” Represents Aarnaquq confronting a bad spirit who is hiding within a person's soul.
• Image 3: Callugai - “He is fighting them.” Represents the spiritual battle Aarnaquq is engaged in as he pulls a bad spirit out of a person's soul.
• Image 4: Pellugtaa - “He brought him through." Represents the disfigured shaman after the spiritual battle, ready to continue battle when necessary.

Callugai

He Is Fighting Them

Third in the series of two-color lithographs printed on Somerset Satin white and Rives BFK white. Paper size, 30’’ x 22 1/4’’; image size, 10 5/8’’ x 8’’. Collaborating printer, Frank Janzen, TMP. Edition 16.

Sold only as a quadtych (all four pieces), unframed: $2,000

YUP'IK MEANING: This set of four prints tells a story of the artist's great, great grandfather and namesake Aarnaquq, during an intense healing ceremony. Aarnaquq was a well-known, powerful, and good shaman in the lower Kuskokwim area. This set of prints represents four stages in a traditional Yup’ik healing ceremony, indicated below. The artist used images of himself, altered with a mix of media, to create these pieces.

• Image 1: Tangvagai - “He is watching them.” Aarnaquq is protecting his eyes and carefully watching to see if a bad spirit is possessing someone.
• Image 2: Caugai - “He is confronting them.” Represents Aarnaquq confronting a bad spirit who is hiding within a person's soul.
• Image 3: Callugai - “He is fighting them.” Represents the spiritual battle Aarnaquq is engaged in as he pulls a bad spirit out of a person's soul.
• Image 4: Pellugtaa - “He brought him through." Represents the disfigured shaman after the spiritual battle, ready to continue battle when necessary.

Pellugtaa

He Brought Them Through

Fourth in the series of two-color lithographs printed on Somerset Satin white and Rives BFK white. Paper size, 30’’ x 22 1/4’’; image size, 10 5/8’’ x 8’’. Collaborating printer, Frank Janzen, TMP. Edition 16.

Sold only as a quadtych (all four pieces), unframed: $2,000

YUP'IK MEANING: This set of four prints tells a story of the artist's great, great grandfather and namesake Aarnaquq, during an intense healing ceremony. Aarnaquq was a well-known, powerful, and good shaman in the lower Kuskokwim area. This set of prints represents four stages in a traditional Yup’ik healing ceremony, indicated below. The artist used images of himself, altered with a mix of media, to create these pieces.

• Image 1: Tangvagai - “He is watching them.” Aarnaquq is protecting his eyes and carefully watching to see if a bad spirit is possessing someone.
• Image 2: Caugai - “He is confronting them.” Represents Aarnaquq confronting a bad spirit who is hiding within a person's soul.
• Image 3: Callugai - “He is fighting them.” Represents the spiritual battle Aarnaquq is engaged in as he pulls a bad spirit out of a person's soul.
• Image 4: Pellugtaa - “He brought him through." Represents the disfigured shaman after the spiritual battle, ready to continue battle when necessary.

Utetmum

#23 in the Series

One of a series of 24 monotypes printed on Rives BFK white and hand-made paper. Paper size, 15" x 24 1/4". Available through artist or through Crows Shadow Institute of the Arts.

$750 unframed

YUP'IK MEANING: "Utetmun" means homeward or moving towards one's point of origin.

The images in this series are representations of an old story about the return of our traditional healers and is the story of the spiritual return. I was told by elders and believe that, "The spirits of our healers will return and when they do, they will be more powerful and aware then ever before".

Though the arrangements of the images in this series vary, they all contain the same elements and carry the same meaning.

LEARN MORE. Click to learn more about the meaning of the piece Utetmun.

Utetmum

#8 in the Series

One of a series of 24 monotypes printed on Rives BFK white and hand-made paper. Paper size, 15" x 24 1/4". Available through artist or through Crows Shadow Institute of the Arts.

$750 unframed

YUP'IK MEANING: "Utetmun" means homeward or moving towards one's point of origin.

The images in this series are representations of an old story about the return of our traditional healers and is the story of the spiritual return. I was told by elders and believe that, "The spirits of our healers will return and when they do, they will be more powerful and aware then ever before".

Though the arrangements of the images in this series vary, they all contain the same elements and carry the same meaning.

LEARN MORE. Click to learn more about the meaning of the piece Utetmun.

Utetmum

#14 in the Series

One of a series of 24 monotypes printed on Rives BFK white and hand-made paper. Paper size, 15" x 24 1/4". Available through artist or through Crows Shadow Institute of the Arts.

$750 unframed

YUP'IK MEANING: "Utetmun" means homeward or moving towards one's point of origin.

The images in this series are representations of an old story about the return of our traditional healers and is the story of the spiritual return. I was told by elders and believe that, "The spirits of our healers will return and when they do, they will be more powerful and aware then ever before".

Though the arrangements of the images in this series vary, they all contain the same elements and carry the same meaning.

LEARN MORE. Click to learn more about the meaning of the piece Utetmun.

Utetmum

#16 in the Series

One of a series of 24 monotypes printed on Rives BFK white and hand-made paper. Paper size, 15" x 24 1/4". Available through artist or through Crows Shadow Institute of the Arts.

$750 unframed

YUP'IK MEANING: "Utetmun" means homeward or moving towards one's point of origin.

The images in this series are representations of an old story about the return of our traditional healers and is the story of the spiritual return. I was told by elders and believe that, "The spirits of our healers will return and when they do, they will be more powerful and aware then ever before".

Though the arrangements of the images in this series vary, they all contain the same elements and carry the same meaning.

LEARN MORE. Click to learn more about the meaning of the piece Utetmun.