Northwest Coast First Nations native cedar hand carved EAGLE by John Jacobson

  

My mother is Kwakwakawakw, and my late dad, Larry (Sandy) Jacobson, was from Knights Inlet. Kwakiutl ancestry is a lot of strength for me to honour and to care about and to give me the strength to be an artist and to be able to talk to people who are also artists, and present myself in that way I have inherited some really beautiful stuff that gives me strength and it helps me find my way through [life]. Jonathan is a versatile artist who expresses his culture through many different art forms. I think my Tlingit ancestry is showing in my weaving I dance, I sing, Ive drummed all my life I love being a part of the drum and it brings out the reason for the mask and the reason for the song and the owner of the mask. When I drum songs, I become Kwakiutl and use Kwakwala language To be Kwakiutl, I have to think outside of myself and be greater and have a respect and love for one another.

Family is the source of strength and inspiration in Jonathans life. He believes that being an artist is one of the best ways to care for his children. Both my daughters are amazing Kwakwakawakw and Tlingit people They are my teachers and Ive never loved life so much as since my children have been born.

And thats why my responsibility as a Kwakiutl artist is so huge and why I need so much help and support with it so I can evolve even more and use those medicines in a really positive and healthy way, and keep on giving it away and not really worry about the monetary value that comes with being an artist I just focus on gifting, and caring, and kindness the real Kwakiutl way. Ive inherited that but I know my Mother is the one that is teaching me that through prayer.

Jonathans late father, Larry Jacobson, was a carver who supported his family through his art. It was the smell of the cedar that grabbed me.

I woke up one day and they started moving some plaques and some totem polesI followed the smell and I went all the way down to the basement where my dad was carving and I went, WOW! Oh my goodness, I love, that! And I wanted to go to work right away because I connected with the amazing smell of yellow cedar. I got drawn in by the smell of the wood. Carving put food on the table for our family, and it made me realize that cedar was so important for our lives.

Now my life is just surrounded by cedar, its in my every being. I know that the cedar is an amazing gift It is a tree that comes from the ground and its part of our tradition. Its part of our culture, its part of our life.

When I put my design on the drumthen it becomes a gift. I have to take responsibility for that. The item "Northwest Coast First Nations native cedar hand carved EAGLE by John Jacobson" is in sale since Thursday, August 29, 2019. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Canada\ Aboriginal". The seller is "dgservices4u" and is located in Port Hardy, British Columbia. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, Germany.

• Featured Refinements: Northwest Coast Mask
• Handmade: Yes
• Modified Item: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Canada
• Artisan: Jonathan Jacobson
• Provenance: direct from Artist
• Tribal Affiliation: Kwakwakaw 'wakw