Gordon Dick hosted his third annual Artists at Work open house at Ahtsik Gallery on Pacific Rim Highway on Dec. 17 and 18.
Dick said the event wasn’t quite an anniversary, but it came close.
“I actually opened on Dec. 13, 2008, but we haven’t done anything to mark the event,” Dick said Saturday.
Dick committed himself to a career as a full-time artist in 1995 and is best known for large commissions in wood carving, such as commemorative poles.
“I got a good understanding [of carving] from my father and grandfather, but for the big carvings, Tim Paul was, and continues to be, my main influence,
he said.
On Saturday, with visitors and shoppers dropping in, Dick demonstrated one of his other talents, gold jewelry engraving.
Ahtsik Gallery sells work by other First Nations artists, mainly from West Coast nations, but some pieces from Cree and Blackfoot artists, “and one Mohawk.”
Guest artist Ray Sims has collaborated with Dick on a number of pieces, most notably the commemorative pole at the new Pacific Coast University. Sims brings a wide range of influences.
“I grew up here, but my mom and my grandma were Musqueum,” Sims said. “My first teacher was Ron Hamilton, when I was 11 or 12. Growing up here, he was a huge influence. I’ve also worked with a lot of West Coast artists. I was in 'Ksan for two years, working with Ken Mowat and Vernon Stephens of Gitxsan.”
While Sims painted a logo designed for a First Nations film student, Randy Atleo, at the next workstation, painted a hand-carved paddle. Atleo said he is determined to make a career at his art.
“This is my first year trying to make it full-time. I’ve been working at it for 13 years, on and off,” Atleo said. “My uncle and my grandfather, Harold Little, were my big influences. [Little] made our regalia when we were kids – our headdresses and paddles.”
Atleo has focused on smaller items like carved masks and rattles, which he sells at Ahtsik Gallery, at craft fairs “and anywhere else where they sell First Nations art.”
In one corner, traditional weaver Maria Desnoyer sat surrounded by her tools and gathered materials. She and her husband Mark produce and market a wide variety of hats, baskets, flowers and other decorative works woven in grasses, reeds and cedar bark.
“I work in all three, but I prefer cedar bark. You can make utility pieces. If a cedar basket gets dirty, you can wash it and dry it,” Desnoyer said.
The Desnoyers gather their own materials, including the cedar bark.
“We gather cedar from late spring to early summer. If you go to the higher altitudes, you can extend your gathering,” she said.
It is critical to respect the traditional practices when stripping bark from the red cedar, Desnoyer said.
“You take no more than one quarter of the circumference, or the top of the tree will die,” she explained, adding that once the trunk has been harvested, that’s it for the lifetime of the tree.
Desnoyer said unscrupulous gatherers sometimes over-strip trees, which leads forest companies to restrict access to their timber. That makes it important to maintain good relationships, she said.
“We’ve been doing this since 1998. Most of the forest companies are getting to know us,” Desnoyer said.
Dick said while the open house was scheduled for two days, his gallery is open year-round.
“We will be closed Christmas and New Years Day, but we’re open every day otherwise,” he said.
Plans for the New Year include building a large permanent shelter to house his outdoor carving operations, which are visible from the highway and a major marketing tool for the gallery.
“If I’m out working, there’s someone inside watching the shop,” he said.
