‘Emerald Forest’ Feast Bowl

I’d originally envisioned this piece as a lightning bowl. Lightning and thunder are very rare where I live now on the coast—unlike in Ontario, Canada, where I grew up. While I was first shaping this bowl, a few of those rare cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning rolled through the sky, sending me in the direction of exploring lightning-inspired designs.

Working with Tutakwisnapšiƛ Joe Martin on various canoe and pole projects, Joe often spoke about how lightning motifs carved into Nuu-chah-nulth works carry teachings about times in life when we must act quickly—responding with speed and intention to what’s happening around us. But somewhere along the way, the lightning wasn’t working as a design, so I switched gears and went with a more curved bow and stern, wave cutting shape. I’ll likely come back to lightning with another design again.

I don’t often work with cedar, out of respect for leaving the material to Indigenous artists for their cultural practices, especially given its increasing rarity—particularly old-growth cedar. However, this block was gifted to me by Joe while we were working on a canoe for one of his community members. The cedar came from the sapwood of a tree more than 500 years old, from which five large canoes were eventually made. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with such material—perfectly straight-grained, free of knots. Cedar is a great teacher to most Coastal peoples, and it’s easy to understand why when you have the privilege of working with wood from forests stewarded and protected by Indigenous communities.

Photography: Christopher Roy | @christopherroy