Nigel Fox Artworks

Dogwood Flower Bowl

Well, I am currently carving a cedar frog bowl for my solo exhibit coming up next month at the MNBC in Prince Rupert, BC–the town where I grew up.  My art school teachers told us that we would miss their direction when we are out of school and though I seem to be able to carve, there are still some details that I could use some help with.  The teachers at FDS provided much inspiration and cultivated an environment where innovation and tradition thrived alongside each other.  It was quite inspiring.

Well, it’s a bit of a milestone for Topley–we finally got a reliable high speed internet provider in town.  Having a computer science degree and some experience, I decided to apply for a job with the ISP (internet service provider) and as my bit of (low paid) public service for the fine people of Topley, I just installed the first customer unit this morning after doing some antenna alignments on the tower.

Anyways, all tech stuff aside, I am using  this high speed  internet in the comfort of my own living room and I will be able to publish more posts.

I am prepping for my solo exhibit in July at the Prince Rupert museum and archives.  I am currently working on a cedar frog bowl and I am nearing completion.  More posts to come…

Well, it’s been almost a month since we have come back home from Terrace and things are fairly busy. I am working on a limited edition silkscreen print and I hope that I am nearly done. This is my first silkscreen print edition and so I am not quite sure how close I am to finishing. This edition was of my butterfly tessellation.

My father in law, Darrell and I working on the roof of the studio.

I am also back to working on my studio again. This has been a project that has been coming along in my yard. I am building a 24’x20′ art studio, separate from the house. It’s a place to work on art projects.

Although many of you who are from out of town did not hear about this event in Terrace, there was an annual studio tour this weekend in Terrace. It couldn’t have been a better weekend, weather wise. Numerous people came out to where I was stationed with two other artists, near Usk. Usk is about 10 minutes outside of Terrace, so the people who came sure wanted to see us. There were treats, good conversation, refreshments, beautiful scenery and beautiful art. My only regret was that I didn’t get to see the other studio venues; Amy did, though, and she told me that she had a really great time.

At the venue where I was stationed, there were two other artists: Todd Stephens and Susann Williamson. Todd is a Nisga’a artist who runs a studio in town, Wilp Simgan (House of Red Cedar), and Susann is an artist who makes stained glass in her studio, Mountainside Stained Glass.  Susann was an amazing hostess and a cook of heroic proportions.  I think that I will remember the ham sandwich that I had this afternoon for some time to come.  amy and I were very privileged to stay with her and her partner, Al.

We are looking forward to next year’s event.  Over all, it was a very successful weekend, we gave it our best, and then had a rest.

Nathan Wilson and I finished our first commission together.  It had its ups and downs, but it was over all very positive and a total blast.  We worked 10 hour days over a 6 day period and worked on site the whole time.  We set up a tarp tent soon after starting the project and with the wind blowing very hard at times, it nearly blew over a few times and collapsed more times than we could remember.   We started with sketch ups of the proposed crest heads and after all the formalities, such as price, dimensions and other considerations, we started the first day after finishing our last day of class at Freda Diesing School.

We started by preparing the log–a first-growth western red cedar.  And after the surface was prepared and all the roughage taken off, we had a smooth surface to work on and put the crest heads.

Next we painted the primary and secondary forms.

Then we started carving.

Then, finally we painted the tertiary areas and after getting approval from the clients, we were done.

Very exciting project and I am looking forward to what’s next.  Stay tuned.

Well, it’s the first day out of school at Freda Diesing School and Nathan Wilson and I have work to do already. We have been commissioned to work on a twelve foot long, old growth cedar log. We are to put five crests on this log. The four main crests: wolf, eagle, killer whale and raven; and a sub-crest, beaver. For those of you who don’t know, a crest is a native stylized design of an animal, usually to represent a matrilineal (ie from the mom) blood-line. We have been commissioned to do this piece in order to honor first nations at a local day care.

It has been quite the year at Freda Diesing School. I remember being so nervous on the first day. Over the first few months, with the incessant ovoids and various workshops and fieldtrips. Then the new year with its deadlines, exhibits and presentations. What a year. I had so much fun and learned so much–that is the way that learning should be. I look forward to meeting with everyone in the class in the future, and if not, then on Facebook.

Today we had the honor of hearing the artist Roy Henry Vickers talk to the class. Roy is energetic, enthusiastic and totally engrossing in his speeches. He covered topics ranging from his life history to design. Roy had a way of capturing the attention of his audience with a gentle, yet responsive tone and always was sensitive to his audience. I know that a few times during the presentation he answered questions that I had without me even having to ask them. One of these questions was about where he got such amazing story telling skills. Roy confided to us that he gained these skills from two people, one person being the poet and scholar Chief Dan George and the other person being a gentleman who spoke in his village when he was younger. Roy said that Chief Dan George taught him to speak “from here”, pointing to his chest. Roy also mentioned that one of his elders taught him to speak from the heart, because when you speak “from here”, you speak to others “right here.”

Roy went on to discuss his gallery, the Eagle Aerie Gallery, in Tofino; his family and children; and some of his key prints. Roy described his experiences with tears and laughter. Roy described his prints in tones of emotion and reminiscence. Roy touched upon various issues that are close to his heart, such as the protection of the rivers and waters in the area from potentially destructive influences such as the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway project and the suspended Shell Coalbed Methane development. Roy said something that is true about the rivers–they are the lifeblood of the people. Kill or polute these rivers and you seriously injure the traditional ways of the first nations, possibly forever.

Roy went on to talk about what makes a print valuable and even what makes a print an original work of art. He said that when you make an edition, especially your first edition, your reputation is on the line. To me, he impressed upon me to make my first edition a high quality one and never another cheap old giclee edition.

Tomorrow he will be discussing prints and computer design. Stay tuned.