PACIFIC NORTHWEST / CANADA. Home Decor / Kitchen Decor, Decorative Trivet, c. 1980s.
Jody “Joe” Wilson has been a renown carver of traditional yellow cedar totems, wall-size wood carvings, impressive relief pieces and masks since the 1970s. Raised among the Coast Salish people, a loose array of dozens of First Nation tribes whose homelands line the oceans and inlets of the Pacific Northwest and nearby Pacific Coastal Canada, Wilson grew up in Ladner, British Columbia (a small hamlet in the suburbs of Vancouver), or as he knows it: the ancestral land of the Tsawwassen, Musqueam, and Hwlitsum. By the middle of the 1980s, Wilson’s work was moving beyond the art galleries of Vancouver and across the world. The master carver and metalsmith (Wilson also a renown jewelry and bracelet maker), has also long been a teacher, relaying the skills he has honed to a mastery to the next generations … We were immediately struck by the stunning visuals of this collection of trivets discovered at a somewhat non-descript estate sale. Every one spoke to us, hinting at ancient stories, spirits, and inspirations among the natural world of the Pacific Northwest, though we knew very little of it and nothing of Jody Wilson at the time. After doing a little digging, we came across some background in which Wilson himself states that every one of his pieces tell a story. No question! There is so much going on in these amazing visuals. We knew at first glance that these were VERY special finds, all of the creatures and mythic “guardians” shown with stories to tell. As research would find, the Coast Salish belief in guardian spirits and the shapeshifting abilities shared between human and animal spirits seemed fully represented in Wilson’s work … This trivet is a fantastic print version of a “Salmon,” a prime food source and as such, a spiritually foundational creature.
Condition: Like New. Local / Regional Areas. Dimensions: 6" square / 10 oz
