Gyaehlingaay

A Kaigani Haida term meaning “Stories.”
Artist’s collection. Duatone on 18 inches
by 24 inches on gloss

The Illustrations are for a small book of the same name with Lillian Pittviel telling some twelve short stories in her Native language.

In 1991, I had a leg injury that required me to keep it elevated for some time and unable to do any major carving. As luck would have it, I was asked to illustrate Gyaehlingaay, a little publication featuring stories by Haida elder Lillian Pettviel. The text was written in both the Haida language and English, co-authored by Carol Eastman and Elizabeth Edwards.

I informed the authors that I was a carver, not an illustrator, and that the two weeks allotted to complete the job was short notice. When I was also informed that there was no available money I laughed and said, “in that case, I accept.” The drawings are quite amateurish, but it was fun. Since I wasn’t to be paid, I had the twelve illustrations printed in “duotone” and packaged as a portfolio. They are available for purchase.

Tenas Wawa

An illustrated publication written
in Chinook Jargon and English.

I published a Chinook Jargon dictionary and grammar booklet and a six-page quarterly called Tenas Wawa, or Small Talk, that ran for three years. The text was written in both Chinook Jargon and English and is still available. It contained illustrated history, stories and cartoons. Three pages are in Chinook. The paper could be flipped over and there are three pages in transcribed English. Featured is a continuing 1856 fictional saga of “Moola John. He meets and becomes friends with “Dungeness Jim,” a Sk’lallam man who makes his living delivering people, mail and small freight around Puget Sound. He and his crew have adventures, which involve actual people and occurrences from history.

Back issues are popular and are sold in sets of fifteen issues.

The Prince and the Salmon People

An illustrated story from Tsimshian mythology.

In 1993, I made several pencil drawings for Claire Rudolph Murphy’s The Prince and the Salmon People.

I have always enjoyed working with a pencil, mostly in the form of architectural renderings. I frequently draw plans for my projects, especially canoes, totem poles and sculptures, with front, side, top, and end views. It’s a tremendous aid for anyone that’s assisting me. This, however was a challenge and not the kind of illustration I was used to doing, an illustrated story from Tsimshian mythology that tells how a prince was captured by the salmon people and taught how to respect and honor the salmon.