Brothers After All

Dorothy Grant's cultural couture

2010-08-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

Looking for a one of a kind dress or sportcoat? Vancouver BC based Haida fashion designer Dorothy Grant brings her culture and keen eye for great style to casual and high-fashion apparel for men and women. In featuring ancient traditions, contemporary Haida design, and sustainable materials she creates wearable art that is both social and environmental responsibility. In her own words, the mission of Ms. Grant's work is to "share the richness of the Haida culture, to create a vehicle for transformation, pride and self-awareness, and to employ First Nations people." Most importantly, Ms. Grant's substance and style make here a fantastic role model for all those budding 'Indigenistas' out there. Brava! Reposted from Sustainable Sean

Latina Nina

2010-08-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

I was psyched to hear judge Nina Garcia switch into Spanish in the first episode of Project Runway Season 8 on Lifetime. Casanova, one of season 8's competitors, wasn't quite understanding what host Heidi Klum was asking so Nina stepped right in to help out. Spanish is pretty rare in mainstream American television, particularly connected to design, so it really was great to see happen. Kudos for diversity in design! Originally posted on Sustainable Sean.

Scenery at Lower Elwha

2010-07-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Lower Elwha

2010-07-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

Went ahead to next campsite...sunny but windy and cold at LEKT. Here
for three days.

Journey interupted...

2010-07-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Left at 6:30am this morning for Jamestown S'Klallam and got about
about an hour out. Foggy, cold and at least 10' swells. Then the Coast
Guard came and told us to turn around...another Canoe had overturned
already and conditions were getting worse. So now we're all trailering.

Drums and dancing at Pt Townsend

2010-07-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

42 Canoes and counting

2010-07-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

42 Canoes at Pt Townsend, more to meet up with each stop

Landing at Pt Townsend

2010-07-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

House of Knowledge at Pt Gamble S'Klallam

2010-07-14T04:58:00.001-07:00

Clam bake at Pt Gamble S'Klallam

2010-07-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

The long pull to Brinnon

2010-07-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Finished our 22 mile pull to Brinnon that included a lot if fog and
misty 'spritz' rain. Then had a long nap and now onto more beading.

The Wilapa Spirit

2010-07-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Oliver Canoe Family canoe "Wilapa Spirit" ...we leave tomorrow at
4:00am

Maori entertainment at Potlatch

2010-07-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

My camp chair

2010-07-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

My beloved camp chair...it's good to dust you off.

First dinner of Journey

2010-07-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

First dinner of Journey at Potlach hosted by Skok. Fried
oysters...yum!!!

Basket Diaries: Rides Many Horses

2010-06-18T00:02:00.001-07:00

This my second basket with the small horse design (the first one got away without a photo). I did this basket as a gift to myself on my 40th birthday. Yes indeed, there are 40 small horses on that basket! Some of you may know that my Indian name is "the one who rides many horses" or "rides many horses" for short so this basket seemed appropriate in many ways. It turned out a little taller than I expected but it's pretty cool overall. I'll leave it as is for now and finish it up for my 41st bday.

Helping hands...

2010-06-17T14:42:00.001-07:00

Besides spending a lot of money on both the silent and live auction at the recent Duwamish Tribe Dinner & Gala myself, I was able to help out a little along the way as well. Find a short article and slideshow about the event on the West Seattle Herald website here.

Basket Diaries: Emergence

2010-06-17T14:19:00.001-07:00

This is the latest design in my Thirty Four Fibonaccis project. I've seen the design on quilts, posters, etc. and thought it would look great as a basket pattern. Interestingly, the further you stand from the basket the more the middle of the shape begins to look like curves.

Basket Diaries: Tribal Journey

2010-06-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

This basket features a Tribal Journey design that I've been wanting to try for a while now. I have some ideas to make it even more interesting so check back to see how the design evolves. To be gifted during the 2010 Tribal Journey

Basket Diaries: Rainbow of Ribbons

2010-05-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

At the request of Peace Elder Anna Haala, this is a series of baskets I did as prizes for the 2010 Rainbow of Ribbons Pow Wow to honor women survivors (Veterans, breast cancer, domestic violence, heart disease, etc.). It was a great honor for me out Anna and to create these baskets for the Pow Wow.

Basket Diaries: first cedar basket

2010-05-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is my very first cedar basket from a basket workshop I took with master Duwamish weaver Mary Lou Slaughter. Mary Lou is a fantastic teacher and with her great humor made the workshop as fun as it was instructive. I look forward to future workshops with her.

Basket Diaries: All My Relations

2010-03-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

This basket design is called "All My Relations". The Arrows reflect the individual plus seven generations before and seven generations to come. The double stitch creates a subtle but really nice design. I've done several variations on this design but they all use arrows and the double stitch. Gifted to Jean Brinkman.

Indigenous Diva: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

2010-02-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

I have been a fan of Maori opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa since high school when I first heard her beautiful soprano voice in the film "A Room With a View" singing Puccini's aria "O mio babbino caro". My iTunes library is full of her pieces and I've had the pleasure of hearing her sing in person several times. I can think of few individuals who have lived in two worlds as visibly as Dame Te Kanawa. She embraces her Maori and New Zealand roots boldly, has sung in operas and recitals around the globe, and today is one of the most beloved opera singers of all time.

(Image courtesy Ravinia Festival)

I recently came across this video below of Dame Te Kanawa singing "Tarahiki", an ancient Maori song/chant about the beauty and strength of the cicada dance. It totally blew me away.

Read more about Dame Te Kanawa on her Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation website, her IMG Artists website, and Wikipedia. There are many more videos of her singing on YouTube as well.

And here is another version with Maori chorus from millennium celebrations in NZ...

A couple other favorite vids of mine...Dame Te Kanawa singing "Pokarekare Ana" in 1990 and more recently for the NZ millennium celebrations.

Basket Diaries: Longhouse Lines

2010-02-05T12:14:00.001-08:00

Fibonacci-based design. It reminded me of the floor plans of several modern longhouses I've visited recently...a large room, a kitchen, an office, and - of course - two small restrooms. This is the first of 'Thirty Four Fibonacci' patterns I plan to design. Gifted to Laura Grabhorn.

Basket Diaries: The place where the salmon jump

2010-02-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

Fibonaaci-based design that reminded me of the mountain streams and brooks I would come across during my years doing wildlife research in the Northwest where salmon were jumping. This is the 2nd basket of my 'Thirty Four Fibonaccis' project. Gifted to John Edward Smith.

6/2/10 update: this is another of the 'salmon jump' designs made with a larger warp and reverse colors of the first basket. It turned out great so I look forward to trying other variations.