Bowl depicting Loon, c. 2000
by Stan Wamiss, Kwakwaka'wakw First Mation
red cedar, pigment
9” high x 23” wide x 12” deep
Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation artist Stan Wamiss was born in 1947 on Gilford Island and raised at Kingcome Inlet in British Columbia. Stan learned to carve from his father Tom “Patch” Wamiss who was a master carver and the highest ranking chief in Kingcome Inlet. Tom “Patch” Wamiss was the first chief in the Kwaguilth Nation to hold a Potlatch after the ban was lifted in 1952.
Stan credits the book “Smokey Top: The Art of Willie Seaweed,” with inspiring him to begin carving in 1975 at the suggestion of his sister, Dorothy Speck. He prefers to work in the soft red cedar local to British Columbia, and carves superb masks, totems, sculptures, panels, and talking sticks.
Some of Stan’s work was featured in the 1988 Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition "Down from the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast,” an exhibit that traveled to number of selected museums across North America including Portland, OR and Los Angeles, CA. Stan currently lives on Vancouver Island, and along with his commission work, carves pieces for many galleries both in Canada and abroad.
