{"product_id":"dk-iid-k-iyaas-goldenspruce-button-blanket-by-hazel-wilson-simeon-1941-2016-haida","title":"K’iid K’iyaas (Golden Spruce) Button Blanket by Hazel Wilson Simeon (1941-2016), Haida","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDK’iid K’iyaas (Golden Spruce) Button Blanket, 2000\u003cbr\u003eby Hazel Wilson Simeon (1941-2016), Haida First Nation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003ewool melton cloth, shell, hand hammered copper, glass beads\u003cbr\u003e54\" high x 60\" wide\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003eWhile the majority of Hazel Wilson Simeon's blankets feature various traditional family crests, Wilson long specialized in robes that depict  K’iid K’iyaas, a giant golden Sitka Spruce that, until recently, stood on the banks of the Yakoun River on Haida Gwaii. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAccording to Haida legend, K’iid K’iyaas grew out of another golden spruce (\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eHiilang Jaat) that lived on the same spot over 800 years ago. Wilson listened to her grandmother relating stories and legends about the Golden Spruce. As the legend goes, Hiilang Jaat, the original golden spruce, was a transformed woman. K’iid K’iyaa was \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eHiilang Jaat's nephew and now also transformed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLegend and contemporary history merge with Wilson's depiction and the tree’s tragic and well-publicized demise in very recent times, the victim of a misguided protester’s violent act. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis blanket symbolizes rebirth and hope for the future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003enote: Minor wear on the surface of the melton cloth\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHazel Wilson Simeon\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in 1941 in Tiiyaan, a small village on the west coast of Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, Canada. Known as Jut-ke-Nay in her native Haida language, she was a member of Duugwaa St’Langng 7laanaas clan on the Raven side.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhen Wilson was 14, she was selected to become a maker of appliqued button blankets-ceremonial robes created from melton cloth and decorated with pieces of abalone, copper and pearl buttons. A master of her craft, Wilson went on to make countless robes for friends and relatives. In the early 1970s, she moved with her children to Vancouver, where she continued to create robes both for family members and for the southern market. In 2006, her work was featured in Raven Travelling, a major 200-year retrospective of Haida art presented by the Vancouver Art Gallery. Wilson continued to live and work in Vancouver until her death in 2016.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eFor the first three decades of her artistic career, Wilson concentrated on making blankets with various family crests, such as frogs and ravens. Although traditional in conception, Wilson’s interpretation of this traditional subject matter was nonetheless distinctive: in addition to buttons, she attached a range of materials to her robes, including pieces of brass, shells from the sea and beadwork. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn more recent years, Wilson extended her art to include narrative forms that touch on a range of contemporary concerns. In 2005, she completed a major cycle of 17 blankets chronicling the life and death of the sacred Golden Spruce Tree (K’iid K’iyaas). In 2006, she began work on an even larger series of narrative blankets that record the modern and pre-modern history of the Haida people. Comprising 50 blankets in all, this series of button blankets addresses such politically charged themes as large-scale logging on Haida Gwaii and the devasting impact of small pox in the post-contact era.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Quintana Galleries","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53136002252911,"sku":null,"price":3000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1813\/7073\/files\/GW24004_ButtonBlanket.jpg?v=1779464534","url":"https:\/\/quintanagalleries.com\/products\/dk-iid-k-iyaas-goldenspruce-button-blanket-by-hazel-wilson-simeon-1941-2016-haida","provider":"Quintana Galleries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}