ARTIST FEATURE

WINADZI SIMON DANIEL JAMES

Winadzi is an internationally renowned artist in many media. He has been a carver for more than 35 years— he has, in my eyes, become a master carver.

Winadzi is from the Kwakwaka’wakw nation, from the Kwicksuteniuk clan from Gilford Island on his mother’s side and from the Gwa'sala 'Nakwaxda'xw from Blunden Harbour on his father’s side. He spent his childhood growing up in Campbell River. At the age of 15 he decided to start carving and trained under his father, Simon James Sr. —a renowned artist in his own style.

After leaving Campbell River, Winadzi attended The Vancouver Film School, where he finished both 2D classical and 3D computer animation and created a short

student film called “Dawn of Creation,” which was the inspiration for Raven Tales “How Raven Stole the Sun.”

Simon has worked with National Geographic’s “All Roads” since 2004, and was the first recipient of the National Geographic “All Roads” Film Grant for “Raven Tales.” Winadzi was the co-creator and co-producer of the “Raven Tales” series and has spent many years promoting it all over the world.

In 2001 Simon was asked to carve three totem poles for Fukushima Japan. He carved another totem pole for the Rosser Elementary School in Burnaby BC in 2006 where every student from K-grade 6 was able to help. This was the first of many carvings for the Burnaby school district.

Winadzi Carvings L-R Moss Man 3; Moss Man 2; Crooked Beak; Wildest Woman of the Sea

Now living on Bowen Island with his wife Naomi James, Winadzi has completed 26 episode of ‘Raven Tales’ and since 2004 he has become the proud owner of Raven Tales Production Corp. He has collaborated on public art projects with artists on Bowen Island including a sculpture called “Embracing the Spirit of the Flame.” This project started on the day that the Olympic Flame came to Bowen Island on its way to the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. In May of 2011 Simon collaborated in creating a carved cedar panel with students from Kindergarten to grade 5 for the Bowen Island Community School. Early in 2013 Simon was asked again to participate in another school project in Burnaby creating an 8 x 8 red cedar panel with all of the students in Westridge Elementary school.

WWW.COMPASSMAGAZINE.CA is asked by many schools to inspire students with first nation stories. Winadzi loves being involved in teaching children of all ages, including his son Ryuki who was born in 2010, and his daughter Mizuki who was born in 2012. He has his own studio in the basement of his home, and likes it this way so he can be at home for his children.

In 1993, I worked with Winadzi as his main drummer and narrator when he created the Box of Treasures dance troupe. He choreographed all the dances and created a wonderful stage event that told stories of a time long ago. The highlight for the troupe was being the opening act on several occasions for the renowned Inuit artist Susan Aglukark.

ARTIST FEATURE

SHARING LIFE

It is perhaps a foolish thing to be talking about Human Beings “sharing” life in the future in this world today where we can barely CARE for our common basic necessities of life, and we simply cannot seem to stop hurting, hating, torturing, dehumanizing and murdering each other. It is probably foolish, even for someone like me, who can remember an age half a century ago where we all truly had faith that we could gather together and make life worth living for every Human Being on earth...where we believed that things were getting better in our world. Who really has time now to believe and dream in a future world where evolved Human Beings have transformed into creatures and a civilization where everyone instinctively and incredibly CARED for each other, possessing the astounding, impossible ability to “Share” life itself together? It makes no sense. Except for this.

You and I walk this earth and live today because our indomitable, courageous and magnificent ancient ancestors survived Hell on this earth and somehow dreamed and believed in an impossible future beyond a stark and

Campbell River

terrifying world that you and I cannot imagine today. The only thing that carried them through insane, catastrophic horror raging all around them was a secret invincible hope and an instinctive, inexpressible faith that refused to surrender and die. And it was this everlasting faith that carried them through when all seemed lost around them back in the dark shadows of deep time so long ago. It is why you and I are alive today. In our incredible saga of Human Life on this earth, it has always been so.

So it is today. Our life force is entering into an age of horror, savage ignorance and brutal inhumanity where only dreams, hope and indestructible faith that simply will not die are the only thing that will carry us through.

Impossible dreams. Defiant hope. Invincible belief. Undying faith.

Somehow our species must once again find that courageous faith and outrageous dreaming belief in an impossible future world where our children will still walk

Boats Built on Vancouver Island by West Coasters, for West Coasters! 3125 N Island Hwy., Campbell River 250-286-0752 | www.campbellriverboatland.com PARTS,SALES&SERVICE Visit us at the Vancouver Boat Show • Booth 615 • February 5-9 • BC Place

this earth and survive. We all have to find within us the heroic audacity to evolve and survive, against hopeless odds. Again.

Somehow.

And the only thing that I can think of, and imagine that would be of any help to believe in this foolish idea is to try and envision what kind of a future world our children’s children would glory in when we have survived, and evolved a world where Humans could “Share” life. First and foremost, in a world where we “Shared” our lives completely, totally and everlastingly, we would truly know each other like we know ourselves. We would instinctively and unquestionable CARE for and trust each other like we trust our eyes, or our hands. As such, what we now exchange and utilize in our world today that we call a “medium of exchange” or money will no longer exist. The truth is that we now need to use money or a “medium of exchange” because we simply cannot now know or truly trust each other. But in a civilization where we can “Share” life and absolutely CARE and instinctively, unquestionably and totally trust each other, the agonies of usury, greed, exploitation, aggrandizement, deceit or economic slavery will no longer exist in such a New Human Civilization. It would be a world of total absolute trust everywhere between us all.

Imagine such a world.

And when we can finally “Share” life we would essentially live other lives as our own. By making that staggering, impossible evolution somewhere ahead in the future of our Human Life force, those Humans in that astounding, almost unimaginable world will finally know and comprehend that life does not end when each of us individually die. The truth will at last manifest in our higher consciousness that life continues on beyond us and never ends, and can never be disconnected or lost in this magnificent CONTINUUM towards ultimate, perfect Unity that IS Universe. This means that the now shattering and terrifying fear of death that now stalks us everywhere in our primitive world, and all the secretly mirrored darkling unknown that this Primal Fear has unleashed will no longer exist in that evolved future of our Human Life force on earth.

But such a future unimaginably magnificent world for our children’s children where Humanity would be set free at last from economic slavery and paralyzing, mortal fear is simply impossible for us now to conceive. In every facet of our logical, rational, Symbolic, “critical” and cognitive thoughtforms that define all order, law and truthful reality for us today in our primitive “Solitary One” world, you cannot get there from here.

But we must recall that we have found the way through before...always by incredibly evolving a different way beyond anything we have ever known. We must all do so again. Somehow inside us all there is a path yet unfound and unseen where we can gather together, begin to learn to “Share” our lives and dare to have faith in and believe in ourselves and each other that such an impossible dream can, and must come true...

And so, we have to conceive in our awakening minds almost beyond imagination another different way... to find the way through. To challenge the impossible and survive.

You and I. Somehow. One more time.

www.james-l-anderson.com