Terry Jackson Spirit Canoe II

On my thrift trip on Saturday, I also picked up this beautiful porcelain vessel by Métis artist Terry Jackson. Best known as a wood-carver, Jackson was born and raised on the West Coast and learned his craft from Pacific Northwest craftspeople.

What attracted me to the piece was the almost translucent quality of the porcelain. Every since the Clare Twomey show, I’ve become a enamoured of fine, unglazed bisque. As a mixie myself, I sort of get Jackson’s mission — finding a dialogue between his aboriginal and European heritage, an appreciation of the artistry of other First Nations people without appropriating their traditions, and exploring the processes of Eastern techniques (his pieces are cast from his original wood designs and created in Jingdezhen, China, where porcelain was first created and developed.

This piece is called Spirit Canoe. I like to think of the vessel as something that carries us all, no matter where we come from.