I am honored to apprentice with master artist Jenny Lyn Smith in silver carving. Jenny Lyn Smith learned Northwest Coast art by Leo Jacobs, Sr., John Hagen, Ed Kasko, Johnnie Avotock, and Nathan Jackson at Alaska Indian Arts. Northwest Coast art has created an opportunity for Jenny Lyn Smith to align her livelihood and desire to be an artist. Her work has been publicly exhibited in Japan, Los Angeles, Scandinavia, and Kake, Alaska. She was adopted by Lillian Hammond in to L’uknax̱.ádi, Raven Coho clan, in 1977 at the Friendship Totem Pole raising.
Northwest Coast art encompasses formline, a term coined by Bill Holm in the 60’s. Formline is a tradition handed down tens of thousands of years, a two-dimensional iteration of ovoids, U-form shapes, and fine lines. Formline is the language used to tell our stories on Lingít aaní.
Contact and settler colonialism has impacted our ways of life, from our family and clan structures, education, justice, language, and ability to create art. Much of our knowledge of our monuments and formline had to be uncovered and revitalized by a handful of dedicated artists. The goal is to be a part of the resurgence, when our voices are lifted through our ancestors and reconnected to our ways of life and the land.
I am glad you are here with me and I hope to uncover more stories and history and language to share with you. If you are starting your own journey in culture, or have thought about it, my advice is to go for it. Take the leap. You already have everything you need.