Sweetgrass Trail

"Sweetgrass Trail: An Emerging Artist’s Journey" is the title of Odin Lonning’s October show at Heron’s Nest on Vashon. Odin, a Tlingit artist and cultural educator, is renowned for his traditional Northwest Coast Native designing, carving, and painting. His "Sweetgrass Trail" show is a departure in that several pieces pay tribute to the formative stage of his career, when he traveled across the United States. The artist will be at Heron’s Nest on First Friday, October 7, from 6:00 – 9:00 PM.

Attending the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico allowed Odin to experience a rich diversity of tribal cultures. While there, he collaborated with other talented Native artists -- an Acoma potter and a Pawnee jeweler, for example.

New works in the Heron’s Nest show, such as "Spirit Posse" and "Sweetgrass Trail," are experiments with different media and tribal styles. The imagery in these pieces evokes Feast Days in the pueblos, the ceremonial gatherings of Plains and Northeastern tribes, and art shows at reservations in Arizona. "Spirit Posse," an acrylic painting on canvas with wood cutouts, is a personal favorite inspired by the concept of Coast Salish spirit boards.

Odin’s show includes contemporary Coastal Native works, as well. One standout is "Raven’s Little Helpers," another new piece encircled by 20 exquisitely hand-painted feathers representing a host of birds, such as Flickers, Blue Jays, Owls, Hawks, and Loons.

This week’s photo highlights a detail from Odin’s "Sweetgrass Trail" painting. The images from right to left are an Acoma water jar; a figure based on a Zuni katsina; a Hopi sun face; and above the sun, an Apache Gan dancer silhouette – a mini Southwest cultures lesson!

Lonning is an award-winning, professional Alaska Native artist whose body of work over three decades includes carved cedar pieces from totem poles to amulets, painted drums, ceremonial regalia, and jewelry design. In September, he was a commissioned artist for Vashon Allied Arts 2011 Art Auction. Learn more about the artist at www.OdinLonning.com.

Dear readers, artwork and whale work are intertwined in our Native reality. Please support the work of the Vashon Hydrophone Project (VHP): REPORT LOCAL WHALE SIGHTINGS ASAP TO 463-9041. Reporting directly to the VHP sustains an ongoing, accurate dataset of whale sightings for Vashon-Maury and contiguous Central Puget Sound waters, initiated more than 30 years ago by researcher Mark Sears. Call the VHP about seal pups as well as dead, injured, or sick marine mammals on Island beaches. Check for updates at www.Vashonorcas.org and send photos to Orca Annie at Vashonorcas@aol.com.