Bear Bowl, 2005
18 diameter bowl design
Limited edition of 50
sold out,
bear legend
Sun In Bent Box
Red Cedar, Acrylic, Metal, lighting fixtures
$3500.00 CDN
this idea came from the "raven
releasing the sun legend"
a chief used to keep the sun in a box, this is
the artist interpretation of the sun in the box
"Frog"
Jewelry container
Bronze
51/2"x 6" x6" with
removable lid
limited edition of 8, only 5 cast to date
$3000.00 CDN
email
artist tjbaker@tvl.com
22" x 22" x 8"
"Raven and Bear" Limited Edition Paper
Cast
2/5 of Edition $2800.00 Cdn
Completely Archival
'bear with the mind of a raven'
Todd Jason Baker
to see many detailed photo's
please email artist
40" x 43" x 16"
Limited Edition Paper
Cast of 10
This is #2/10 edition, "The Bear Clan" $4000 CDN
Completely Archival
shipping included.
email artist
The
Bear Mother Legend
The
Xbi’suundt Bear myth was where the people gathered
berries and other foods. While they were there, a
young woman known as Xbi’suundt invited many
others of her own age to go on a berry-picking trip.
While they were there up in the hills Xbi’suundt
stepped on the excrements of a bear and she became
very angry, making slurring remarks on the bears.
When the girls had finished picking berries, they
went back down to the village down the hills. On
their way down, the rope holding Xbi’suundts' pack
broke. She walked on, but every little while, the
straps snapped, and she stopped, to repair them.
Meantime, her companions had gone ahead. She called
them and said, "Come, my brother, to help me
with my pack." They were now half-way to the
village, and only two of her companions were left
with her. These she sent on ahead, as it was only a
short distance to home. After these companions had
gone on, she looked down the trail, and she saw her
two brothers coming to meet her. They were wearing
their bear robes, which the people at that time were
in the habit of wearing. They came and took her pack
and placed her between them. They lifted her pack
and placed her between them on the trail. They had
not gone far, when they arrived at a large strange
house. She stood in front of it, while her
companions went in. She heard a voice inquiring,
"Did you get whom you went for?" They
replied, "Yes, she is sitting outside."
Then they came out and brought her into the house.
She was placed at the rear of the house, and while
she sat there among strange people, someone touched
her side. She looked and saw Ksm-wadziin,
Mouse-Woman, she said, "The Bear people have
taken you as a captive for ridiculing the
excrements." Then she instructed her:
"When you go out to stool, dig a hole, and when
are finished, cover the hole up, and, where you sat,
place one of your copper bracelets." This the
woman did. She was then followed by her
sister-in-law, as she had now married (one of) the
men who had led her to this house. When the
sister-in-law saw the bracelet where the woman had
sat, she picked it up and brought it into the house
for the chief said, "This woman was very right
to ridicule our ordinary excrements, for hers are of
copper.
The
young woman was now missed in her village. Her
brothers saw her trail in between those of the two
bears. They reported this to the village. Then her
other companions remembered how she had ridiculed
the bear's excrements. Then all the people of the
village realized that the Bears had taken her as a
captive.
It was now going into
the Fall, and the woman was living among all these
Bear people around her. There were human-like and
had all their bear robes hung up on the side walls
of the house. She thought it strange that many times
members of this tribe would go and never return.
These were the bears that had been shot by hunters.
It was now approaching Winter, about November, and
time for the bears to hibernate. They discussed what
they were to do with the woman among them. At her
home village, her four brothers were preparing an
expedition to hunt for her. She had left behind her
pet dog called 'Mask Red'. The brothers started out
to hunt for her now. First one brother would go and
kill a number of bears in their dens. Then another
brother would go and do the same thing. Spring was
now approaching. Each one of the brothers went out
singly according to their age. When the turn came
for the youngest who was always accompanied by the
woman's dog, 'Mask' scented the dens for him. He
went across the Kalum River to Wii'gwanks,
Large-Spring (Beaver River is the white man's name).
The young brother now came to a clearing at the foot
of a mountain which was heavy with snow and almost
impossible to climb. The dog 'Mask' had picked up a
scent, going up towards the top of the clearing. The
young woman recognized who it was from the distance.
She picked up some snow in her hand leaving the
imprint of her fingers on the snow. This she threw
it down the slant, and it rolled to the feet of her
brother. The dog went up ahead after the young man
who had picked up that snow and was barking
furiously. Then the young man saw that the dog had
learned its ears back, recognizing (the place where)
its owner was. The young man then started up this
mountainside, although it was difficult. As he was
going up he saw his sister coming out of the cavern
of the mountain. The young man then called upon her
to come out and follow him back home. She then had
offspring, little bear cubs. These she wanted to
take with her. The young brother said that he would
not kill the bear who had kept her captive. So when
Xbi'suundt and her young brother went back to the
village, the girl's father erected a pole upon which
the Bear cubs, the offspring of that young woman,
where to play and climb. The cubs would go up to the
top of this pole and gazed at the dens of other
bears. Then they would come down and tell it to the
villagers that their grandfathers were at a certain
part of the mountain. The hunters found out that it
was true, and went to shoot the bears. The mother,
feeling sorry for the bears, took and liberated
these clubs, so that they could no longer tell the
places of the bears to the hunters. Xbi’suundt had
a sister who was called Wii'nluułk,
Large-Nest (of Eagle). She (Xbi’suundt) became
angry and went off into the hills. While she was up
there, she saw a huge bird of the sky, which she
called Asa'waalgyet. At this time the Ganhada
had the Gaax (Raven), the Ganaaw (Frog) and
the Kamaats (Starfish) as crests. When this woman
had seen the Asa'waalgyet, her people added it to
the other crests of their house.
THE PROCESS OF PAPER CASTING...
HISTORY OF PAPER; good, interesting read.
"Sign My Treaty"
Wood, Metal, Leather
The idea of this piece came from all the injustice
of how and when
the signing of lands, documents and leases are made
with our people.
BIO
Todd Jason Baker was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia in 1965. He is the grandson of the (late) great leader and speaker
Chief Khot-la-cha (Chief Simon Baker). He has lived most of his life in North Vancouver and completed his high school education and a few years of post secondary education there.
He began drawing for his tribe, The Squamish Nation, at the age of thirteen and had Bill Reid critique his first piece in 1983. Instead of using his thunderbird design as the new logo for the tribe, he went straight to a limited edition and hasn't looked back. Since then he has done numerous pieces for institutions around the country. These include the Love Doves for the Peace Federation of Canada, and a variation of the doves for the Teachers Federation of B.C. He continued his work for the Teachers Federation and created more designs for their Heart disease, Diabetes, and Heart and Stroke foundations.
Although thoroughly enjoying his work here, Mr. Baker's heart was in fashion. This passion drove him to begin school in Los Angeles and New York. While attending school at these prestigious institutions he was honoured with a trip to Paris for being the most accomplished artist of the school year. He began a new career as a fashion designer and worked for design houses such as Donna Karan and the Gap. After studying and working in NY for 9 years, living in Paris,France and London, England, Todd finally came home to his family. Upon his return his dream has been to carry on a cultural tradition of bringing knowledge to the people thru the looking glass of the northwest coast native art and its legends. Through his art, Mr. Baker has indeed given much to the world.
