Plaques - Salmon - male and female (16" diameter)

These salmon plaques were hand-carved and painted by Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Peter Smith.

Salmon is the life giver that represents every ending becoming a new beginning.

16" diameter
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Peter Smith is a Kwakwaka’wakw carver that has been working in the wood mediums since 1995 when he began his carving career studying under the watchful eyes of carver Winadzi James. Although he began carving in 1995, his exposure to the art form began in early childhood when he watched artists such as Walter (Long-John) Smith, Sam Johnson, Jack James, and Allan James while spending time in his home community of Gilford Island. Not only did he watch great carvers and artisans from a young age, he also learned the cultural traditions and meanings belonging to the masks and the songs that are sung with them. Peter enjoys learning and exploring the carving medium and has developed his own crisp, clean style that mixes the traditional and the contemporary.