Some people use art to make a statement or burn off creative energy.
For master carver Pete Peterson, it’s a way to hush the buzz and distraction of modern life, and experience moments of tranquility.
“It gives me peace of mind,” said Peterson, 72, of the Skokomish reservation in Mason County. “When I’m working, I’m concentrating on what I’m doing, and of course, you know, all the world is shut out.”
Peterson is one of 21 artists participating in the “In the Spirit: Contemporary Northwest Native Arts Exhibit” at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. The fourth-annual juried show, which is in partnership with The Evergreen State College’s Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, runs through Aug. 30.
The show promises “a blending of traditional Northwest native art with contemporary design and ideas,” according to museum spokeswoman Kimberly Adams. Selected pieces range from Coast Salish button blankets and cedar carvings to beadwork and photography.
CRAVING TO CARVE
Peterson has carved for about 30 years, and has received multiple honors for his bentwood boxes, masks, totem sculptures and other Native forms, including the prestigious Governor’s Heritage Award. He has taught and mentored scores of tribal artists and youths around the region, and served as the Artist in Residence at Evergreen’s Longhouse from 1998 to 2003.
“Back in the early ’70s, I got started doing silver work. I did silver work for probably seven or eight years and switched to Northwest coast carving, and have been carving ever since,” Peterson said. “I don’t think you could really call me a traditionalist because I make what I feel like making when I want to make it.”
He is showing two bentwood boxes in the show. The smallest is about a foot high, and is a traditional Coast Salish water basket.
“They were used for (carrying) drinking water on long journeys, on the big canoes,” he said.
MORE VIEWPOINTS
As part of the festivities on Aug. 8-9, the museum will host “In the Spirit: Northwest Native Arts Market and Festival,” which will feature food and art, along with an array of American Indian dancers, drummers, storytellers and other performers.
“Every hour, there’s a new performer,” Adams said.
Jewelry artist Mandy Fawn McCullough, 32, of Olympia has spent weeks working on items that she’ll sell at the festival.
“I’m really excited about being involved with this event,” she said. “I’ve heard wonderful things about it.”
McCullough, who is a member of the White Earth band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, began beading when she was about 6. She has sold her handmade jewelry, leather pouches and dreamcatchers for years at powwows and other American Indian events around the region.
Like Peterson, she finds her artwork calming.
“I only do it when I’m in a good heart and good mind,” McCullough said. “When I’m upset, I don’t do any beadwork – I set it aside. … It can go into what you make, and when someone wears it, it could put them in a bad mood.”
PIECES THAT TELL A STORY
Some of the artists, including Peterson, have participated in “In the Spirit” numerous times. But this is the first year, and the first exhibit, for Jeffrey Veregge, 35, of Bremerton.
He describes the paintings on oak panel that he entered as “traditional Coast Salish form line design, with Picasso’s primitiveness and executed in a pop surrealism.”
“It’s kind of got the rough, not-so-polished look to it,” said Veregge, a member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe.
“I don’t want to be perfect. Behind each blemish, there’s a story. I like the idea of having stories within each piece.”
A graduate of the Art Institute of Seattle, Veregge is working on a series of paintings for a show in Olympia this fall.
For him, art is about sharing viewpoints, communicating philosophies, and setting a good example for tribal youths.
Veregge said he is grateful and humbled that his artwork was selected for the “In the Spirit” exhibit.
“It’s an honor,” he said. “To have someone say, ‘I want to put your work out so everyone can see it,’ it meant a lot to me.”
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