By Julie Chadwick and Cara McKenna, Local Journalism Initiative Reporters INDIGINEWS
A showcase by the Snuneymuxw family design house Ay Lelum at New York Fashion Week paid tribute to their relative W. Joel Good ts91裸聊视频檜sqinuxun after the artist died suddenly.
The show on Sept. 7 opened with an onstage screen that played a video of Good working on a carving with guidance from his father.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 old school,91裸聊视频� Good said as he carefully sanded and shaped the wood. 91裸聊视频淪ometimes I end up designing some of the pieces or sometimes he does a design, and then if he91裸聊视频檚 already done a design, I91裸聊视频檒l just jump in and help where I can.91裸聊视频�
As the video faded out, the sound of soft Coast Salish music by his sisters filled the room as models began to walk out, one by one, wearing clothing adorned with Good91裸聊视频檚 designs.
The showcase by the Good family91裸聊视频檚 design house Ay Lelum titled Your Spirit was a tribute to 91裸聊视频渙ur brother, son, uncle, Joel Good who passed away suddenly on August 28,91裸聊视频� an announcer explained. 91裸聊视频淭his is to honour and share his beautiful artwork.91裸聊视频�
Good, who had just turned 40, was a central force in continuing the resurgence of traditional Snuneymuxw carving started by his father, hereditary chief, historian, honorary doctorate-holder and master carver William Good ts91裸聊视频檜sqinuxun. He also inherited a rich artistic tradition from his mother, painter and fashion designer Sandra Moorhouse-Good thul te lada.
The two artistic traditions combined powerfully in the work Joel collaborated on with his sisters Aunalee Boyd-Good and Sophia Seward Good at their design house Ay Lelum 91裸聊视频� The Good House of Design, which features artwork from Joel and both their parents.
91裸聊视频淗e is a huge part of what Sophia and I do. Not only do you walk in and see his art everywhere, or watch a showcase and it91裸聊视频檚 all of his artwork, but he91裸聊视频檚 also in the background, in the idea process,91裸聊视频� Aunalee said in a 2023 video celebrating Good91裸聊视频檚 City of Nanaimo Excellence in Culture Award.
In the week before he died, Good sent Aunalee some fresh designs he was working on.
91裸聊视频淏efore his passing I showed him the .125 showcase .375 designs and he said they were 91裸聊视频榙ope,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Aunalee wrote in a statement.
In a subsequent Instagram post, she acknowledged that it had been 91裸聊视频渁 really tough week91裸聊视频� and though it was difficult to go through the process of getting the show out she thanked everyone for their love and support.
The collection features the Good family crest, a Supernatural Eagle created by Joel, and the accompanying music was written by his sisters and produced by Rob the Viking, and includes the sounds of Joel carving. A second song was recorded the day after Joel died with Aunalee, Sophia and his childhood friend Eli Buffalo, who shared the Cree Grandmother song to guide his friend on his journey, according to Ay Lelum.
The showcase happened after a week of grieving and ceremony, with services at Snuneymuxw First Nation on Sept. 4 and 5. Many in the City of Nanaimo and beyond remember Joel91裸聊视频檚 legacy as an artist who will resonate in the community for generations to come.
Father and son regularly worked on artistic projects together in the family work space along the Nanaimo River. One day, as Nanaimo Art Gallery curator Jesse Birch watched the two carving across from one another, the inspiration for a 2019 show at the NAG titled Across The Table about cross-generational collaborations was formed.
91裸聊视频淭hat exhibit was really about intergenerational sharing and passing the torch to another generation by working together every day. When I think of William91裸聊视频檚 life work, it is to revive hul91裸聊视频檘umi91裸聊视频檔um art, which is art as language,91裸聊视频� said Birch.
91裸聊视频淲hat .125Joel.375 and other young Coast Salish artists are doing is resurging the art. It91裸聊视频檚 not just reviving it but helping it to thrive 91裸聊视频� when you think about all the pieces that Joel .125and William.375 have around Nanaimo 91裸聊视频� 10 years ago there was so little Coast Salish art.91裸聊视频�
Some of these pieces include Supernatural Eagle Bringing the Sun Back to the World, a carving that fronts the main entrance to the gallery.
The Supernatural Eagle 91裸聊视频渋s a messenger between heaven and earth,91裸聊视频� William told the Salish Sea Sentinel in 2019. 91裸聊视频淲hen we pass away, it91裸聊视频檚 a supernatural eagle that brings us to heaven.91裸聊视频�
Under the guidance of William, Joel also carved a pair of house posts made from five-metre-tall yellow cedar posts that now stand in 91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频婼tiil91裸聊视频檔ep (Departure Bay), an important village site of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
The poles are joined by a portal piece in the centre cut from steel and depicting a frog, which was designed to emulate the front of a longhouse.
In an interview with the Salish Sea Sentinel in 2018 shortly after the house posts were revealed, Joel spoke about working on the carvings every day for seven months straight 91裸聊视频� waking up at 6 a.m. each morning and getting straight to work.
He described having the pieces on display at Stiil91裸聊视频檔ep as being 91裸聊视频渓ike taking back what was ours91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渉aving that representation that we91裸聊视频檝e always been here.91裸聊视频�
Lawrence Mitchell (Tsumkwatun) of Snaw-naw-as First Nation, a relative of Joel91裸聊视频檚, also noted the artist91裸聊视频檚 lineage as 91裸聊视频渢he great-great-grandson of Chief Louis Good, the son of the original chief of the seven amalgamated tribes known as Snuneymuxw,91裸聊视频� he told a crowd attending the unveiling, 91裸聊视频渁nd these house posts are erected in the original village site where they would have lived and ruled.91裸聊视频�
These artworks 91裸聊视频� such as his paintings on the concrete of the Harewood Skate Park 91裸聊视频� demonstrate just how versatile and fluid an artist Joel was, and how he moved through so many local subcultures, said Birch.
91裸聊视频淥ne thing that made him unique was that he worked in traditional practice but he was really open to working with different media,91裸聊视频� said Birch, who added that Joel was also an accomplished painter.
91裸聊视频淟ike with the spindle whorl he did down by The Vault 91裸聊视频� it was vandalized and he was like, 91裸聊视频極kay well let91裸聊视频檚 make it metal, it doesn91裸聊视频檛 need to be wood. It just needs to tell the story, in my style.91裸聊视频� And that91裸聊视频檚 really cool.91裸聊视频�
Much of Joel91裸聊视频檚 artwork took place in collaboration with an artistic family that he described as having a 91裸聊视频渕assive talent pool91裸聊视频� in a 2012 interview with the Nanaimo Daily News.
Joel91裸聊视频檚 mother Sandra Moorhouse-Good, a fashion designer and painter who grew up learning traditional oil painting from her grandfather Herbert Moorhouse, was also a huge influence on his work, said Aunalee.
91裸聊视频淒ad91裸聊视频檚 Coast Salish style and mom91裸聊视频檚 form. The carving technique from him and the painting technique from her. He was perfect at both their mediums.91裸聊视频�
Joel was humble about his talent, and enjoyed going into classrooms to teach about his art, according to his family. They noted that his ability to sketch was evident at an early age, and the designs came through him like a vessel. William said Joel was 91裸聊视频渂orn with these gifts91裸聊视频� and proclaimed that 91裸聊视频渨e91裸聊视频檝e lost our greatest artist.91裸聊视频�
Though art was all around Joel growing up, his parents started the Art of Siem gallery and shop on the Harbourfront walkway 91裸聊视频� he started working as a professional artist sometime in 2007.
91裸聊视频淚 was working out at a mill in Errington and was making really good money, and one day I just randomly decided, 91裸聊视频業91裸聊视频檓 going to be a professional artist,91裸聊视频� and I literally just quit my job,91裸聊视频� he told the Daily News. 91裸聊视频淚 was so stubborn. Once I had decided that this was what I was going to do, there was nothing else. It didn91裸聊视频檛 matter if I ended up on the street.91裸聊视频�
Vancouver Island University flew its flags at half mast last week as a tribute to the life and artistic contributions of Joel, who was an alumnus of the school. In 2018, the university commissioned Joel to carve a spindle whorl featuring a seawolf and his artwork is featured on the president91裸聊视频檚 and chancellor91裸聊视频檚 ceremonial regalia worn at convocation.
91裸聊视频淎ll of Joel91裸聊视频檚 designs, including the spindle whorl in the Trades Discovery Centre, were derived from traditional legends and through extensive archival research into the original style,91裸聊视频� said a statement from the university. 91裸聊视频淛oel touched many people in the community. He was a master artist who played a critical, irreplaceable role in the revitalization of traditional Coast Salish art.91裸聊视频�
Over the coming weeks and months, Joel91裸聊视频檚 designs for the City of Nanaimo91裸聊视频檚 utility covers will be released, and are expected to replace all the current storm, water and utility covers in the city over the next decade as the new designs will be used anytime old covers need replacement.
Joel91裸聊视频檚 artwork is woven into the fabric of the city. The Snuneymuxw-owned Courtyard Marriott hotel also features his work heavily as he carved a spindle whorl in the lobby and his art is featured around the hotel on every floor. Ay Lelum redesigned the hotel as a family project to honour the history of the site where the hotel sits.
91裸聊视频淎nyone91裸聊视频檚 death is a tragedy, but this one is particularly tragic because he had created so much extraordinary art in his lifetime already and there was much more to come,91裸聊视频� said Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog.
91裸聊视频淭his community has lost one of its most creative talents and a family has lost a beloved son and sibling, and the Snuneymuxw First Nation one of its outstanding lights.91裸聊视频�
