Contemporary sculptures by Bill & Clarissa Hudson

Going to the Potlatch

Cedar, wool fabric, mother-of-pearl buttons, beads, paint
4 ft x 11 ft
©1998 by Hudson Hudson

We designed this 3-piece wall panel, commissioned by the Alaska Marine Highwa,. for the new ferry MV Kennicott, which runs from Bellingham, Washington up through the inside passage of Southeast Alaska.

The main center panel shows a Tlingit canoe headed from its home village to a neighboring village — the site of a potlatch. The canoe is paddled by (from left to right) Eagle, Frog, Bear, Beaver, and Raven.  Below the canoe we see sea creatures such as Seal, Halibut, Dogfish and Killerwhale, escorting the crew on its journey.  At the end of the trip, these Totwmic Creatures will join the dancing and singing at the potlatch, where we see people circling around the fire.
 

The second photo shows a close-up of one of the canoe, with Bear and Beaver paddling hard. Inside of each figure is a human face, indicating that the Totemic Creatures are actually humans from different clans.  In the water swim Dogfish, Halibut and Salmon.  The sculpture is a relief carving, echoing the carving styles of the Northwest Coast Indians of Alaska and British Columbia.  The border of the piece is made of red wool fabric such as Clarissa uses for her button blanket robes, with mother-of-pearl buttons nailed on. 

The two smaller end panels have flowers beaded into the fabric (by our daughter Lily,) in the style of the Alaskan Native bead artists.  The flowers represent the abundant vegetation of the Northwest Coast rain forest

At one point, during the creation of this panel, we realized the significance of the design "going to the potlatch" and how in the "old days" people arrived at their destinations in cedar canoes. Now, when traveling to and from a potlatch, the main mode of transportation between the small towns and villages in Southeast Alaska is by ferry. This carved panel is a representation of the meeting of two time periods for the Northwest Coast tribes of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia.

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