Remember old cartoons that depicted First Nations settlements with a circle of tipis and a totem pole in the middle? A cultural anachronism for sure, as those two items belonged to Native American groups located in completely different regions of North America. I live in the region known for its totems, constructed by Northwest Coastal Aboriginal people. Totems are intended to document important events or family stories and are treated with great respect. If one starts to lean they can be braced, but when it falls to the ground it is left to be consumed by the earth.
In last week's painting class the subject was a portion of a totem I've walked by, in one of our three trips to Juneau, Alaska, called Harnessing of the Atom by Amos Wallace. We painted the man (in the middle) who was holding the sun, but the depiction of the Russian Priest, under the eagle, kind of reminds me of C. Here's the story:
Here's my painting:
Life's a Stitch 
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