Raven Spirit (Small View)

by Robert Hewson

Artist's statement

Raven rising through a mist out of a canoe. This is a transformation design. On one side it represents a Raven dancer: his arms outstretched, his hands showing at the edges of his robe. He wears a Raven headdress. On the other side it represents Raven, the Creator, the Giant who came from across the sea to bring light and life to the people of the Northwest Coast. His wings are the robe of the dancer. On his chest he carries his human face, which he wears when he wants to go among the people. Together, this Raven/Man who travels the sea in a canoe represents the spirit of the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimsian people.

Certificate of Authenticity

This print is a limited edition original serigraph. Working from Robert’s original drawings and from a related design he had painted on a drum, I cut rubylith stencils for the Raven, the canoe, and the mist. This print combines all three elements. This print is one of an edition of 170 made on Arches Cover buff. Four proofs were printed on brown Sugikiwashi cedar bark paper. The paper size of the Arches and Sugikiwashi is 19 inches wide and 23 inches tall. The image size is 16 inches wide and 18 inches tall. The prints were made with five screens; a gray, a red, a black, a green, and a white pearl printed in a blend from very opaque to very transparent. The gray and the pearl blend have some variation from print to print. A set of trial proofs were printed in 1998 on three different papers; beige Sugikawashi cedar bark paper, Stonehenge natural and Stonehenge gray, for a total of 26 proofs. The paper size of the Sugikiwashi is 25 inches wide and 28 inches tall. The image size is 19 inches wide and 21 inches tall. These proofs were printed with variations on the five colors finally chosen. This edition was printed by Paul Nicholson in 1999 with the assistance of the artist, Robert Hewson.

©1999 Paul Nicholson and Robert Hewson

Paper: Arches Cover Buff

Size: 19" x 21" vertical
5 colors
170 in edition

Price: $130
Plus $10 shipping in the U.S.A.

Item #: 402

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Unless otherwise noted, all images and text are:
© 2009 Chief Seattle Arts
Last modified: November 09, 2014