It’s Indigenous Peoples day and @ Jacobson native art, we celebrate these 3 masters

ROY THOMAS - Master artist

 SAUL WILLIAMS - Master artist

 

NORVAL MORRISSEAU - Master artist

Good evening to each and everyone. Thank you for all the positive energy and spirit that has been manifesting here at our new site. We appreciate you all and wish you only the best. Today is indigenous peoples day and for me I feel like every day is Indigenous day. I am Anishanabe so it goes without saying. I would like to share some of my personal experiences around these 3 master artists in our woodland school. 

These 3 guys have inspired me and have been my mentors throughout my whole career. I love them all so much and have admired them my entire career. They are legends to me and I have been absolutely blessed by becoming friends and having a personal relationship with all 3. This fact has been one of the most significant sources of inspiration and determination for me as an artist. Indeed there are others in the woodland school of art who have inspired me as well but these gentlemen are my top 3 of all time.

I first met Roy Thomas in Thunder Bay around the age of 15. By that time Roy was already regarded as the great master of the second generation. He shared with me the technical aspects of line work, detailing and inlay. He also taught me how to hold a paint brush properly as well. My time with Roy was short as I had only seen him a handful of times (around 7 visits to his studio) but the profound effects on me and in my art will last a lifetime and for that, Roy Thomas is legend. 

What can one say about the level of mastery in this next mentor in Saul Williams. I have always looked up to the levels of skill, detail, Colour use, inlay work and precision in the art of this master. Saul Williams and I have been sharing with each other on phone and through Facebook the last few years. He even came to the movie premier in Toronto for there are no fakes. The amount of respect and honour I have for him is next level and he is a true pioneer in our woodland school. 

Indeed Norval Morrisseau is someone I’ve always had immense respect for. He is the whole reason why I got involved in helping to play a critical role in saving his artistic legacy. Meeting him and being inspired by his life’s work was a pinnacle moment for me back in 2005. At that point I had been making my way in the woodland art form nationally. I was at the 20 year mark of being a woodland school artist. My time with him during my visits to Nanaimo will have a lasting effect on my life and in my own legacy. Our time together was the icing on the cake for me. I realized then that I had been acknowledged by one of the greatest living masters to ever do it. I have never looked back since then. 

Now it’s all about mastering Jacobson, my potential and my level of mastership in the woodland school of art. For me, this is the greatest artform on the planet. I love everything about being an Anishanabe master artist. I am one of the living legacies and spirit of this art now. This is how I feel about it. My time is now. The light of this torch has been handed down on to capable and grateful hands. It is an honour and privilege and I will continue to carry this legacy through all my paintings as did these great legends before me. With deep respect and love....all my relations MAJ

Explaining the artistic process of Mark Anthony Jacobson native art

Title of painting: Mother Nature in a dream state.

 Size: 48 x 72 inches. Sold to private collection, Montreal Que. 

Here’s to another wonderful day out here in the Kootenay mountains, the lands of the great Ktunaxa nation. We’ve gotten our first true snowfall of the year. During this season of the winter, I’ll be busy busy busy creating new paintings. I have several commissions to execute and I am working 0n collaborations and creative initiatives throughout Canada and abroad with regard to moving my creative energy in all sorts of new and exciting directions. 

I wanted to share some inside details as to what makes a “Jacobson“ a “Jacobson“ with regard to my creative process and practice as an Anishanabe artist. First of all, an open and clear mind sets the stage for better decision making and capacity for “in the moment” focus. This is the birthing place for me as an artist. Life has all kinds of distractions, situations, circumstances and problems along with the various issues we encounter along the journey with regard to people, places and events.

For me, that outside noise can be very distracting and so I need space to create. Psychic space is vital for freedom and quietness of mind, where the illumination of imagination rests. I prepare myself each and every time I create. I have my studio functioning in a manner that facilitates creative stimulation. A playful energy of excitement, joy, interest, focus and action. The way in how I maintain this environment is quite important to consistently “getting it right the first time” with my designs, the images, these blueprints of composition and technique in the art I create. 

Giving thanks each day is vital to maintaining a healthy attitude in today’s climate. I smudge and pray quite often and will use these ceremonies throughout a series of paintings that I’m working on. I use sage, sweet grass, cedar and tobacco to stay in the flow. I also do spring equinox and fall equinox ceremonies each year called “feasting the spirits” or a spirit feast. I do this to give thanks to the Creator, Mother Earth and all life force, creation. I do this to also give thanks to the ancestors. All those before us. To be mindful and appreciative of these things is a beautiful characteristic in ones Arsenal on living a human life on our Mother Earth. 

Life is a circle and what goes around comes around as they say. People before us have done these things and I find it to be important actions that one can experience to a deeper and more fruitful connection to the spirit of life, to all creation. Remember that for artists, consistency and playfulness are important elements in a creative life. Art should be what ever it wants to be in that sacred place of discovery and opportunity. 

In these particular realms is where I garner the best quality of energy for me to maintain what it takes to finish off either a painting or a series of paintings. The less distractions for me, the better. As we know life is ripe with all sorts of temptations and side tracks. Focus daily in the direction of our art and making it is vital to a healthy creative lifestyle.

Along with some ceremony to get in the flow, I listen to all sorts of music as well. Music is also a great facilitator of creative energy. Most of my work is done on my own, except for the times involved where I’ve had people apprentice with me during cycles of paintings and such. So with the amount of time to ones self, being comfortable in your own skin is a necessary skill in your creative portfolio. Art demands attention, it demands your time and focus. 

I have all sorts of other people’s artworks surrounding me in the studio as well. I collect First Nations art myself. I love our artforms across the country from coast to coast to coast. I have several pieces and find such a depth and quality in being a collector as well. Art heals and for me it is a true gift to be an artist and  also one who enjoys the art of others as much as making it.

Any how, this is a general outline of how I do what I do. Art is about relationships and in nature spirit is where I truly get to be “in tune” with the true depth and knowledge of these teachings. Mother Earth is my teacher in so many ways, it leaves me speechless. So I have to go out and make a painting of what I saw, of what I experienced. This is another reason why so many people resonate with my art. It speaks...

All my relations....MAJ