Salmon Blanket

Salmon Blanket
Chris Paul (2010)
L012.1.3

Three juxtaposing salmon confined in a circle.

A Salish blanket is a work of art. The designs and intricacies a woman applies to her weaving shows her infinite patience and attention to detail. Its not just the ability to stick with something difficult. It’s the gathering of her tools and teachings that bring her to finish a new blanket. Her weaving skills are mastered the more she creates. It is something few will understand. Yet many will appreciate.

The weave itself is a language to learn. The process not only gives you a finished product, but it takes you on a journey to accomplish something important by your own will, to continue, even if its complicated. It gives you something to be proud of. It’s a cornerstone of teaching and inginueity in Salish culture. The women who designed and applied their thoughts to creating patterns in a blanket were very imaginative and methodical. They kept trying until they produced what they envisioned in their minds.

And what did they create? From their wool and spindle, loom and fingers, they gave the gift of warmth to their people and they honoured them with their gifts.

– Chris Paul .ca

Chris Paul (born 1970) is a member of the Tsartlip Band of the Cost Salish peoples, located near Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island. Apprenticing with Floyd Joseph and Roy Henry Vickers, Paul emerged as an artist with his own style of depicting heritage with strong modern colours. Each event in his life evokes a new image, which he transforms into art. Paul’s works range from fine jewelry to woodcarvings and serigraphs.