Richard Hunt

Mother Feeding Baby

This is a story about a family of eagles nurturing, loving and growing. The mother is seen feeding the baby a minnow but looks up to see dad eagle with a huge salmon in his talons. There will be plenty of food for everyone. The eagle is the main crest of the Kwaguilth people of Fort Rupert, B.C.

Richard utilizes the screen-printing process for all of his prints. Richard is involved in the printmaking and checks all stencils in each copy in the edition. The edition size of "Mother Feeding Baby", printed in 2007, is 180 signed and numbered prints; 10% are Artist's Proofs, 10% are Remarque's and 2 are Printer's Proof. All other trial copies have been destroyed and the printing stencils obliterated, guaranteeing that this design will ever only be printed once. Richard Hunt copyrights this design.

Richard Hunt

Richard

I try to remember to thank our ancestors for keeping our traditions and culture alive. They went through a lot of hardship for us. The main influence in my artwork came from my father, Henry Hunt, as well as from Willie Seaweed's work. These are the people who turned our works from being considered a craft to being regarded as historical art. I believe the time has come to recognize our works as cultural property.

When I make something, I am claiming the rights to it for myself, and at the same time for our children and all Kwakwaka'wakw people. They are the ones who really own it.

I was thirteen when I decided that I wanted to be a carver. My brothers and I had gone berry picking in Saanich to make money. I dreamt of berries all that night, and woke up the next morning knowing that I wanted to be a carver like my dad. My mother told me to go and learn from my father, and that's how I started, making little paddles and masks. It was a hobby that turned into a way of making an income through my school years. The more I carved, the more I realized that what I was carving came from my culture. That is why I believe that what I create is cultural property and it is my job to educate the public about my culture as much as I can to keep it alive.

to commission an artwork please call Richard at 250-889-1423 or via email richard@richardhunt.com