Jamestown S'Klallam Artist Jeff Monson
October 2009 Spotlight Artist
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal artist Jeff Monson is our spotlight artist for October 2009. Jeff began his career as an artist about 15 years ago. Carving came naturally to him. His biggest influence on his artistry is Roger Fernandez from the Lower Elwha. "He taught me how free you can be with your work,” Jeff says. “And he got me started on working with Salish design. With Salish design, you work with three shapes, a circle, a triangle and a crescent. You don’t know what you will come up with until you start to carve. It’s also more indigenous to this area,” Jeff says. “This is a tradition I’m carrying on. When people look at my work, I’d like them to think that this is what people were doing 500, 600, even 700 years ago. I’d like my brand-new pieces to look as if they’ve been around for hundreds of years."
Jeff began his career as an artist about 15 years ago when he made his first paddle, but his interest in art really began in his childhood. "I got in a lot of trouble for drawing in class and not doing my school work when I was little," he says.
Carving, too, came naturally to him. “I’ve had a love of wood ever since I was a kid. My dad was disabled when I was really young, and he made cabinets for a living. But it wasn’t until he faced his own health crisis that Jeff became serious about becoming an artist.
"I was diagnosed with diabetes and went into an abyss of depression," he says. "My mother suggested a tool-making class, and it was then that I made my first paddle."
If you missed Jeff's Guest Artist Reception you can still see his work in the gallery through the month of October. You can also catch Jeff at Studium Generale on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12:20 pm in the Little Theater.