source material – combined piece
source materials – Celebration of Life bookmark
Celtic trees of life
reflections 10.24.2026
I used the symbols I grew up with in the PNW (Haida artwork, including Totem Poles) to tell my family how I saw them and how much I loved them.
My uncle asked me to combine them in one big piece, and I drew inspiration from other sources in my life (e.g., mandalas, trees of life).
He also asked me to switch his totem to the coyote (from the loon). For some time I regretted that I did not do as he asked. I saw the loon in how he spoke to us about death and spirituality (e.g., peace through transitions; multiple levels of consciousness). And perhaps, on some level, felt we had enough Trickster energy from our “Raven.”
Rereading the quote he picked for the bookmark, now, makes me think that maybe we were both right — Tricksters, after all, can be shapeshifters 🙂
Also thinking of Uncle Clem, Uncle “Stump,” Uncle Dan, and Langston Tabor
