Desmond Bowker. Haida Artist.

Haida Nation, Raven Family
Family crests: Raven, Grizzly Bear, Moon, Two Finned Killerwhale, Mountain Goat.

I am working in woodcarving, painting, and fabric using traditional designs. I worked with Dempsey Bob. He taught me how to make tools, work with the wood, work with the design and most importantly how to look at the form lines with a special appreciation for the finished product. He also taught me that language, people and land are all tied together as one unit and from this unit comes the art. Dempsey also told me to study old, old Haida designs, and through this study I would learn how to see them better. I have also worked with Haida artist Ron Wilson; we made a lot of sharp tools and took a long hard look at the Haida formline.

I was born in Vancouver in 1966 and was adopted by a non-First Nations family. I was reunited with my birth mother who introduced me to Dempsey Bob. Ron is my birth mothers cousin and we bumped into each other in a store in downtown Victoria. Although I was not formally trained as an artist, Haida art just seemed natural.

My birth mother named me Allen James Jones; my adoptive family named me Desmond Alan Bowker. My birth mother died of cancer before she could give me a Haida name; her Grandfather Jimmy Jones carved argillite. My adopted Grandfather, Roderick Haig-Brown was a writer and conservationist, my other Grand father, Desmond Bowker, survived Vimy Ridge as a teenager.

I also work with autistic and FAS affected children in a specialized school program.

I have a Bachelor of Arts from University of Victoria.

I have a Diploma in Handicapped Services from Camosun College.

On June 13th 2004 my daughter Evelyn Raine was born.

I used to own a speed boat but traded it for a racing bike and started triathlon training, I have raced in Sprint, Olympic and Half –Iron distances with one eye on Ironman Canada.

So that’s me, a Skidegate Haida, scooped up in the sixties and making art in the twenty first century. As my uncle said “That Raven can be tricky.”