Coast Salish design elements

[@Qwalsius]

Thanks Dustin. Most important in posting this video to me was to open a door for dialogue. I know today we use positive and negative to talk about the work but it's just words to convey ideas. Too often I see Salish artists take other styles and adapt them to appear Salish. This undermines our culture and ancestors achievements. I was upset reading essays over the years that focus on what Salish art lacks when in fact the bias of most writers in those cases had no qualifications to judge us by.

[@adawg4490]

I could not agree with you more thanks brother

[@adawg4490]

Like my uncle always says "who are you to pass judgement"

[@kaashayee]

Finding this ten years after it was posted but it is always relevant. As a Tlingit learning my own style of formline I can truly appreciate this video for showing solid differences between our art style and yours. I love the water ripple analogy, it is eye opening to how the design works. I love the differences between the positive and negative spaces between our art styles also. Gunalchéesh

[@MrRedshadowX]

I`m not a coast Salish artist. I come from the northern style, this is the first time I really understand the elements of the Salish designs. This is a great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@RandHunt]

Wow, making the connection between Coast Salish painting, and wood carving is so perfect. Its intuitive, but my eyes didnt see it. Now I can't unsee it! Thank you! thank you! Thank You!

[@tammyjakeman3393]

My name is Tammy and I found your video as I was trying to find videos about Coast Salish beading. I’m learning about my grandmothers and their sons - from Mayne and Galiano Islands. My grandmothers lost their status marrying Europeans, but what they didn’t lose was their stories and skills. My grandmothers taught their sons how to bead and I only recently learned this. I am going to work to learn beading but I see from this video of yours I must also understand the shapes and how to use them. This is an older video of yours but I hope you see this. Thank you.

[@angryqueenbee9585]

I learned about these in my elementary school, this art style has continued to capture, mesmerize and inspire me and growing up where the art is so prominent and growing up with it all around me is something of a blessing. Thank you for bringing me back to something that I consider roots me

[@mmmmmmm8706]

Id love to hear the first makers discuss their design decisions.

[@JamieHumeCreative]

The greatest complexities stem from the greatness of simplicity... that is genius. All the best to you. :)

[@vickimarston9742]

Thank you. This helps Indigenous art come alive.

[@mossyclimber7900]

Thank you! You make excellent points very clearly. Once you point out the patterns based on low relief carving it makes perfect sense. With the tremendous popularity of Salish art it is surprising how little information is posted about it.

[@stevenzheng5459]

Coast Salish design philosophy is quite interesting. A lot of motifs originate from nature and the alternating positive-negative elements is kinda like yin and yang.

[@noahmcgowan3547]

Coast Salish design is less formal than Northern style ,it's still formline and should have a swelling and contration as it flows and turns through the desiggn , much like,a river as a analegy. Good video. What is important to point out is at what point in history examples are taken from. What media is the form created in. A greater understanding of the form line design is happening, even for me. One thing that can be said is that the scale at which a design has a lot to do with its strength when reproducing and or refining the design. In the end it is art,beautiful and complicated in its deceptively simple presentation.

[@jcsmoove7396]

Super helpful, thank you! Your video has been the only example that I have found to explain the basic elements.

[@beckygreenhow]

Thank you for posting this! I am a Grade 4/5 teacher in BC and use Aboriginal art while teaching our Social Studies curriculum. Though I live in Coast Salish territory, I focus on the use of formline by BC's coastal peoples because I struggle with explaining why Salish art is so different from the rest of the province. And since I am not Aboriginal, I do not have many resources available to answer my questions. So I thank you again, and hope that I can use your video during future lessons.

[@amlamonde]

Thank you so much for this video. It is so informative and allows me to sense feel and appreciate the design elements that I am eager to do with my students. Thank you a million times thank you for sharing!

[@shishkeblob]

Wonderful video. I'm an illustrator, not native, living in BC and grew up in the Yukon. Surrounded by this art my whole life and it has always inspired me. I'm working on a piece that uses a bit of Coast Salish in it and I was curious about the lexicon used. I've always called the trigons 'whale tails' because they reminded me of the Orca's tail, and the ovoid shapes seemed to me to be inspired by the Orca markings.

[@Andrewpittsfurnituremaker]

Thank you for making this video. Very helpful in showing the differences from formline.

[@northernsalishwoman]

Hych-ka for posting this wonderful piece. Exactly what I was looking for to understandthe roots of our artistic tradition. Qwaant

[@evajones1927]

This was very useful and great teachings thank you for sharing.

[@roman2011]

Awesome vid

[@holozoytiktoksandgaming9206]

this is epic

[@authenticalaskan76]

That was awesome! Thanks man.

[@zoek7855]

Thank you for posting your knowledge! I'm xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, and trying to make more connections to my culture but its hard because us salish are so secret lol! I love learning about how our people perceived the world through our art and language, thank you for helping make another connection to that for me. Have a good day, thanks again

[@SoundCheckLady]

Thank you for making this!!! This is so helpful!!!

[@pearlharris5476]

Thank you for sharing your expertise here...:)

[@mattconroy3918]

This was awesome, i’ve always loved west coast art. I only just learned that the shapes of form line are the major shapes of the art asuch as a trigon. Is that a computer program?

[@donatist59]

Thank you -- this was really interesting. Do you know if anyone has ever done a typeface based on Northwest Coast design forms? (I know Coast Salish isn't strictly the same as the more widely known Haida/Tlingit/Kwakiutl art.)

[@CRISISColetta]

This is obviously where the set designers from the movie Dead Man must have gotten the whole ending, the whole movie really. At least that's how it seems to me. Looking forward to learning much more. Thank you.

[@Qwalsius]

yes I believe on some of the work but it takes place in Neah Bay, Washington of the Makah people. My mentor Greg Colfax, a Makah artist did the design work for most of the painted house fronts. The styles are related but not the same. Thanks for noticing though.

[@CRISISColetta]

Yes, I read up more on the movie and from there went on to do research. I am glad you didn't think I was being rude or insensitive. I've always been interested in the many different ways of the different Native American tribes.

[@lukethedrifter8302]

That was awesome. I love native art and culture, it fills something in me where my own culture should be, but isn't. It's kind of a bummer, but true.

[@RandHunt]

Luke Thedrifter Maybe you should investigate the art of your ancestry. Sounds like it could be really fulfilling

[@N8V25]

Thanks Dustin. I am currently in an Native American Art class at Northwest Indian College and find myself struggling with the terminology. Your video is very helpful and just what I needed to help make a connection with the terminology to the actual piece of the art. I have one more question: What is "formline"?

[@jennawholoveseric]

Thank you so very much for posting this, i loved it and it was incredibly helpful. I have a few questions. I recently went on a trip to Vancouver Island and I absolutely fell in love with the Coast Salish form of art. Since I have been home every day I find myself drawing salish style art (copying it off the internet). It is so beautiful but more than that I feel something powerful when I do this type of art. It feels healing for me. But My first question is that I do not want to ever do anything offensive- it is offensive for me as a person without indigenous heritage to do this form of art? i really hope not because i feel such a powerful connection to it. I would be so honoured and excited to learn more about the culture and art. And depending on the answer comes my next question- where and how can i learn more?

[@kingshiddy]

wow that was really well explained !thanx!

[@lefthandstory1280]

Nice video ❤️👍amazing❤️👍👍😱👍...👍..👍.👍😉❤️.

[@WESMITH91]

I'd like to suggest the Salish symbol is what is featured in this months Vimy crop circle. It also dominates sumerian written works carved into sumerian plaques.

[@childofcascadia]

@WESMITH91 What? Salish artforms and formlines have nothing to do with Sumeria. Salish art was developed and made by Salish people for Salish people and reflected their artforms and cultural history over the timeless millenia they inhabited the Northwest. A culture on the other side of the planet that hasnt been in existence for 6000 years has nothing to do with it. Nor do crop circles, which are made by modern people using boards and line to make shapes in fields.

[@jwbeaton]

Great video, thanks!

[@peskycitizen]

Love this!

[@annrunacres3982]

I first discovered Salish coast art at the Pitt Rivers museum in oxford, England. Since then I have struggled to understand the detail, but your posting has enlightened me considerably. Does the U shape with the Y shape in the centre represent a split feather perhaps? I have started copying some designs I’ve found in books as I am a watercolourist, but now I am considering reproducing some of the designs in fabric, as I am also a quilted. It will be an interesting exercise. Thank you.

[@Qwalsius]

I believe when early books were written in the 80’s, namely Hilary Stewart, ideas were set in stone. Meaning, she took elements and 2d examples and it fit a narrative. It’s not clear where the shapes come from specifically. However, as a woodworker and the culture based in cedar sculpture largely you periodically see shapes like the ones used and it could have inspired them but again, it’s a very open idea.

[@catroll3473]

If you are creating something with predetermined shapes you are doing graphic design, which may turn into Art or, like most, just a pleasing, vacuous image. Now I understand why this culture's images all are so similar looking: a template of variations of repetition. There are brilliant Musqueam artists like Susan Point, however, who have taken personal control of these shapes. She shapes the shapes according to her imagination. Her designs are Art.

[@Qwalsius]

cat roll good times absolutely right I'm not an artist. Thanks for the comment.

[@ibizasikotribe]

Nice nice Thanks

[@Emotions-Error-]

TLDW AKA Too long didn't watch or you can have it more exiting

[@JulieWolf]

The correct link to the updated video of this is kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXmxqp6qgJl4p6M (Its beautiful).

[@jamal565]

jimi jamal

[@monicarevey9911]

Hy’shqe

[@rodney73991]

sounds like take high school art classes or college art classes. sound like art teach ask talk painting. information useful. though I only carving water Mellons and punkins will rote up. pebble rippling. and D shape and U shape will help go copy people work make something look like it. it also useful show peace though had desire elements in it was not north western becuse didn't fallow rules. So if some hear Indian fire story. example tale boy listing to his grandpa about two wolves sit at camp fire. grandpa says evil black wolf and nice white wolf lives every young boy, fight for control over boy mind. boy ask grandpa witch wolf win. grandpa says one feed will stronger wolf. if do good things feed good wolf. if do bad things feed bad wolf. take story add design elects ripples D and U shap bleave make black wolf and white wolf and fire and young boy and pradpa be able do peace tells story. at bottom peace have grandpa and boy. fire design with point kind like pebble effect. out smoke fire black wolf and white wolf mad out D shape and U shape. not sure how show do good or bad. but in end get very nice peace when put all together.