Harris, Jason
Jason Harris is a member of the Stz’uminus First Nation, originating from Ladysmith, a small Reserve (#13) on Vancouver Island, Canada’s Pacific Northwest Coast. The Stz’uminus people traveled great distances and moved from place to place, sometimes down island to their relatives in the Saanich area and are known to have profound respect for each other. Jason was born in 1979 and started carving in 2003. He worked under the guidance of Simon Charlie (Cowichan) and learned a lot about Salish history and traditional stories from him. However, growing up, Jason always watched his father, Joe Harris, carving and so learned the techniques. He clearly inherited the skills, talent and deep love for this art from him. He is married to Vera Seymour and it was just a great pleasure meeting both of them.
When I met him, he was working on a marvellous huge circular piece of cedar art which will be exhibited at the Nanaimo airport – depicting the Hummingbird – It was not finished yet, but already looked stunning and I can’t wait to see it finished. Jason also loves to work in digital design and is just a very creative and highly knowledgeable young man.
