Don Yeomans

Born in 1958 of a Masset Haida father and a Metis mother from Slave Lake Alberta, Don Yeomans has studied and worked in the Haida style since he was a youth, and has emerged as one of the most important living artists on the Northwest Coast.

A master in a variety of media, Yeomans first apprenticed in the early 1970s under the expert guidance of his aunt, Freda Diesing, then shortly after attending art school at the Vancouver Community College in 1976, he worked under Robert Davidson on the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse. Yeoamans also studied with master Gitksan jeweller Phil Janze, and worked on several projects with the late Bill Reid.

Heaven

This is the third print Yeomans has produced for the Variety "Show of Hearts" Telethon. He explains the imagery of this print design, which he has entitled Heaven: "Like most People, I also believe that heaven is a place beyond this world. I imagine that when the time comes, it is where we will be reunited with our loved ones. In this design, I have used an Eagle with a human face in the tail. The face is a female, who represents my late Aunt Freda Diesing, who was also my childhood teacher. She passed on just over a year ago, but will always be remembered by those who knew her as a great wood carver and friend. The image of a square within a circle symbolizes Heaven and is derived from China, where coins are made in this shape."

Don's work has been donated by Liz Ellis:

item no.19
HEAVEN
A limited edition print by
Haida artist Don Yeomans

Man

Entitled "Man". the central image represents a personal friend, Norman Ryall, who is a quadriplegic living in the George Pearson Care Facility in Vancouver. Don chose this friend because, in his own words, Norman s a person who exemplifies someone helped by the Variety Club, and whose courage and good humour prevails in the face of all odds. " Norman is grateful to the support he received from the Variety Club as a child through its Sunshine Coach Program, providing essential transportation to school related events while he was at Sunny Hill Hospital. A fan and col/ector of Northwest Coast art, Normanfirst met Don at his one man show in 1997, and since this time they have become good friends. In "Man, " Norman is encircled by a Sea Monster button blanket made for him by Don ~ wife, Trace.

item no.20
Man
A limited edition print by
Haida artist Don Yeomans

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