Guest House Residency: Tyrone Elliott

Artists:
Tyrone Elliott

Dates:
Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 10:00 am to Saturday, July 4, 2020, 5:00 pm

My name is Tyrone Elliott, and my Ancestral name is Tiwuxiwulh', a name I've had passed to my by my father. I am the son of Violet Elliott, who is Snuneymux' and a highly-regarded weaver, and Joe Elliott, who is Quw'utsun and taught me all about harvesting and gifted me a wealth of knowledge about local plants. I am 26 years old and engaged to the most beautiful person in the world, Jasmine Dionne, who is Nehiyaw and Metis from saka wiyiniwak. 
 
Jasmine is in a lot of ways responsible for me weaving full-time. In 2018, I was an Environmental Health Technician for First Nations Health Authority. It was a good job. I felt like the work I did benefited communities in a direct fashion, but I was drained and dealing with some chronic health issues. Those issues lead to me taking time away from work. It was during this time off that I started to weave more often. The idea of making weaving my full-time venture began to permeate my mind, and I expressed as much. Jasmine encouraged me to go with my heart's desire, and so I did. I needed the push, or it would never have been.
 
I was taught to harvest Cedar at the young age of 5, and taught some simple of the easier to grasp weaving techniques around then, too. It was me Teaching that Cedar is sacred to my people, and to Indigenous people all up and down the coast. It was of great importance to our vitality and not something to be taken lightly. As such, I was taught never to over-harvest, to listen to the tree for guidance, to accept what was given, and to trust the process. I was nearly always around my parents when they worked with Cedar, and picked up on the lessons they themselves were in the process of learning. Cedar has been vital to my living, just as it was to my Ancestors.
 
At age 13, I attended a Cedar hat workshop my mother was teaching. I had never made a hat myself before. It had seemed beyond me. I remember distinctly though, on the second day of the workshop, looking at the hat my mother had brought with her to demonstrate. I held that hat in my hand and studied it for what must have been 20 minutes at least. After a while, I looked at my mother and asked, "is it that easy?"
 
I wasn't being arrogant. It was just the first time I had actually broken down the process into digestible steps. 'Easy' wasn't the right word. It was still a struggle to do. It just made sense to me in that moment. From that point on, I assigned that state of mind into every aspect of my life. If you don't break something down into pieces, it can be overwhelming.
 
I began co-facilitating with my mother about 6 years ago. It wasn't without trepidation. I'm no stranger to imposter syndrome. I didn't really think I should be up there. My mother's a master weaver. I couldn't compare. Over time though, I found that I have a breadth of knowledge I wasn't aware of.
 
I can speak to the special kind of community-building that Cedar weaving imparts. There is an extraordinary beauty in a group of First Nations people learning the practices of their Ancestors, or sharing with a people or peoples that have been disconnected from their own Indigenous lands. I have never collected Cedar alone. My family has always gone as a unit, each and every one of us having our dedicated tasks.
 
I can speak to the confidence that has been gifted to me through weaving. Each and every task I have thrown my way, and I'm able to complete, I am able to attribute to that one day when I was 13 and thought, "is it that easy?"
 
I can speak to the feeling of kinship to my Ancestors that fills me every time I touch Cedar.
 
I can speak to the impacts that colonialism and climate change have had on the art form, and how weaving itself is resistance.
 
And, of course, I can speak to the actual technical aspects of weaving that I know.
 
Weaving is draining and fulfilling. At times, I am putting all of myself into a piece, and at other times, Cedar holds me up and I just follow. Cedar is, has been, and will be, my life practice.
 
The Work:
 
For the two weeks of my residency with Open Space, I will, to the best of my ability, re-imagine regalia from historic pictures of people within my communities, Snuneymuxw’ and Quw’utsun. Particularly, I will be making a Cedar cape, skirt, hat, and bag. If I’m able to complete those items, I will begin a wool cape. Wool is a semi-new medium for me, so I don’t anticipate finishing the cape, but instead spending the time, learning, re-doing, and gaining understanding. The finished project will be on display at an upcoming show at the Nanaimo Art Gallery.
 
Artist talks:
Within the duration of the residency, I will do two artist talks where I will talk about recent revelations and how Cedar’s helped me understand myself more fully, what I’ve completed, what I’ve learned, what I would do differently in the future, and answer any questions.
 
 
[Cancelled!] Tuesday, June 30th, 3pm through instagram live on @HCIndigenuity 
More of an artist ramble than an artist talk, I will talk about my journey to becoming a full-time Cedar weaver, the freedom and exploration that my Work has allowed me, the resulting discoveries of said freedom and exploration, and answer any questions about my practice or current works.⠀
 
Friday, July 3rd, 6pm through instagram live on @openspacevic
This session will be a more in-depth analysis of the Works created during the residency, the techniques and mistakes used and made in their creation, and what I might do differently in the future. I will also talk about future endeavours and answer any questions along the way.⠀