MID-CAREER ARTIST SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT, 2024
My English name is Jay Simeon, I belong to the Haida nation through my father Eric Simeon, and to the Blackfoot nation through my mother Lenora Yellowhorn. My Haida name is Dig Wee Gay T’aaw, my Blackfoot name is Apah Gyiyo. I was born on July 27 1976 in Fort McLeod (Alberta). My father’s family came from Kiusta on the northwest coast of Graham Island. Our ten thousand years old village is now abandoned, but we are all dreaming of the day we can return and live there for another ten thousand years… I belong to the Kaawaas branch of the Sdast’a.aas Eagle clan. My crests are Eagle, Supernatural Killer Whale, Frog, Beaver, Sculpin and Raven. These crests were bestowed on me by my grandmother Cora Simeon.
I was raised first by my mother in Alberta, and from the age of 8 on by my father in Vancouver. Since my early childhood, I have loved drawing and designing, and when I was 14, I started apprenticing with my ant (first cousin) Sharon Hitchcock. She taught me formline designing and argillite carving. I took a design course at the Vancouver Community College and I studied advanced design with Robert Davidson at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Center.
I take my inspiration from Haida masters of the past, like Charles Edenshaw, and of today, like Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, Reggie Davidson, and Jim Hart. When it comes to precious metals, I particularly admire the work of Rick Adkins, and the work of Christian white in argillite. But I also feel inspired by the work of masters from other nations, such as Beau Dick, Wayne Alfred, or Joe David. And I also learn from my peers, artists of my own generation such as Phil Grey or Marcus Alfred. We all have things to teach to each other.
