Clifton Guthrie Presents 40' Xsoo Painted by AISD Students
Thank you to Clifton Guthrie for his incredible design on this 40' fiberglass Xsoo, and for sharing his knowledge and skills with AISD Students during our Summer Culture Camp and Tsimshian Studies class. We can't wait to see it on the water!
From Clifton Guthrie on his Facebook Page:
"I’m excited to finally make a post about this Xsoo.
The Xsoo’s designs are the 4 main Ts’msyen crests; Laxskiik, Gisbutwada, Ganhada, and Laxgyibuu. Each design just over 8’ long. The Annette Island School District reached out to me before the summer to design one of their 40’ fiberglass canoes they have. I got to work 4 weeks with the summer culture camp kids, and 4 weeks with the Tsimshian Studies class to finish up during the school year.
I first designed it, then transferred the design on both sides, then having to sand the whole design, after sanding every fine line and spot where paint would touch, I lined the whole design (shown in the pictures below for example), then the kids would paint 2 coats of paint between my lines (sometimes outside, but that’s ok, I can fix thatThis project has many layers beyond myself or even the finished product.
I have really never worked with kids before, or had anyone ever paint my design. I quickly developed a lot of respect for what teachers do daily, but mostly I had to develop trust for the kids. I went from standing over them watching closely, to realizing they all were doing pretty good painting and following directions, so I would sometimes stand on the other side of the canoe so I didn’t make them nervous, and just talk to them about basketball, fishing, artwork, or anything they had questions about I could answer.
In between classes or when I was doing prep work, Naomi, Gamaas, or other teachers would walk their students through, educating them on canoes, Metlakatla, or Sm’algyax words. I learned a lot on how they’re able to keep their class’s (K-12) attention and keep them interested.
The best part about this project was working with the kids and employees at the school.
Thank you to all of the kids who helped work on this project with me: Mikah, Ava, Shannon, Elizabeth, Wesley, William, Max, Norma, Kelly, Zeak, Emerson, Jenelle, and Parker.
Also, thank you to Naomi, Gamaas, and other teachers who helped with the kids and classes, Cameron and his crew, Shannon, and Taw. Anything I needed they would help to accommodate for the kids and myself. Also thank you to Scott Hudson for the photos.
