Clifton Fred
"Colours You Can
Count On"
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I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory,
as a Crow from the great Tlingit Tribe. I began drawing in Grade One and taught myself to
express my feelings and experiences about my people in a medium of drawing and poetry.
My poems are not to tell the viewers what
the drawing is, but only to inform them of what
I was thinking while drawing the image. I learned to write and draw at the same time,
and
cannot feel one without the other. I have not pursued any secondary training in art and
know very little of art history other than that
the Tlingit have always honoured the other
lives which sustain our existence, through our art which is not separate from living and
religion.
As the foundation of our existence, our visual designs are the unforgotten language,
the contemporary cave drawing, the petrified footprint,
that tells of an experience.
My
personal beliefs and the practice of Native Spirituality lead me to perceive animals as
greater beings than
I, and that my existence is dependent upon their presence, and not theirs
upon mine. I hope that others with compassion and concern will
share this attitude toward
life, in all forms.
Clifton Fred
THE BRIDE TO BE
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Click to View Large Image -
Counted
Cross Stitch Chart
Stitch
Count 182 x 259
Stitched on 32 count "White"
Belfast Linen (over 2)
Design
area 11.4" x 16.2"
Includes
3/4 stitches
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The Bride To Be
The bride to be is an image of matrimonial
symbolism. It starts with the hummingbird expressing the value of a bride who was won by a brave
who, to prove his worthiness, returned to the father with an unharmed hummingbird, caught by hand.
The butterfly announces innocence, while the lines down her face pronounce the duality of human
nature, the dark and light side our love has to offer. The rocks keep her secret, sharing her
view with no one whilst the sound of the moving water offers advice in the familiar voice that
it does.
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