After completing several Spirit Animals, I was ready to move on to another. But which one? And does it necessarily need to be just one? I began sketching the head of a bear. As I did so I asked myself, is it a grizzly bear? No. A black bear? No. As I started a second sketch, its identity started to emerge – it was a polar bear.
I made the first one and he reminded me of a strong curious male.
I decided to continue and ended up making a female and youngster too. The polar bear family.
The polar bear is highly respected by many groups of indigenous people for their hunting abilities, intellect, strength, and maternal skills. When it came to decorating them I decided to research different Shamanic and Aboriginal symbols to help tell their individual story.
The papa bear, Hubert, is the leader of the group and the main hunter. He is well grounded, generous to others, and protector of his family. Jane, as the mother of the family, is also its spiritual guide. Her heart is big and others are naturally drawn to her warmth and wisdom. And the baby of the family is Angie. And like her name implies, she is pure and full of possibilities as she grows, explores, and faces the unknown.
Watch the short video and see them from all sides (below):
As a family or as individuals, each is unique in who they are.
The Polar Bear Family is from the Spirit Animal series. Decorated in Shamanistic and Aboriginal symbols, Hubert (papa bear) is the hunter/leader, Jane (mama bear) is the Spiritual healer, and Angie (baby bear) is pure and full of possibilities. Each ceramic sculpture is hand-built from red clay and decorated with graffito marks through the white slip.