IceBear

The creator of powerful paintings and sculptures, IceBear expressed himself creatively from as soon as he could hold a pencil. A status member of the Chippewas of Nawash (Ojibway Nation), IceBear attended the Toronto Artist Workshop as a teenager, then Sheridan College and the Ontario College of Art. He worked in advertising & communications for 25 years in Toronto & Vancouver.

IceBear moved to the West Coast in the 1980’s. His growing need to give life to the visions that filled his imagination culminated in his move 10 years later to Vancouver Island, where he renewed his commitment to a lifetime of creating art and adopted the name “IceBear” for his art.

IceBear’s paintings and sculptures come to him first as visions, often complete, each as perfectly formed and visible as a stone picked up off the beach. They can be moved, turned, looked at from different angles and perspectives. From this ‘seeing’ comes his understanding of whether that particular vision is to be expressed as a painting or a sculpture.

Icebear feels strongly that we all have a responsibility to connect with the natural world around us and respect both this earth & all our fellow travelers on it. His rich cultural heritage provides the grounding that nourishes his creative spirit.

In the late 1990’s, IceBear created a number of large public murals, 3 of which are in Sidney. Telus commissioned “Nil/tu,O’ ” (“In the Beginning”) for their building on Resthaven near Beacon Ave. It is a dramatic rendering of 10 Coast Salish warriors in a canoe escaping a looming storm. In May 2013, he refurbished the murals.

Read cover story of Focus magazine (July/August 2014 Issue) "The Rhythm of Life".

Watch Shaw TV interview of IceBear for his inspiration on "Black Elk" Sculpture.