Naaxiin (Chilkat) Cedar Bentwood Box by Danielle Louise Allard (Haida)

Material: Red cedar, acrylic paint  

Dimensions: 4 9/16 x 4 9/16 x 5 5/8 inches

Design:

This is a hand-painted one-of-a-kind red cedar bentwood box. All sides are painted with an original design. Danielle’s signature is fashioned out of Haida formline, and a whale tale, representing DA (Danielle Louise Allard) on the bottom.

This piece is inspired by the colours traditionally used in Naaxiin weaving, yellow, black, blue-green. Naaxiin weaving is a traditional style of weaving used to weave chief robes from mountain goat wool. 

Danielle has used black in the past in her painting of bentwood boxes, creating a striking effect of the wood grain coming through and creating an iridescent outline of each grain. 

What is a Bentwood Box?

A bentwood box is made using a technique where one piece of wood is steamed and grooved to form the four sides of a box. Haida and Northwest Coast nations used bentwood boxes of all sizes to store treasured regalia and gather food and supplies.

Meet the Artist:

Danielle Louise Allard, Haida

Since childhood, Danielle has been interested in creating; drawing, painting and building, using any materials she could get her hands on. Continuing her artistic exploration through her youth eventually brought her to choose to study Fashion Design and Fine Arts in post secondary education. The study of art brought a fresh new way of thinking to her life and opened her mind to unlimited ideas and potential; the development of her work benefitted greatly from this and her experimentation began, continuing to utilize all mediums and concepts that intrigued her. As her skills developed and she slowly narrowed her artistic vision, she started to educate herself more about her Haida culture and background. During this time she continued making work for galleries and shows creating acrylic paintings, block prints and mixed media pieces; but, in her spare time, she was reading up on the Haida culture and working on studies of great Haida master artists. She currently resides in Masset, Haida Gwaii, to continue her study of Haida art apprenticing with master carvers and artisans.