Mural: Salmon Souls
Artists: Sarah Zimmerman & Jaimie Davis
Created: Summer 2018
Size: 400 ft2
Location: West side of the Janitor's Warehouse building
Address: 4545 Lakelse Avenue
Salmon Souls was inspired by the life cycle of salmon, not only how they grow from eggs to maturity, but how they return to the same spawning spot where they were born after travelling out to the ocean and back. A collaboration between Sarah Zimmerman, a settler living in Terrace on unceded Ts’ymsen territory, and Gitxsan/Nisga’a artist Jaimie Davis, Salmon Souls speaks to the importance of salmon to northwestern BC. Davis’ hallmark salmon eggs in traditional northwest coast First Nations formline, are featured at the bottom of the water elements and traditional trout head shapes, dot the sky elements of the piece. A nod to the evolution of both the physical and spiritual.
Sarah Zimmerman
Website: sazartstudio.com
Facebook: @SAZ Art Studio
Instagram: @sazartstudio
Sarah Zimmerman, affectionately known as saz, takes a playful and inquisitive approach to painting the environment around. Her whimsical interpretations of her surroundings are reflected in the subject matter she chooses and the mediums with which she works. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, she moved to Terrace, BC in 2000, and never left. With a BA in English and Anthropology from the University of Alberta, Sarah’s artistic practice is rooted in the intersection of art and its exploration of place, culture, language and people. As a settler living on unceded Ts’msyen territory, Sarah’s artistic inquiry has long been inspired by the land and its people. Sarah likes to dig into big projects that reflect layers of inquiry about sense of place and that push her artistic practice to seek new mediums and approaches to art.
Jaimie Davis
Website: shopjada.com
Facebook: @jadacreations
Instagram: @jadacreations
Jaimie Davis (b.1983) is a Gitx̱san & Nisga'a artist, cedar weaver, jewelry designer, sculptor and painter. Her Gitx̱san name is Sagaytgabuuxw – which means “when the wind blows, everything sprouts”and belongs to the Laxskiik (eagle) clan, house of Sakhum Hiigookh. Jaimie began as a cedar weaver in 2003 learning under Haida weaver Victoria Moody before launching her business in cedar woven jewelry design in 2013. She was the Artist in Residence at the Anhluut’ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga’asanskwhl Nisga’a (Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provinical Park, Visitor Info Center) during the summers of 2014 and 2015 as a cedar weaver and jewelry designer and then later went on to attend the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast art, Coast Mountain College in 2016. Jaimie graduated the 3-year Advanced Diploma program, learning traditional wood sculpture and design under the instruction of Dean Heron and master carvers Dempsey Bob, Ken McNeil and Stan Bevan while also taking business courses in her 3rd year as well as jewelry engraving under Arlene Ness. She graduated in 2019 with honours at the top of her class and was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for outstanding achievement in her art and business studies. After graduation, Jaimie’s life as an artist came full circle. In the early fall of 2019, she was awarded a contract through BC Parks and Lisims government to design and paint a mural on the new and improved Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provinical Park, Visitor Info Center, the same building that helped launch her career in cedar woven jewelry design 6 years prior. It was completed by June 2020.