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Heart of Our City: Clint Adam’s ingrained talent

Clint Adams works with many materials to create custom Native art

Among the booths displaying crafts, traditional food and Indigenous art at the 59th All Native Basketball Tournament sits Clint Adams, hunched over his workstation. A light illuminates the precious metal he’s working on as tools rotate through his grasp. Holding a torch, different files or sandpaper, Adams’s hands are in constant motion as he translates a client’s idea to jewelery.

“They come back astonished because that’s what they had in mind. Going from something in their mind to actually physically holding it, you can see the enjoyment in their eyes,” Adams said. “That’s why I like working right on site.”

Adams can’t remember exactly how many years he’s had a booth at All Native, but said one of the best parts is getting the chance to talk to people from many nations, especially the other artists he’s gotten to know over the years.

“It’s more than an exhibit, it gives us the opportunity to reconnect with each other,” he said.

It takes him about an hour to finish a custom design, which is done completely by hand. Adams has been honing his skills for most of his life but it wasn’t until he was 15 years old that he decided to pursue First Nations art.

Before moving to Prince Rupert in 1995, Adams grew up in Prince George. It was there he signed up for a class in high school called ‘art careers’.

“At the time, I wasn’t going to be a First Nations artist, I was actually going in to be a graphic developer. Taking that time and immersing myself in the art culture opened my eyes,” Adams recalled.

He realized his father, Randy Adams, was already creating much of the artwork the class was learning. The budding young artist had grown up around his father’s silver, gold and wooden pieces, watching the Kincolith artist work on everything from totem poles and ceremonial masks to cars and guitars.

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Like his father, Adams creates with many different materials. Not far from his workstation sit four hand-carved wooden bowls, and his Facebook page displays photographs of totem poles he’s carved and hockey helmets he’s airbrushed.

An avid hockey player himself, Adams airbrushed his own goalie mask with pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness.

“Breast cancer runs rampant in my wife’s family. I have all the names of the ladies in our family that have either succumbed or battled through breast cancer,” he said. “It’s something very personal, a goaltender and his mask.”

He decided to pay tribute three seasons ago, when his wife’s aunt was diagnosed. When the family saw his mask, “there were some tears shed,” he said.

There’s a moment, Adams said, when people first see the finished product of his work. Usually, it’s filled with joy.

“It was very uplifting, actually. We took it as a positive, just to put the names down on the goal mask. We try to keep it positive, and at the same time drawing awareness.”

When asked which piece he’s most proud of, Adams couldn’t choose.

“It’s like picking your favourite kid,” he said with a laugh. “Every project is its own entity. They develop their own characteristics while you’re doing it, which makes them unique. So, unfortunately, I can’t answer that one. In the end, they take on a life of their own while I’m creating them.”

Speaking of kids, Adams said he finds inspiration in his three children. One of his sons, at 15 years old, is the same age Adams was when he started taking his art more seriously. Adams’s son has shown a similar interest in First Nations art and has a knack for making wooden pendants.

The father and son artists will spend hours working alongside one another. As their art takes shape, Adams will give his son tips on technique and try to incorporate teachings into practice.

“Although he’s two feet away, we’re still in our own little world until he needs a little guidance. Then I’ll show him what to do, but I like to let him try to figure it out for himself first because experience is the number one teacher,” Adams said.

It’s not just his son that Adams hopes to guide through artwork. He said the mediums he uses have a way of spreading cultural awareness. For his totem poles, among his other pieces, Adams won’t use Native stories in his designs if the client doesn’t own the right to them.

“This artwork is more than just pretty pictures. It’s a culture. Explaining to people that it goes a lot deeper than just hanging it on a wall or putting it on your finger,” Adams said. “First Nations people and their artwork are very intertwined.”

Read more Heart of Our City profiles here.