By the Stream Print by Three Trees Art

11″ x 14″ Unframed Matted Decorative
(Fits standard 11″ x 14″ frame). Each item is packaged in an acid-free, resealable clear bag.

Bear (Mukwa) is an important clan figure to many of the First Peoples across North America. Among all the four-leggeds, Bear is often said to possess the most human-like qualities, having much to teach us about life and ourselves. In addition to the admirable quality of strength, Bear can often demonstrate great patience while waiting quietly by a stream’s edge, as in the picture, for the right moment to pluck a fish from a swirling current. Bear also has attributes that point toward the transcendent; such as Bear’s preference for honey that some believe represents a yearning for the sweetness of truth. We too, can find truth buried deep in the Tree of Life, where risk (bees!) sometimes also awaits. Bear’s winter retreat into the den bespeaks of the importance of introspection in our lives, reminding us to go into our own silent places — including dreamtime — to reflect and be reborn into a new season of life.

Mark Nadjiwan is a self-taught artist whose chosen medium is pen and ink, working in archival acrylic inks on acid and lignen-free illustration boards. His unique style is a fusion of several artistic traditions, and includes the Indigenous inspired designs of both the Woodland and West Coast schools, as well as non-Indigenous approaches such as realism. Mark’s work can be found in numerous venues across Canada as well as private collections in Canada, the United States and Europe. In November of 2022, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. His First Nation roots are grounded in the Georgian Bay and Lake Superior Treaty regions, and he is a citizen/member of Neyaashiinigmiing Unceded First Nation. Mark lives on the traditional and current territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), in Treaty 72, along with his wife, Patricia Gray, who is also an artist, working in acrylic mediums.