Woodland style strong

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Roy Thomas is one of the foremost senior artists of the Woodland style in the Great Lakes region. In the 1980s, art critics linked him with "the younger generation" of Woodland artists after Norval Morriseau and Daphne Odjig in a period bridged by Carl Ray. Thomas has since participated in solo and group exhibitions from New Mexico to Munich, across Asia and Canada. His work graces 32 national collections and numerous international galleries.

Most recently, Thomas' mural, The Spirit of Thunder Bay, was displayed in Thunder Bay, Ont.'s, new Charity Casino. Thomas says it's an honor to have his work in such a public place.

"Now people from around the world can see the art of the Anishnawbe." His use of bright colors and identifiable shapes makes his art accessible to all in its content and beauty.

Done in two parts, The Spirit of Thunder Bay is typical of the Woodland style with its bold colorations framed by black form lines. The larger panel (16 ft. by 27 ft.) has a turtle balancing a canoe which holds a black, a white, a red, and a yellow person. Thomas will not use the term "race" when describing people because a race is competition. He calls them "relatives," people who live together in co-operation. Inside the turtle is the Sleeping Giant and a Thunderbird-symbols of local myth. The smaller panel (16 ft. by 25 ft.) depicts how nature was before humans and how it can be if we respect it.

In "The Image Makers," Elizabeth McLuhan and Tom Hill attribute the invention of the Woodland or pictograph style to Morriseau. Also called pictography and X-ray style, this art form had previously been used for spiritual purposes, documenting private dreams, totemic identification, inscriptions on grave boards, and aids to casual story-telling. McLuhan and Hill say that Thomas "connects new activities to old forms. This poetic vision has been a catalyst is his work and has injected into it an immediacy and relevancy to viewers."

Thomas says he was born an artist.

"Painting makes my life complete."

He says he is inspired by the art of his ancestors-the pictographs drawn on the rocks around Lake Superior.

"The teachings of the Elders taught me what to paint." He also speaks of a revival of his artistic spirit some 23 years ago while in Alberta. At a conference, the Elders of the Alexander reserve renewed the teachings he had been given in his youth.

"They gave me a second chance to learn about my culture," he said. Thomas' wife, Louise, is from Alberta and they both feel strong ties to the West.

"The spirit of art can help share the vision of the Anishnawbe with the rest of the world and this is what I'm going to do as long as there's life in me," said Thomas. Currently, he is working with James Stevens on The Spirit of Anishnawbe Art-the story of his journey to mid-life. He also plans to publish a book of sketches and another of illustrated stories.