Eric Schweig, mask carver

'Watch out for the cars'

Carving, art yields expressionEric Schweig, Inuk, isn't shy. He's not afraid to share his opinion. His ability to not block that expression is shown with his skill of carving.

Carving was a gift he acquired at an early age. It started as a love that was nurtured into adulthood.

Schweig studied traditional Pacific Coast carvings before refining this scope toward the traditional masks of his ancestors, the Inuit. He hand-carves the masks from the red cedar of Vancouver, British Columbia.The meaning of the article's obscure title:"[T]he education system ... is more interested in getting kids in line, pay attention to the rules, watching the stoplights instead of the cars. If I had kids ... I'd want them to watch out for the cars, not the stoplights, because stoplights fail, but your eyes don't."

In addition to being an artist, he's an actor, musician, and a volunteer representative and motivational speaker for street outreach. He appears throughout North America speaking to indigenous, American Indian and First Nations youth about suicide prevention, alcohol abuse and adoption, among other things.Comment:  I imagine it's tough for Native actors--everyone except Adam Beach, that is--to make a living from acting. I wonder if Eric Schweig considers himself more of a carver who acts than an actor who carves.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.