Beautiful works of Indigenous art now adorn Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam.
Principal David Starr hired a former student to do two art pieces to decorate the school's main foyer and hallway, and now, he's calling Jacob Gillis a "genius."
In 2020, Gillis, who is of Coast Salish ancestry on his father's side, painted a stunning image of a raven, the school's mascot, and a fox on a concrete pole.
He followed up this past summer with a hanging sculpture of 18 wooden panels depicting a powerful raven for the main hallway.
Together, the pieces are a stunning legacy for the high school.
"The symbolism is not accidental and Jake was a genius in its design and application," recalled Starr.
The school is working on goals to toward reconciliation and native artwork in the school's interior is one of many initiatives, Starr said.
"We have committed the school to Call to Action 63 from the TRC [Truth and Reconciliation] Calls to Action.
"In particular we want to build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect," Starr wrote in an email.
Gillis was the right person for helping the school work toward reconciliation from an artistic perspective.
He has been exploring his native heritage and Indigenous artistic styles since he was in middle school.
In 2017, Gillis created artwork for a Telus electrical box.
The two pieces of art he created for Terry Fox secondary, however, were extremely labour intensive.
Gillis had to figure out how to turn his flat drawing of a raven and a fox into a round painting for the 12-foot ‘house’ pole.
He created a pattern on a large piece of paper and then etched it into the circular pole, followed up with painting and sealing it so the artwork would be long lasting.
The second piece is made up of 18 wooden panels that were laser laser printed from a sketch Gillis drew, divided into squares, painted and then hung from a piece of steel.
"It's going to be more welcoming for aboriginal students who come here," said Gillis.
The 23-year-old is mostly self taught, although he went to Native Education College to learn jewellery-making.
Gills said he has been drawing Indigenous images of animals for a number of years — the raven is his favourite.
He's also designing artwork for t-shirts and is hoping to parlay his skills into a business one day.
"My dad bought me a little pendant, I drew and re-drew the image, and it went from there," Gillis recalled.
He has adapted to bigger images and uses a laser printer to turn his sketches into larger pieces, which he then paints.
Because his printer can only work to a 12-by-12-inch size, he has to come up with creative ways to make larger artworks.
Starr credited Gillis with some ingenuity to figure out how to do the two large pieces at the school.
"He had to design a very clever system of tiles and wires to make it work and the result is very cool," Starr said.
Gillis is pleased he was paid to do the work and said he was able to buy a car with his earnings.
Now he hopes he can learn more about Indigenous art and work his way towards being a respected artist.
