The Artists. The Inspiration. The Heritage.
Kevin Gadomski
Kevin Gadomski
Contributing Artists: Emma Gadomski (Daughter), Tanner Gadomski (Son), Joy Delaney, Robert Krogh, John D
Inspired by the Ojibway heritage of my children, I began creating the Manitou pieces many years ago. My interest in all things esoteric has led me to explore shamanism, totemism, mysticism, Taoism, Zen, Sufism, Animism, nature, reality, dreaming, metaphysics, Kevinism as a life path which are all more or less reflected in my work. Basically, a learn as you go, organic way of being which shuns dogma and indoctrination to any specific belief system and embraces unfiltered experience that doesn't require interpretation. Gathering, condensing, focusing, and co-creating.
Tanner and Emma‘s native heritage is from the Turtle Clan of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibway, on their mother’s side, whose grandmothers on both sides were full Anishinabe as well as a great grandfather who was half Cree.
Greetings,
I've been working with this artist and his family for over 20 years. I've always been satisfied about these being Native made. Just so you are aware.
Early on Gadomski was adopted by the Ojibway Nation. In the Ojibway ways and in most all Native Nations, the making of relatives ceremony is one of the seven sacred rites of the Taha Chanupa Wakan, the sacred pipe. In the eyes of the Ojibway people he is one of them, forever. The making of relatives cannot be taken back. He married an Ojibway woman and has two children. When you're married in the Ojibway ways one can never be divorced.
He was strongly inspired by the Ojibway culture and.had a vision to create
Manitou's. He didn't know he was stepping into a coyote way, the trickster.
Manitou's is an ancient word meaning Spirit. So as he created these and called them Manitou's that's exactly what happened, his pieces took on a Spirit that was beyond the wood, fur and paint on his creations. They truly carry a Spirit, a very rare thing in this world today, The way his life unfolded became a rare opportunity that the people of Caucasian world rarely ever know or see.
Along the way, his wife and his children assisted him in his creations as they were all of the Turtle Clan. So he also became a part of the Turtle clan. The Ojibway customs offered him designs for the cloths and the understanding of different animal Spirits. He received help of other Natives as well. The culture offered him the understanding that animal spirits are seen as such close relatives they considered people. So there is the Wolf Nation people, Bear Nation people, Fox Nation people, Cloud Nation people, Stone Nation people and on and on. This has been the heart of his creations for his entire lifetime. So to me, these are Native made.
Wah-we-nah
Bearcloud
I've been working with this artist and his family for over 20 years. I've always been satisfied about these being Native made. Just so you are aware.
Early on Gadomski was adopted by the Ojibway Nation. In the Ojibway ways and in most all Native Nations, the making of relatives ceremony is one of the seven sacred rites of the Taha Chanupa Wakan, the sacred pipe. In the eyes of the Ojibway people he is one of them, forever. The making of relatives cannot be taken back. He married an Ojibway woman and has two children. When you're married in the Ojibway ways one can never be divorced.
He was strongly inspired by the Ojibway culture and.had a vision to create
Manitou's. He didn't know he was stepping into a coyote way, the trickster.
Manitou's is an ancient word meaning Spirit. So as he created these and called them Manitou's that's exactly what happened, his pieces took on a Spirit that was beyond the wood, fur and paint on his creations. They truly carry a Spirit, a very rare thing in this world today, The way his life unfolded became a rare opportunity that the people of Caucasian world rarely ever know or see.
Along the way, his wife and his children assisted him in his creations as they were all of the Turtle Clan. So he also became a part of the Turtle clan. The Ojibway customs offered him designs for the cloths and the understanding of different animal Spirits. He received help of other Natives as well. The culture offered him the understanding that animal spirits are seen as such close relatives they considered people. So there is the Wolf Nation people, Bear Nation people, Fox Nation people, Cloud Nation people, Stone Nation people and on and on. This has been the heart of his creations for his entire lifetime. So to me, these are Native made.
Wah-we-nah
Bearcloud
The Process
HI. We've all been working our fingers to the bone (believe it!) at our small studio here in the woods, creating hand-carved, limited edition Ojibway inspired sculptural pieces. Over the years we have sold our work through many galleries across the country, including Disney World and many National Parks.
Hand carved and assembled from local basswood, and individually hand painted, each piece is one of an edition of 100, and is numbered, dated, and signed by me and my wonderful son, Tanner. Because each piece is individually hand made, no two pieces will be exactly alike. Each has its own individual characteristics and personality. From an Animistic view, one could say the Manitou sculpture itself is alive with awareness and it's own breed of intelligence!
Hand carved and assembled from local basswood, and individually hand painted, each piece is one of an edition of 100, and is numbered, dated, and signed by me and my wonderful son, Tanner. Because each piece is individually hand made, no two pieces will be exactly alike. Each has its own individual characteristics and personality. From an Animistic view, one could say the Manitou sculpture itself is alive with awareness and it's own breed of intelligence!
MANITOU: it is the Ojibway (or Chippewa) word for Spirit or Mystery. As the Great Spirit manifests itself in myriad forms, each unique manifestation, including plant, animal and mineral, is endowed with and inseparable from this Spirit. Also, MANITOU can be interpreted as meaning "MAGIC" or "Medicine," in the sense that some people, places, objects, etc. seem to possess a greater concentration of this spirit (or creative energy) than others, such as a sacred ritual object or a favorite seashell. It is akin to the reservoir of concentrated essence or power that is referred to as 'Mana' in some pagan European cultures, and is believed to pervade the whole world. A Manitou may also be an actual spirit entity (inorganic being?) whom on occasion will take on a physical (human or animal) form in order to teach us foolish people a lesson. Thus, "Little Spirits" and the inspiration for our pieces. The term MANITOU is also synonymous with the word FAERIE. Of a different continent, culture and language, both refer to the hidden world behind this one, the denizens of that world, and the magic and mischief they wrought in our world. If an object could be said to express the 'genus loci' or intelligence and memories of a place, the Manitous are very definitely 'Minnesota'.
