Ned Bear’s carved wooden masks are well known in New Brunswick and beyond, and his reputation for creating spirited pieces is growing internationally. He lives amongst the Wolistoqiyik First Nation Community, located within the city limits of Fredericton. His father, a Plains Cree from Saskatchewan met his mother there while stationed in New Brunswick before being sent to France in the Second World War. Coming from a family of nine siblings, Bear remembers that the family only just survived financially at times. His father was wounded in the war and received a meager pension and his mother supplemented this with occasional 10-hour days of housework or childcare, which paid only $3.50 a day. Today, Bear attributes his artistic outlook to his boyhood experience of living in abject poverty. “I believe these life events of scarcity in material possessions do affect my world-view perception,” says Bear. “This reflects on my creative approach and how I attempt to express my artistic concepts, and these are essentially spiritual in nature, or should I say, spirits of nature.”

Bear has always felt a communion with these spiritual aspects of his life. As a young boy of nine or ten, Bear was playing with other boys in the community when he came across a white-haired native elder carving in his workshop. Immediately he felt he had to stop and watch the old man. As he did so, he began to feel very calm and reassured, and knew at once that he had it in his heart and soul to be a carver of wood. For Bear, this was an extraordinary personal experience, and he is still not sure if the meeting actually happened, or if it was a waking dream or vision. Whichever it was, the experience inspired Bear, and he became determined to become an accomplished carver. Receiving very little support from the community, he pursued this dream independently, and has been a practicing sculptor of natural media for twenty years.

Bear received formal training at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, and he was the first aboriginal student to graduate from that institution. He credits George Fry, former Director of the school, for making a major difference to his artistic career. About to give up on his academic studies, Bear was persuaded by Mr. Fry to continue, and he eventually graduated with Honors. He also studied at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (now The First Nations University of Canada), and The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and holds a Bachelor of Education Degree from University of New Brunswick. His major was Native Art, and this discipline has always been his guide, as he continues his studies in pursuit of a university Masters degree.

Bear’s focus is on giving a contemporary interpretation to traditional spiritual beliefs. He expresses this in sculpted masks of wood adorned with other materials such as fur, and in figure-forms carved in marble or limestone. He has also been involved in the research and development of three-dimensional native art forms in virtual reality. Also, with his research in the production and playing of the Native American flute, plans are someday to teach theoretical and practical aspects of the flute. Amongst other activities, he was Director of Education for Saint Mary’s First Nation for ten years. Involved in numerous community organizations, committees, outreach programs, and educational events in New Brunswick, it is amazing that Bear actually finds the time to pursue his art. But he does, and has participated in numerous group and solo shows, presenting art that is guided by his keen sense of spiritual values.

Each day brings new challenges to Bear. His art is a path of self-discovery and he is continually uncovering facets of his inner self. He calls this path his “means of inspiration”, and considers it a labor of love and a way to connect at a spiritual level. “From a very early age I felt a very close affinity to all that existed in nature,” says Bear. “At the time, I did not understand these feelings, and no-one ever explained them. When I did try to relate these feelings to others who had influence over me, I was laughed at or ridiculed. I felt that my feelings and beliefs were taken away from me by people who I now realize, were themselves influenced by greater forces, such as society’s current religious or educational institutional values and practices. So as time passed, I learnt to dismiss how I truly felt. Of course, I now realize this was a mistake. I am now reclaiming these beliefs through my work.”

For Bear, spirits exist at all levels, and he feels humankind is very presumptuous in believing that their spiritual attributes are superior to the spiritual attributes of the natural world. He discovered the concept of Taoism as a young boy, and was attracted to its similarity with the idea of the Great Spirit in traditional native beliefs. “We are all related and connected by spirit,” says Bear. “I hope people see this when they look at my work. A mask can be a portal into an intimate dimension, a captured wink of mystic time. Through the ritual of wearing a mask, we have the opportunity to access the power of transformation, and can embrace the spiritual significance of the “Pawakon” or spiritual helper.” When creating his art, Bear considers himself merely a conduit or path for an energy that flows from the eternal great spirit to the medium he is using. “I prepare no preliminary designs or sketches for any of my work,” says the artist, “thereby allowing the spirit to guide me, and the medium to speak on its own behalf.”

Bear finds the physical act of carving both the most and the least rewarding thing about his art. He enjoys seeing the form appear under his hand, but finds some parts of the work tedious, such as removing the waste from the back of a mask. Even this he turns to spiritual ends. “Tedious tasks exercise my patience” says Bear. “But they also provide an opportunity for meditation because of the repetitive pounding of the mallet against the chisel. This is like the rhythm of the heart, or, the pounding of an ash log (once-frequently practiced by community basket-makers in their wood preparation), and I find it very soothing.”

The carver creates masks that average about 2.5 feet in height, and are usually carved out of butternut, or yellow birch. Each one adorned with horsehair, (horse symbolic of a free spirit) bear fur (bear traditionally known as a healers) and/or metal (of the earth). Each spirit-helper (mask) tells a story to the listener (a present viewer), if they are willing to listen (with open mind open heart & an open spirit) - somewhat of a difficulty for many in a society such as we all exist in today, where the present moments are eluded. The masks are named in Plains Cree, and this relates a story the artist is told as each work is revealed, however the story may change for another.... one who takes the time to "listen."

Ned is also a recent recipient of a Smithson Institute fellowship, in which he intends to further his research into the historic records and collections of the prestigious collections located in New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Boston, within their Smithsonian’s centers.

Ned's CV.pdf