NWT Arts

My name is Daniel Fredrick Hudson and I am a resident of the Northwest Territories. Most people call me Danny or Dan. I was born In Inuvik in 1966 to Lena Pagnana and George Hudson. We moved to Yellowknife when I was a few months old. During my youth, my parents taught me all the traditional and survival skills that they knew. My time was spent paddling every corner of Prelude Lake, hunting, fishing, trapping and enjoying the beauty of nature. I also learned how to skin and tan hides, make moose hide gloves and boots, make dry meat, make tools for fishing and hunting and many other skills. One of the skills my father taught me was carving. He taught me to start with sand paper until I was used to making the shapes of the animals. Then he showed me how to use the other carving tools. I had many opportunities to observe animals in their natural environment. My mother taught me how to draw what I saw and transfer the drawings to the carving later. I used wood as my medium when I was growing up. After finishing school and starting work, I left carving behind for a time or perhaps I just changed my medium from wood to the earth. I worked as a surveyor for many years, drawing out the shapes of roads, lots and other developments on the land. I have traveled to every community in the Northwest Territories and walked the tundra during the diamond rush. The diamond industry opened an opportunity for me to learn how to run heavy equipment. Instead of drawing out the development plans on the land, I used the loaders dozers and trucks to carve the development into the tundra. My experience as a surveyor gave me an advantage when running heavy equipment. I was able to create a level surface or maintain a specific direction or width when building roads, pads or ramps. Often I was asked for specifically when special jobs came up. One of the special jobs was to create natural looking bolder filled tundra from a flat parking area. It was a good challenge. The area was a test plot for reclamation at the mine and was dubbed Danny’s Garden. The test was successful, after the first year the natural plant seeds started to transform the area back into tundra and today it is indistinguishable from the surrounding environment. Recently, I have returned to a more traditional life style of hunting and fishing and carving. I started carving frequently in January of this year. I am practicing on small pieces of stone, just big enough for earrings and necklaces or small ornaments. I am enjoying the new medium and would like to try a variety of stone types to find out which ones lend themselves to more detail and strength. I am also passing on my skills to of my friend’s children My work can be found at Birchwood Gallery in Yellowknife and on the internet at www.silverdoodle.etsy.com. You may view my knowledge sharing website about carving at www.motherearthrocks.wetpaint.com