I was blessed to be sponsored by Island Blue Print to do a Spirit Bear this year. It was completed and installed in front of their store in the spring and is being auctioned off this fall allong with over a hundred other bears in the province to help support kids with disabilities.

I called my Kermode (the proper name for the rare white bear found in northern British Columbia) "Palette." He is named for his abstract, multicolored exterior. His iridescent colors reflect a hopeful spirit. The combination of cutting grooves and applying thick layers of acrylic paint on his surface has made him highly textured and very touchable. His face reveals a depth of character – compassionate and radiant, yet with a note of sadness, full of experience and wisdom – timeless.