Koochie

Willard Charlie (Secwepemc/St'at'imc), or Koochie as he is locally known, first began carving wood in high school after his wood work teacher Benny Paul held an art contest with 10 students. Each of the students had a few months to carve a totem pole, and the teacher ended up giving everybody first prizes. Koochie was one of two that continued on the art path out of those 10 students. Koochie then focused on wood carving and wood burning. Koochie believed in making statements with art pieces, based on what entered his imagination. Koochie looked up to Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun for the way his pieces make statements about the plight of First Nations people. One of Koochie’s most memorable moments as an artist was when his completed totem pole representing North America was shipped to Mexico to be displayed by a local church.

grunt gallery, 2022