FEATURED ART EXHIBIT 

coyote flyer

Coyote Rising from the Ashes

"An exhibit featuring the extraordinary spirit animals that inhabit our world, giving us protection, resilience, and encouragement to overcome all obstacles."

On display June 24th through August 5th, 2022 in WAGNER HOUSE

Listen to Coyote's Remarkable Story...

The artist Coyote was born in Seattle, WA in 1965. Coyote is half Native American "Muckleshoot" and half British Canadian. He has a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Montana. He retired as the deputy regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Navajo Region, worked as the top executive-operations manager for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and the CEO for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. On August 6, 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Coyote had a terrible accident when he had an allergic reaction to prescribed medication. He died and came back to life. Dying caused him to have a traumatic brain injury which resulted in him becoming legally blind, since then a phenomenon of his death and coming back to life is that he has a huge passion for art. He has taken up painting as an artist and has produced enough work to show.

Coyote is legally blind. He can see your blurry outline, but he cannot see your eyes or lips move. He grew up the son of a gallery curator.

His father ran the Sacred Circle Gallery of American Indian art in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle in the 1970s and 1980s. So he grew up meeting artists, setting up the gallery, and going to museums and galleries. He was influenced by then young and upcoming native artists such as Allen Houser, Joe Feddersen, and Emmy Whitehorse and the Japanese art of Sumi-e painting. He was particularly impressed with the Sumi-e single stroke techniques and tries to emulate this sense of freedom in his own work. He was told by his father that the best artwork in the world is done by children because it is uninhibited. He believes the brush stroke is like a lie detector test. You can feel if it is free or not and tried to incorporate this feeling of freedom in his work. Because Coyote was forced into early retirement after becoming blind where he could no longer read or write and he discovered he could still paint, his paintings to him represent the will to survive. He signs them with his personal spirit helper or “tamanawas,” COYOTE as the coyote is the survivor and so is he.

Coyote is happily married to his beautiful wife Tobi and has four children.

Color Logo with Text (2)
sponsor logos_footer2

Lakewold Gardens | 12317 Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest, Lakewood, WA 98499

Mailing Address | Post Office Box 39780, Lakewood, WA 98496

Phone | 253-584-4106

Spring/Summer/Fall Hours | 10 am to 5 pm Wed - Sun

Winter Hours (Nov - Mar) | 10 am to 4 pm Fri - Sun

This page is made possible, in part, by a City of Lakewood Lodging Tax Grant.