Mark Preston

Tlingit Nation

1960 – 2022

Mark Preston (Tenna-Tsa-Teh) was born in 1960 in Dawson City, Yukon. He was of Tlingit and Irish ancestry.

He learned about his Tlingit ancestry through his family and school. Initially, he began studying art through studying European masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo but later discovered and studied First Nation masters – Bill Reid, Robert Davidson and Roy Henry Vickers.

Mark studied various mediums and carved with notable carvers. He began studying silver carving with well known master jeweler carver, Phil Janze [Gitskan Nation] at Hazelton, B.C. and then, in the latter years of his career, moved into wood carving.

Upon returning to the Yukon after many years living in Vancouver, he began to work with his mother, Kay-Yee-Yah [Big Country Woman], who was an artist in her own right. This collaboration between Mark and his mother produced a unique and successful line of garments with extraordinarily beautiful appliqués of cloth and/or beading. Mark also dedicated himself to creating original paintings and graphics, which reflected traditional Tlingit images in a whimsical and contemporary format.