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“Goudaa Haagens”
Haida Nation
Gina Mae Schubert was born June 15th, 1964 in Massett, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada, which is located along the Northern Coast of the province. She is a member of the Haida Nation and takes the Raven, one of the two main crest symbols, as her family crest symbol.
Gina Mae is a descendant of Captain Andrew Brown, known as ‘Cap. Brown’, was a great Haida artist whose argillite carvings can be seen in most museums in North America. Captain Brown lived during the 1800s and early 1900s. She is the granddaughter of Nora Bellis, known as ‘Noni Nora’, who is now the last matriarchal woman of the Raven Clan, born in 1901 in Old Massett Village, Haida Gwaii. Nora is known for her singing, dancing, and music of the Haida Nation.
Gina Mae is the niece of the Great Andrew (Teddy) Bellis, a celebrity of Haida Gwaii, deceased in 1992: also Charlie, Richard (Dick), John and Maryanne Bellis. She is the daughter of Jean (Bellis) Schubert and cousins with established artists, Bill Bellis and Alvin Adkins.
“Most of my paintings are expressions of the Haida way, the blankets, the ravens, the symbols of belief. Haida art has always been a significant part of my whole life but I have studied North American Indian art since 1987. Therefore I want to include our Native brothers from the Plains and the mountains. I am very proud of my elders, Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, and Don Yeomans. I have also been intrigued with other Native artists such as Norval Morrisseau, Cecil Youngfox and Benjamin Chee Chee. I also admire the weavings of the Southwest and the etchings of the Northern Cree.
“I would say that my art is an expression of appreciation for all that inhabit the earth. The colours I like: God blessed us with eyes so that we could behold colour, you will find that by looking at each colour, that you are stimulated in different ways. After traveling to India in 1995 it was apparent for me to use colour the way eastern beliefs use colour to represent chakras.
“My paintings have my own philosophical beliefs installed in them. Including mother earth and father sky, the stars, sun and moon, which represent by belief in astrology. How can we not be affected by something that affects our oceans? Human interactions are portrayed as a spiritual connection on a higher level; human interactions as sensual and loving experiences.
“My belief in human empowerment and lack of fear – my paintings portray empowered beings, warriors, and goddesses.
“If you have purchased one or many of my paintings, know that it is a reflection of you: the all-powerful, the all-sensual, the all-spiritual Warrior or Goddess within.”
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