Master Carver Eric Schweig (Ray Dean Thrasher) learned under the tutelage of renowned Tahltan carver Vern Etzerza. After studying traditional Pacific Coast carvings Eric refined and directed his talent toward the recreation of the traditional masks of his ancestors, the Inuit. He also creates his own designs and concepts.
To learn more about Eric Schweig or to order a mask please contact:
Michelle R. Shining Elk Management & Publicity
818-302-6122 - MICHELLESHININGELK@GMAIL.COM or www.sagganna@yahoo.ca
Michelle R. Shining Elk Management & Publicity
818-302-6122 - MICHELLESHININGELK@GMAIL.COM or www.sagganna@yahoo.ca
From beginning...
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To final cut
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Eric Schweig, Elizabeth Horton-Newton, & Joshua Horton
www.sagganna@yahoo.ca
Suicide Prevention Through Art Therapy
Just so everybody knows, Justin Rain and Eric Schweig are ready willing and able to travel to your communities across Canada with a 3-week, no-bullshit, grassroots action plan for suicide prevention involving art therapy for a nominal fee in comparison to what most other "motivational" outfits have to offer first nations communities...I teach first nations kids how to express themselves and what's going on in their lives through painting, drawing and mask carving...we work on a mask together and afterwards present it and their paintings and drawings to the community as a symbol of that expression, afterwards Justin and I sit with the kids and teach them how to express themselves through film making where we collaborate with them and encourage them to write their feelings down in the form of a story, which is turned into a script, then with equipment provided by the community, we shoot a short film in the surrounding areas and involve the kids in all the creative processes necessary to complete the film and then present it to the community at the nearest available public facility...we have done this recently in Merritt BC and it was facilitated by Wayne Kaboni and Kristy Henkes from the Lower Nicola Indian Band/Citxw Nlaka'pamux Assembly as a flagship program and it came off without a hitch, and was actually not only powerful but "empowering" to the kids and adults alike in the community...I myself have done an art therapy program in the past in Nipissing first nations facilitated by Wayne Kaboni, Laurie Mclaren and Muriel Sawyer of The Nipissing First Nations and their school Nipissing High in Ontario around 2003 which also turned out to be an effective, powerful and cathartic tool on many levels...the main idea being to just "be" with the kids for an extended period of time, hang out with them when the day is done, visit with elders, have dinner with them, go hunting with community hunters (which by the way, when a moose or deer is taken, I get it butchered locally, freeze it, divvy it up and bring it to the nearest city to give to homeless people) to show them the timeless tradition of love, understanding, connection and compassion we're all capable of towards each other, not just show up for an hour to give them lip service in a general assembly about how great it is to be an actor and how "If I can do it you can do it!" and all that shit, then blow town leaving the kids with no provisions and nothing to work with but a couple of facebook pics...we show them how to take all that negative energy, turn it around, and wield it like a sword...teach them how to slay our number one enemy, "THE BEAST WITHIN", the 7-headed hydra inside that is telling our kids in their darkest hours to kill themselves and each other, and is sucking the lifeblood out of our communities in swollen, overflowing rivers as a result of the residential school experience and a whole lot of other factors too innumerable to write down off the top of my head, I speak from experience I know what it's like to wanna disappear from this place, I've had shotguns in my mouth in the past, suicide is no joke...both Justin and I have been clean and sober for 16 and 18 years respectively, no AA or NA, just hardcore therapy and the fearlessness required to heal ourselves and develop a strong power-base to enable us to pay it forward ....if you feel that something like this has the potential to help your kids and "your community" because a lot of the adults are suffering just as much as the kids are, message me and we'll get it together and work out the details...our young people are taking their own lives and the lives of others on reserves across Canada in record numbers and not that it has much to do with it anymore anyway, but the regime change in Canada's governance has done little to remedy the situation and I shit you not, if we don't start at least "trying" to help our kids and ourselves out of this rut we are going to be in a world of hurt ten time worse than the one we're in already...no more talk baby, this is a "4-alarm fire, all hands on deck" situation we're in here, so put your warrior flags down for a minute and let's look inward and start coming together instead of standin' around watchin' it happen year in and year out...please share this if you would.
https://www.facebook.com/eric.schweig.1/posts/342067176141735
Suicide Prevention Through Art Therapy
Just so everybody knows, Justin Rain and Eric Schweig are ready willing and able to travel to your communities across Canada with a 3-week, no-bullshit, grassroots action plan for suicide prevention involving art therapy for a nominal fee in comparison to what most other "motivational" outfits have to offer first nations communities...I teach first nations kids how to express themselves and what's going on in their lives through painting, drawing and mask carving...we work on a mask together and afterwards present it and their paintings and drawings to the community as a symbol of that expression, afterwards Justin and I sit with the kids and teach them how to express themselves through film making where we collaborate with them and encourage them to write their feelings down in the form of a story, which is turned into a script, then with equipment provided by the community, we shoot a short film in the surrounding areas and involve the kids in all the creative processes necessary to complete the film and then present it to the community at the nearest available public facility...we have done this recently in Merritt BC and it was facilitated by Wayne Kaboni and Kristy Henkes from the Lower Nicola Indian Band/Citxw Nlaka'pamux Assembly as a flagship program and it came off without a hitch, and was actually not only powerful but "empowering" to the kids and adults alike in the community...I myself have done an art therapy program in the past in Nipissing first nations facilitated by Wayne Kaboni, Laurie Mclaren and Muriel Sawyer of The Nipissing First Nations and their school Nipissing High in Ontario around 2003 which also turned out to be an effective, powerful and cathartic tool on many levels...the main idea being to just "be" with the kids for an extended period of time, hang out with them when the day is done, visit with elders, have dinner with them, go hunting with community hunters (which by the way, when a moose or deer is taken, I get it butchered locally, freeze it, divvy it up and bring it to the nearest city to give to homeless people) to show them the timeless tradition of love, understanding, connection and compassion we're all capable of towards each other, not just show up for an hour to give them lip service in a general assembly about how great it is to be an actor and how "If I can do it you can do it!" and all that shit, then blow town leaving the kids with no provisions and nothing to work with but a couple of facebook pics...we show them how to take all that negative energy, turn it around, and wield it like a sword...teach them how to slay our number one enemy, "THE BEAST WITHIN", the 7-headed hydra inside that is telling our kids in their darkest hours to kill themselves and each other, and is sucking the lifeblood out of our communities in swollen, overflowing rivers as a result of the residential school experience and a whole lot of other factors too innumerable to write down off the top of my head, I speak from experience I know what it's like to wanna disappear from this place, I've had shotguns in my mouth in the past, suicide is no joke...both Justin and I have been clean and sober for 16 and 18 years respectively, no AA or NA, just hardcore therapy and the fearlessness required to heal ourselves and develop a strong power-base to enable us to pay it forward ....if you feel that something like this has the potential to help your kids and "your community" because a lot of the adults are suffering just as much as the kids are, message me and we'll get it together and work out the details...our young people are taking their own lives and the lives of others on reserves across Canada in record numbers and not that it has much to do with it anymore anyway, but the regime change in Canada's governance has done little to remedy the situation and I shit you not, if we don't start at least "trying" to help our kids and ourselves out of this rut we are going to be in a world of hurt ten time worse than the one we're in already...no more talk baby, this is a "4-alarm fire, all hands on deck" situation we're in here, so put your warrior flags down for a minute and let's look inward and start coming together instead of standin' around watchin' it happen year in and year out...please share this if you would.
https://www.facebook.com/eric.schweig.1/posts/342067176141735
Inspiring and Motivating Children to Succeed
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Hunting to feed the homeless
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