Cowichan Valley artist Jock Hildebrand who has been an artist for 52 years, primarily working in watercolours, bronze, and stone has recently been creating much smaller intricate pieces than the large sculptures he has become known for, with his new line of Elegant Mammoth Ivory jewelry.
It's got a unique style that will not be going extinct anytime soon.
One of Hildebrand's friends who was a ice road builder up north came across a portion of a mammoth tusk when his grader popped it up, which he gifted to Hildebrand nearly two years ago for his creative purposes. He says it will provide him with a lifetime of jewelry.
"It's all ethical because it is ancient. It is somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 years old," said Hildebrand. "Being a painter as well as a sculptor, composition is of great interest to me."
Mammoths, which have been associated with fertility, strength, and the supernatural in various mythologies, would live typically from anywhere from 60 to 80 years with tusks that could reach up to 25 feet long. These unique curved tusks were used for an array of tasks including brushing off snow from the ground while searching for food, as a show of strength to deter predators, and to attract a potential mate.
Prices for Hildebrand's jewelry pieces ranges from $40 to a couple hundred dollars and he has already sold around 300 of the unique unisex pieces to date.
"Some are definitely more masculine than others," said Hildebrand. "I've sold a lot, they are good sellers."
Hildebrand, who is originally from Quesnel, B.C., had the opportunity to travel across the globe when he was young as his dad was a teacher and did a lot of foreign service for external aid. Then, upon graduating from art school, he worked all over the world as a sculptor with primarily large public art pieces and has creations on every continent with the exception of Australia.
"The largest piece I ever did was a 32 metric tonne stone carving which is in Vietnam," said Hildebrand. "I loved Vietnam. I carved it in 45 days and used 16 tonnes of stone, which they provided for me."
Hildebrand said he prefers the Cowichan Valley to the Okanagan. Being an avid sailor, what drew him here was his love for the ocean, and being close to it. Upon setting down roots here, he quickly discovered that aside from community associations like Cowichan Valley Arts Council, whose mandate is to promote local artists, there was no public art gallery — so he founded the Cowichan Public Art Gallery around eight years ago. Hildebrand has lived in Maple Bay for the last 11 years where he has his own bronze foundry, as well as the Shibui Gallery, which sits where the Shibui Bed and Breakfast was, providing him a beautiful space to create.
"Shibui is a Japanese term which translates to when you look at something it seems fairly simple but if you really look at it hard it is very complex." said Hildebrand. "If you're an artist you need a place to work, so that was definitely the motivation for this place."
Hildebrand, who has been creating these intricate ivory pieces for nearly two years in this space, said it has definitely been a lot easier on his aging body compared to some of past public space projects. He makes 10 at time, which typically takes him the whole day to do. Each individual piece has its own name and story behind it, for example one of his pendants which is titled 'Sailing Under a Copper Moon' is a perfect fit for this artist who started out as a commercial fisherman many moons ago. To make these abstract and nuanced necklaces Hildebrand sets up the composition in a small wooden mould which he makes and then arrange the ivory and semi-precious stones, before the resin matrix gets poured over top — they are then sanded down and smoothed off.
"There's a vibe to it," said Hildebrand. "When I'm working on it, I have the sense of that mammoth, it just comes through. It's really quite interesting. My favourite part is when they get polished and I get to see what they truly look like."
Hildebrand's Elegant Mammoth Ivory jewelry collection can be viewed, and purchased inside the intimate Shibui Gallery which art afficionados can visit for free Monday to Friday by appointment. For more information or to book a private tour of the gallery call 250-470-9586, or by email at info@jockhildebrand.com. Much of his work can also be viewed through his website at jockhildebrand.com.
"I hope people take away the sense of the timelessness of this jewelry and that it was actually a part of a living creature," said Hildebrand. "It was sentient, it looked for food and mated a very long long time ago. I also hope that people are pleased that some of its remains are being used to make beautiful objects with."
