John Goodwin
Makah
John Goodwin was born in Neah Bay, Washington, a small town located at the northwest-most tip of the United States and home to the Makah people. The Makah share a rich cultural history, and John Goodwin was raised with a sense of being deeply rooted in the heritage of his community. "With my art, I can give back to my people and help keep our culture alive and vibrant," says Goodwin.
Goodwin started his creative path painting dance robes, drums, and steam bent cedar boxes. “Be serious about your art”, Steve Brown, his friend and well known artist told him,” and there will be a time when you will always be busy”. He proved to be right. To hone his skills as an artist, John Goodwin apprenticed under the renowned Nuu-chah-nulth artist Art Thompson, and learned more about Northwest Coast formline design.
Soon Goodwin started pulling limited edition giclee prints and selling them throughout the Northwest and Canada, signing with his adult Indian name Nytom—"he who walks around". Nytom ventured further into the different mediums of west coast native art and began wood carving, glass etching and designing jewelry. His work has been shown in galleries throughout North America. Currently Nytom works on larger art pieces in glass and wood, as well as limited edition prints.