Vernon Asp

Vernon and his wife Flora Asp are the founders of Nomad Symbols Art Distribution of Northwest Coastal Native Art.

Vernon is a Tahltan First Nations Member of the Wolf Clan. He was born in Whitehorse and raised in Mayo Yukon. Vernon admired his Uncle Hugo Asp, a self taught carver.  There were a few evenings where Vernon would sit with his uncle and watch him carve, paint masks and plaques for gifts.  When Vernon inherited his uncle’s carving tools, he enrolled into the Kitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in Old Hazelton, British Columbia.  At Kitanmaxx School he studied under Master carvers Vernon Stephens and Ken Mowatt.  Vernon also befriended Master carvers Phil Janze and Walter Harris who are great mentors and friends.

After three years of formal teaching, Vernon moved back to the Yukon where he altered his style by focusing on applying realism and European abstractions, focusing also on true life story lines to apply to his pieces.  The abstractions that are applied are also derived from his mentor Ken Mowatt.  So after three years of study at Kitanmaax School; Vernon redirected his education and enrolled into the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program at Yukon College affiliated with University of Regina, Saskatchewan and received his Bachelor of Ed.
Vernon has always had a passion to help people, especially youth.  He currently resides in Carmacks, Yukon, teaching at Tantalus School where he developed a visual arts and general studies program for the elementary and high school students, therefore fulfilling a portion of his passion.