Alexander First Nation artist Leo Arcand said he was "ecstatic" to find out Thursday morning that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gifted one of his soapstone sculptures to U.S. President Barack Obama during his official visit to the White House this week.

Arcand, a Woodland Cree sculptor, said he just "got wind of it" minutes before the interview and said he didn't actually know which sculpture the prime minister had selected.

"It's not everyday that the Prime Minister of Canada takes one of your art pieces and gives it to the President of the United States as a gift. It's truly, I don't know what to think. I'm speechless," Arcand said, adding that he had no idea this was in the works.

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Arcand has been sketching since he was a young boy, but became infatuated with stone carving after being introduced to the craft in 1991. His daughter Julia Cardinal said he began sculpting the day she was born.

"All of his artwork comes from the heart,” she said.

Arcand draws inspiration from spirituality and tries to achieve balance in his pieces.

The sculpture Trudeau chose is called Courage, listed at $650 at Bearclaw Gallery, the 40-year-old Edmonton institution on 124 Street and Stony Plain Road that represents Arcand and other aboriginal artists, is a soapstone piece shaped like a teardrop with an eagle at its peak, and a face and a hole in the belly of the teardrop.

"This is a person in meditation or in dream," Arcand explained. "The hole represents the spirit of the human figure, which is ongoing and never-ending. The eagle could represent the sky's the limit. It could represent peace, working together."

Arcand said he hopes Obama feels peace, love and unity when he looks at the sculpture.

Bearclaw Gallery assistant Hope Wright described Arcand as a "master sculptor" who is known for using elements from his culture, such as bears, wolves and his ancestors, in his pieces.

Courage

Artist: Leo Arcand

Leo Arcand Medium: Soapstone

Soapstone Size: 8.25 x 6 x 3 Inches

8.25 x 6 x 3 Inches Code No.: LA313

LA313 Price: $650.00

$650.00 SOLD

"He weaves them into these truly flowing pieces that are just lovely and he often says he leaves a space in the sculpture ... open to receive messages from the creator," she said.

The gallery was contacted by an unknown buyer a few weeks ago about purchasing a piece seen on the gallery’s website. It wasn't until later that they found out they were dealing with the Prime Minister's Office and were told to keep it discreet, Wright said. “That was the first surprise,” she said. The second was finding out the sculpture was intended for Obama.

“We were just thrilled,” she said. “We sell (Arcand’s) pieces all over the place, but this is probably the biggest, most well-known receiver of one of his pieces.”

Arcand said if he could speak to Trudeau he would thank him for choosing his work.

"I would thank him and tell him how grateful we are as a nation to have a prime minister such as yourself," he said.

Alexander First Nation is about 40 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

oellwand@postmedia.com

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