"His Majesty"

 "His Majesty" takes his inspiration from time I spent with a deceased Bald Eagle. Eagles are dressed in medicine for ceremonial peoples. I had never before realized how much of an eagles power is in his chest. It makes perfect sence if you consider the chest provides the muscle to power an eagle's wings for flight. I carved 'His Majesty' as I remember him, massive powerful chest, regal pose and a serious experssion. 

Eagle Balance Platter

 Spalted Alder platter. Eagle designs hand carved in the lip.

 Finished with pure tung oil and bees wax. 12 1/4" dia.

 

 Available at the Ahtsik Native Art Gallery in Port Alberni, B.C.

 $580 Sold

Guardian Spirit

Guardian Spirit

 

 

  It’s morning now and Cathy, our Dene elder prays through tears. She is praying for the children in her community who have been taken from their homes by the government. Their parents are unable to care for them. The nightmare and intergenerational trauma of residential schools lives on.

  Through my tears, I see it.

Eagle essence Bowl

 Alder wood, abalone and mother of pearl inlay. Pure tung oil and bees wax finish.

 This piece is for sale in Tofino at the Mark Hobson Gallery.

 $650

Medicine Boxes

 These Boxes are made for ceremonial use in the Native American Church. The large one is custom made for a friend who has need for the extra room and sturdy enough to sit on. (cringe!)

 My idea was to laminate contrasting woods and reverse the pattern for the ends of the box so that the opposite wood will show through the dovetail joint. The result is great. It just took me 5 years to get to finishing the boxes. The dovetails are hand cut and time intensive. The lids are coopered then sanded smooth, inside and out.

Hand Carved Bench

 This bench, promenently placed infront of the Roy Henry Vickers gallery in Tofino, is carved from the Western Red Cedar tree that grew on that spot for over 100 years.

Lotus Bowl

 Spalted Alder wood bowl and a Red Cedar base. I added the base to elevate the piece to be able to see its shape, then turned them as one form. The leaves are carved in after the bowl is turned. Finished with walnut oil and bees wax.

 This piece will be available at the Ahtsik Art Gallery in Port Alberni. Soldahtsik.com 

Schooner Hostess stand

 This is a commissioned piece for Mare at the Schooner restaurant in Tofino.

 The frame is made of solid Yew wood and the panels are made of solid spalted Broad Leaf Maple. The logo is carved and then painted. The whole stand is on locking castors to facilitate flexible placing of the stand through the summer days and different seasons. I love the combination of colours in the 2 species of wood. Especially the dynamic spalting in the Maple.

 

Whalers Harpoon

 This Harpoon was created by request for my brother Qwaya Sam of Ahousaht. He is working on a totem pole in Nanaimo B.C. at the University of Vancouver Island, where it will be raised on June 11th 2015. I was priviledged to work on parts of the lower pole and asked to produce a harpoon for the Whaler figure. The Whaler is holding the harpoon in a prayerful, reverent pose.

`Molluscks Cedarus`

  I spotted this big and beautiful piece of wood on the clayoquot shore line in April 2015. I pulled it off the rocks with rope and my power boat and towed to my shop. The full bulk of the wood pushed the maximum weight allowance of my hand winch and crane to get it up to the deck. It instantly lost half of its mass and size in the initial session of removing all that is not snail. The more refined hand work and drying time took much longer. Many months. I have hollowed the snail to get rid of some of the wood that was rotten and to lighten the piece.