Hacking on the back

After work today I had some time to carve a bit. So I turned the 12' pole that I'm working on over to hollow out the back more. Generally on these smaller pole I like to rough out the front and establish all my depths in the sculpture, then can assess how much to hallow out the back without going through. Some people carve poles in different ways and styles. some carvers only go a prescribed depth consistent on the entire pole = think a vertical cylinder with the carved creatures placed on. But I tend to ignore that and just have fun sculpting away until I think it looks right. so, for better or worse I usually have all different depths and minimal background.... Any way I had fun hacking out the back of this pole this evening maybe i can clean it up soon. I don't have a shop right now so I'm working on the porch.... I'm hoping to sell the pole and build a shop sometime...

Duane Pasco Prints at garage sale

I haven't used this blog for some time, but now I will attempt to make more posts. My main objective is to share my passion and ideas about northwest coast aboriginal art. Also, teaching is an interest of mine. I have several art and education degrees. So, I hope through future post I can share my ongoing understanding of art as I continue to learn.

With that i would like to post about a set of Duane Pasco prints that I was lucky enough to find at a garage sale this week for $100 bucks. These prints have always been a favorite, I never thought I would get to own some. I have admired Pasco's work since I was a kid, and have learned a great deal by studying his art and periodically visiting with him. Pasco is a real inspirational fella.

What I enjoy so much about these illustrations of Paco's, is how he rendered the people. Not only are these illustrations just dynamite beautiful but there is information about carving/sculpting the figures in the way that Pasco has  conceptually rendered figures. they look like they are carved.

The print where done in 1988 and where illustrations for a book that I have included a picture of. The book is out of print but I assume can be found online used....

Eagle Head

The eagle head on the Salish house post is almost finished but there is still a lot of work to do on the rest of the project. Fred Fulmer has been lending a hand…

I got a chance to make a new finishing/texturing adze & a small J-bend crooked knife. Both blades are made from old Nicholson files. The small knife blade is simply lashed to a Madonna wood sick. The texture adze is the tool that often creates the final surface on the sculpture, the subtle rows of texture…

Low relief-carved faces

 

This is my first post on this web-blog. I’m not sure but I think that it might be an ok way to share art ideas and conversation? Low relief-carved faces are seen on many historic items on the coast. I enjoy looking at Tlingit low relief faces, because they have the appearance of being highly sculpted, but are often carved very shallow in depth, and this presents a challenge. These pictures are several inspirational historic examples, followed by a few that I made an effort at after studying the attributes of the old classic  pieces.

Thanks to Tommy Joseph of Sitka for his pictures of the old historic masterpieces.