Well, my wife and I finally got around to getting the patio ready for summer. As you can likely tell by the recent posts, we have been travelling quite a bit so getting the chance to stay at home and putter around the yard is a real treat!

I came across a gang of little fellows who reside in the gardens around the house and was lucky to catch them all together having a bit of a confab:

These guys were carved 3 or 4 years ago out of either Birch or Poplar logs. There was no finish applied so they are showing wear.

After I snapped the above shot it startled them and they ran off to hide. I was able to spot them again throughout the gardens. Here’s some more photos I captured of them:

Continue reading 'Grinning Garden Gods In The Green'

My next visit was to the Museum Of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Where a previous post was focused on contemporary First Peoples woodcarvings the MOA offers insight into the past with the history of these carvings told through artifacts.

The museum was started more than fifty years ago and now houses some 535,000 ethnographic and archaeological objects, many of which originate from the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. It is Canada’s largest teaching museum and its collections, exhibitions and programs are renowned for giving access and insight into the cultures of indigenous peoples around the world.

When I arrived at the information desk I was informed that there was a tour starting immediately so I quickly joined it and took advantage of an excellent presentation by a well informed staff member. I was treated to glimpse inside the rich history of Canada’s First Peoples as told through their woodcarvings. In addition to the long term exhibits I also got a chance to view the visiting ‘Treasures of the Tsimshian from the Dundas Collection’ which included 48 pieces collected by Rev. Robert J. Dundas at Metlakatla, BC, in 1863.

Continue reading 'The Museum Of Anthropology At UBC'

I got to spend an enjoyable day in Vancouver’s Stanley Park recently. The high point of the day was my visit to Totem Park where there is an excellent display of eight different Totem poles that represent a variety of woodcarving styles and artists. The Totems range in size from an estimated 12 to 25 feet and all but one is brightly painted. It is easy to see why this is one of the most photographed tourist attractions in British Columbia!

The Totems on display are the Oscar Maltipi Pole, the Beaver Crest Pole, the Chief Wakas Pole, the Sky Chief Pole, the Thunderbird House Post, Ga’akstalas, Kaka’solas, and the Chief Skedans Mortuary Pole. Unfortunately the Beaver Crest Pole is hidden in the above photo. It resides on the left-hand side of the display sort of behind the Oscar Maltipi Pole. (guess I’ll have to go back to get better photos ;))

Also on display at the park are three huge 15 foot tall ‘gateways’, entitled “People Amongst the People” which were designed and crafted by Coast Salish carver, Susan Point. This is a new addition to the park, in fact, the unveiling for it was within days of my visit. Since Totem Park is located in Coast Salish territory and the Totem poles were made by the Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida and Nisga’a it is nice to see that the Coast Salish are finally being represented here.

Continue reading 'The Totem Poles Of Totem Park'

While in Vancouver recently I had the chance to drop by Hill’s Native Art at their Gastown location. With five outlets in British Columbia, Hill’s is the largest Northwest Coast Native Art Gallery in North America, and has acquired the largest and most varied collection of First Nations and Inuit arts and crafts. They exhibit hundreds of works by emerging and internationally renowned artists that represents every Tribe and Nation of the Northwest Coast.

I was treated to three floors of some of the finest carvings and art that I have ever seen! There are masks, totems, bentwood boxes, sculptures, wall panels, feast dishes, talking sticks and much more by such artists as Susan Point, Jerry Whitehead, Jim Charlie and George Storry, to name just a few.

In addition to wood carvings they also have an extensive showing of hand-carved jewelry, baskets, drums, paintings, bead work and their famous Cowichan knits. They also have quite a large book section related to Native art.

Here are some photos of the carvings that are displayed there:

Continue reading 'The Hills Are Alive With Native Art!'

No, it’s not Christmas! And not that kind of goose! This is a flying Canada goose that I carved a couple of years ago as a Christmas gift for my wife. It was a whimsical project in a folk art kind of way that was fun to do.

It was based on an article in Issue #4 of the Carving magazine. I was intrigued by the way that the wings were done so I thought I’d give it a try. It was also my first time at painting a piece.

The project was quite simple. Basically cutting the pattern out for the body and a bit of carving around the head and beak. The wings were cut out and feathers carved using a V tool. It sits on a wooden shaft and base and stands approximately 22″ high.

Here is a close up of the wing. You can see where it was carved to give a layered look:

Continue reading 'A Carved Flying Canada Goose'

While my time spent on woodcarving has waned a bit lately my interest in this age old handcraft is still as strong as ever. I enjoy all facets of woodcarving, from simple whittlings to architectural masterpieces. One of my keen interests has always been in sculptural carvings.

Here are a couple of carvings of grape leaves that I did as an exercise in tool technique and working with grain direction. They are about 10″ in length and 7″ wide and carved from Basswood.

I did these through a weekly class held at a local Italian Cultural Center. The class goals were to learn and practise the skills and traditional techniques of sculpting in wood and to explore the still life, wildlife, Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

Continue reading 'Sculptured Grape Leaf Woodcarvings'

I’m planning on visiting my carving buddy sometime this week for coffee and a chat. Knowing that he’s going to ask me how I’m coming along with my woodcarving I thought that I’d better get busy and do some, so I decided to carve a little Shelf Elf.

A Shelf Elf is a small carving of an elf-like figure that sits on the edge of a shelf and usually has a log beard that hangs over the edge:

This fellow is made from Pine and approximately 3″ from the top of his hat to the tip of his beard. These are a fun project to do. They don’t take too much time and can make great gifts.

Here are a couple of photos of other Shelf Elves that I did:

Continue reading 'A Shelf Elf Made By Myself'

I realized that there were no posts related to woodcarving so I thought I’d upload some photos of the few carvings that I have done. Although I enjoy carving it seems to always drop to the bottom of the list of things to do and be pre-empted for time. Perhaps seeing these will inspire me to pick up the chisels again in the near future.

Here is a photo of one the first carvings I did. This was around the latter part of 2003. It is a cowboy boot that’s made of pine and stands about 6″ tall. I finished it with a dark stain, trying to give it that ’scuffed old boot’ look’:

Continue reading 'Sleeping Birds, Boots And Spirits'