The Art of the Ages

For me it’s a necessity to work directly with the raw mediums in traditional ways. There is a connection with the ancient times that I feel during the preparation and activity of casting an artwork.

In my casting style I sometimes encourage a random activity as to give each piece a uniqueness unto itself. For instance, in casting the bronze Seafarer mask, bent and broken propellers were used and sand and clay from here from the ground that I live. I think in a way the source of the materials truly invibes the artwork that is created, and the process which with many crafts are time honored and secretive since knowledge is power. This makes for a colorful journey through my own processes of being a living artist. I regularly do commissioned metal castings where you, the customer, can choose materials even using personal items for an example in a spiritual, devotional art work or a memorial artwork.
Contact me anytime; let’s talk about your idea.

The totem in the picture was carved through the inspiration and quiet meditation on the relationships that still exist today.
Magnificent Old Growth Cedar Totem Pole. Dimensions: 199” x 37”
Carved from one solid piece of ancient red Cedar.
This house pole shows the relationship of the animal spirits and human beings. At the bottom the human sits, protected by the strength of Bear, while Bear consumes the ones with unquenchable thirsts, and the Ancestors watch from Bear's ears, hearing and seeing everything. Above Bear, Moon-Frog translates the stories and legend of human events into the language that Mother Earth understands. Rising above the great Moon-Frog is the mechanism of the Sun, churning through our sky so long as to seem endless. Resting on the top of the Sun is the face of She Who Watches, announcing with confidence that beyond her is human territory. And crowning the hierarchy of these causes and events stands the Raven; responsible for the placement of each player in the magnificent procession.

This piece of ancient old growth Cedar is more like a shard, a sliver of a great tree with potential dimensions of 15 to 25' across at the base. as can be seen in photographs taken by Mr D.R Kinsey of Snoqualmie photographed in and around the 1890's. At this time in our society, this truly is a magnificent wonder of nature, to be held in a time capsule as a piece of art for future generations to recognize possibly for a moment, the size and grandeur of these leafy beings. I feel that this exposure to something much larger than we are invites the mind to summon reverence for all things of this world. This piece of sculpture is designed for indoor or outdoor installation. Given proper placement in your home, this piece of art could easily be carried through a doorway into your living room and installed as a main architectural feature in your home.

I look forward to your continued interest and would like to leave you with a quote from one of my heroes, who gives us a criteria in order to recognize a practicing human being. Master-carver Bill Reid says "To be human means to know the needs of your fellow human beings and the needs of mother earth. I think we could use a few more human beings here."

Totem for the House Raven’s Marriage of Moon Beams Walking on the Beach

One night when the moon was full, the Raven was flying the beach, and in the corner of his eye he glimpsed what he thought were two moonbeams walking along the sea’s edge. Since Raven likes all things that are shiny, and is responsible for the placement of everything in our reality, the raven looks over his wing as he passes the dancing luminescence. Ahah! he says to himself, as to exclaim possibly through remembrance. Yes, these two beautiful moonbeams are the ones to be blessed today, for I am the Raven, and being at the heart, the nature of things, I recognize you two beautiful human souls again. It is true that I am everywhere at each moment for a reason, and at this moment Raven blesses your marriage, and smiles upon your moon beam souls that travel the moonlit beaches of this island. Be at peace, for your family will be wise, and the house of two moon beams will have the strength to last time. As the flame of two houses becomes one, so you have the Raven’s blessing, for the Raven’s marriage of two moonbeams walking on the beach.

And so if you are very quiet and the moon is full, and if by chance you happen to glimpse the moonbeams dancing in and amongst the red and amber agates cast across the sand, spring free and be as one in the gentle light of the dancing moonbeams.

In moments of reverence and love, we as human beings are sometimes called by our deeper self to state, for the record of life, the great accomplishments and heroic deeds of a person’s life. To express this in a symbolism of a culture, country or idea we must use a language. On the west coast the totem has taken the form of this story-telling stage to memorialize everyone and everything in this world. As you tell me of their deeds and noble actions, we create an animal or super natural creature to portray the members of your family, fellowship triumphs or acts of noble devotion and deeds of close companions. A vision starts and comes into reality of your timeless journey through the path of life with your soul-mates of this wondrous exploration. Now with a strong vision in mind we can start with the sketch and design. Next is to choose the cedar wood and size. The design on the right is to be in cedar 5 foot high 17 inches wide. This totem is a tribute to a life of love and compassion, hence the marriage of the frog, land and sea, turtle to symbolize the feminine and masculine forms of wife and husband, and the strength, love and protection of mother earth in the image of the bear. Holding the turtle symbolizes wisdom, knowledge and perseverance. The turtle kissing the frog in super natural communication ensures the marriage will stay in focus and good communication will be the house of their love, since the frog is the linguist of the earth and speaks the language of all the animals, humans and ancestors. A pivotal creature in the diplomacy of love in this world here on earth.

Today we are making an anniversary house panel for the House of Windy

Now that we have milled all of the cedar, cut our mortise and tenon joints and drilled the holes for the dowling so the panel won’t be likely to warp, we can now prepare to glue the panel together.

Now that everything is glued together and tight, it’s time to work on the patterns for casting two bronze salmon leaping towards the center of the panel. And here in the center of the panel you can see the pattern which has been made for casting a brilliant bronze sun to greet your family each morning with golden rays bringing warm hues into your home. Once cast, the bronze sun and happy jumping salmon will be mounted upon the cedar panel and finished with a hand-applied finish to bring out the true tones of the cedar wood. May the sun shine forever in your wonderful house with many blessings.