From mid-February until early May I have been watching master carver Tommy Joseph create a house pole that will be part of the museum at the Department of Interior’s headquarters in Washington. The pole took shape at Tommy’s skilled hands in the shop at the Sitka National Historical Park. I stopped by the shop on my way to or from my daily walk and I posted pictures of progress on the pole seventeen times this winter and early spring. Overall I posted 81 pictures between February 12 and May 6, when the pole was crated up for shipment to Washington. Over the course of those three months a red cedar log became faces and figures. From sketches on the log a three dimensional forms emerged. When there was a bruise on the log Tommy carved a little deeper. Kristina Cranston added her paintbrush to Tommy’s carving.
Tommy runs Raindance Gallery and has carved poles for the Veteran’s Administration and the Census Bureau, as well as many others around Southeast Alaska.
