Buffalo Warrior

This carving is from a rough-out that is 8 inches tall. This is what a medicine man might wear. I like the colorful hair wrap and beads. It contrasts all the brown tones.

War Eagle

One of the classes at the NW Carving Academy in Ellensburg, Washington was taught by Jeff Harness. I am very happy the way this Native American Indian turned out and the instruction from Jeff. It was carved out of Cottonwood bark, 10 inches by 4 inches and 3 inches thick. The bark had a crack on the side which bark can have at times. It was a week long course at the fair grounds. A  couple of evenings I wood burned a horse on basswood. It was my attempt to shade. 

 

Indian with Braids

The holiday season has come upon us. Thanksgiving is just a few days away.  Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have. I too have many things to be thankful for.

The native american is carved out of cottonwood bark. It's about 11 inches tall. In carving the braids, Don Mertz gave an explanation on how to carve the braids. Draw a zig zag line down the braid. Extend the upward lines to the edge of the braid. Use a v-tool and knife to separate and shape the segments. I hope this helps.

Indian in Cottonwood Bark

I've been working hard at carving the face in bark. I was thrilled to win a best of division at the Spokane carving show.

Buffalo Shaman

In ancient times shaman was a counselor and healer. The bison provided food, clothes, and shelter for the American Plains Indians. This was a great spiritual significance. A nomadic lifestyle allowed the people to stay close to the herds. Before the hunts the tribal Shaman (religious leader) asked for strength for the hunters and success in the hunt. This is from a Rex Branson roughout. It is 9 1/2 inches tall. 

WISHHAM YOUNG WOMAN

This carving is from a Edward Curtis portrait of a young indian woman in 1910. She is a Chinookan from Washington state. The tribes were along the Colombia River and along the coast. She is from the Wishham tribe. The choker around her neck is shell disks and earrings are abalone. These were used as barter and they were good at trade. It takes me some time to carve portraits as I don't measure the different layers. I go by if it looks right to me, so I carve it a little at a time. The dark brown area is a pitch mark that goes all the way through the wood.

 

Native American

I carved this American Indian in cottonwood bark. It is 10 inches tall and 3 inches wide. There are a couple minor things I would change, all-though I like the way it turned out. It's not based on any particular tribe. I would like to show some of the features of the different tribes in the future.

Native American Indian

This Native American Indian is carved in cottonwood bark that I found along a creek in Idaho. It is 14 inches tall by 4 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches thick. I added a couple of strings of beads and ear rings. The different tribes used a wide variety of material, beads, bone, teeth, shells, leather, fur, and feathers.  My wife decided it looked good on a table in the living room. If you are on Facebook a good site to check out is "Native American Indian - Old Photos". There are pictures from a lot of different tribes and it may take you all day to go though them. It is an excellent site for reference. 

Native American Indian

I took a three hour class at the West Glacier Rendezvous by Ron Adamson of this Native American Indian. I had finished the face in the class; the hair, braids, bead work and medallion were finished at home. The wood is cottonwood bark and is 4 inches wide and 16 inches long. I was going to put grooves in the feather but the the grain of the bark showed feather lines. It was finished with semi-gloss Deft. It is darker than the picture shows. If you are on Facebook you might want to look up Native American Indian - Old Photo. It has 172 photo albums and 422 photos by others featuring a lot of different tribal members.

Chief Kamiakin

Back in January a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts asked if our club would carve four different subjects for their jamboree in July. Girard and I worked from a bronze plaque of Chief Kamiakin. He was distinguished as a warrior and buffalo hunter. He accrued substantial wealth, allowing him to marry five wife's from rival tribes. This created kinship with many tribes. He brought back cattle to the Yakima valley, a first. Kamiakin planted one of the earliest gardens and irrigated his land. In1850 he offered a Catholic priest a place on his property for a mission, if the priest would teach his tribe. Two Catholic Fathers arrived, and built St.Joseph's Mission on Ahtanum Creek. In 1853 the Washington Territory was established and the treaty process begin. Kamiakin died in 1877.

Native American

A Native American carved out of a 2" x 5" x 8" piece of basswood. It's painted with acrylics. There's always been a great interest in these past warrior's and their history.  The back is cut out and it is meant to be a mask with the eyes cut out. It is carved half size and makes a great wall hanging.

Chief Kamiakin

At our North Idaho Woodcarvers club get together we had a visit from a scoutmaster. The Boy Scouts are having a national jamboree in July and asked if we could carve some relief carvings of something that represents their troop. There are four troops in eastern Washington and four troops in northern Idaho in the Inland Northwest Council. Our club is doing the Idaho side and the carved plaques will be mounted on a nine foot pole. I will be working with a friend, Girard on the profile of Chief Kamiakin, which was chosen by one of the troops. This picture is a likeness of the Chief given to us to use as a guide.