Art – Riveted

What We Do When We’re Home

Laura Domela — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 00:03:16 +0000

We love being out on the water aboard Airship, spending months at a time exploring all the nooks and crannies between Puget Sound and Glacier Bay, but there are definitely some things we miss while we’re gone. So while we’re in town, we’re doing all of those things in a big way: lots of visiting with family and friends, working out every day, getting rid of stuff, and eating ALL of the fresh produce!

I’ve also been visiting my studio, which means serious quality time with my printer.

I’ve made over a hundred archival eight by ten prints of some of images I’ve taken over the past couple years. Here are a few of them:

SE Alaska Landscapes: Flynn Cove (L) Reid Glacier (R)

SE Alaska Wildlife: Pack Creek Brown Bears (L) Loud Eagle in Hoonah (R)

B.C. Landscapes: Desolation Sound (L) Princess Louisa (R)

Fishing Nets, Hoonah AK

Rocks with barnacles, Sucia Island, WA

Boats and Boatyards: Port Townsend (L) Anacortes (R)

Florence, Italy street scenes

Seeing my work on the computer is cool, but it’s way more satisfying to hold a print in my hand. Perhaps if we had a bigger boat I might bring my printer along on our travels so I could work more on the water, but it’s kind of nice to keep the printing projects for home. Plus, I have a feeling the printer and papers I use are best kept away from the salt air.

We’ll be back on Airship in the next couple weeks…fingers crossed we get some better weather this time and can actually go out cruising!

Klawock | Prince of Wales Island

Laura Domela — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 22:44:06 +0000

Klawock is about 7 miles by road, north of Craig on Prince of Wales Island. Klawock’s early inhabitants were from Tuxekan (a Tlingit winter village to the north), who used Klawock as their summer fishing camp. In 1868, European Americans opened a trading post and a salmon saltery, and in 1878 Klawock was the site of the very first cannery in Alaska. Klawock also has the oldest hatchery in Alaska (sockeye, coho, and steelhead).

We found space on the dock and wandered into town.

The Klawock Totem Park was on our “to see” list — and just a short walk from the harbor.

The Klawock Totem Park has the largest collection of authentic totem poles in Alaska. There are 21 original and replica totems from the old village of Tuxekan, and they are definitely some of our favorites!

We continued walking to get a feel for the town…there’s a large market about a 15 minute walk from the totem park (larger than the market in Craig by quite a bit!). Across the street from the market there’s a long house, a newly constructed carving shed (both closed) and an area in the yard where many old totems have been retired. (We even spotted a couple originals that we’d seen replicas of in the totem park!)

Back at the harbor we took advantage of the internet (well, sort of…it was VERY slow) and got a bit of work done. Dinner on Airship, and an early night. Tomorrow we’ll be heading up into El Capitan Pass. We plan to stop at Sarkar Cove, Devilfish Bay, and the El Capitan Caves, before heading around to Point Baker.

Reflection Totems

Laura Domela — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 00:56:36 +0000

I took a bunch of these shoreline reflection photos at Klewnuggit Bay and at Farrant Island Lagoon, both anchorages off of Grenville Channel in BC. I call ’em “Reflection Totems.” They might be a little bit much all together (they’re quite detailed) but probably only one at time will fit on your computer screen.

Ketchikan | Waiting for Weather

Laura Domela — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 14:47:08 +0000

As (non)luck would have it, Dixon Entrance was completely calm during the two days we stayed to go to Kasaan for the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House rededication, and now it looks like it’s supposed to be crappy the rest of the week. Tomorrow MAY be a window to go, but we’ll see. No need to push it.

In the meantime, we’re taking advantage of the good internet in Ketchikan to take care of a bunch of work things. We got some groceries, we met our boat neighbor, we shopped, I edited some photos, and we washed the boat (okay, more like rinsed the boat). So here’s a mish mash of all that.

Here’s a quick portrait I did of Haida Chief John McAllister in Kasaan:

Our boat neighbor, Jesse:

Jesse was great…super nice guy. He told Kevin all about his favorite fishing spots and showed him the tackle he liked best…he brought over some bourbon so we could do a shot together, and he enthusiastically let me take photos of him on the dock.

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah…since last year I’ve been eyeing the work of Gene Chilton, a native Tlingit artist. I looked at a few bracelets last year but didn’t buy anything. This year, after meeting his nephew over in Kasaan, I decided to revisit the work, and saw a ring I’d seen before online…one that I really liked. The design is called Love Birds — an eagle and raven in gold, overlaid on a carved silver ring. We walked over to look at it in person and it was just as beautiful in person. So beautiful, in fact, that we both got them. Here’s a close up:

Native American Alaska Jewelry by Gene Chilton

" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?fit=300%2C225" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?fit=541%2C406" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-21359 aligncenter" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?resize=541%2C406" alt="Native American Alaska Jewelry by Gene Chilton" width="541" height="406" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?w=541 541w, https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w" sizes="(max-width: 541px) 100vw, 541px" data-recalc-dims="1" />

Meanwhile, it looks like this outside:

We’re going to grill outside anyway. I’ve got some chicken wings marinating (in a mixture of Frank’s Red Hot, honey, cayenne, paprika, Worcestershire, melted butter, and salt). I made some homemade blue cheese dressing to go with some celery sticks and wings (mayo, sour cream, blue cheese, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, Worcestershire) and some of Deke’s wing sauce for dipping (Frank’s, olive oil, sugar, cayenne, garlic powder, Worcestershire, and pepper).

6am Tuesday morning update: Conditions look good (and like they’re the best they’ll be for the rest of the week), so we’re heading out. We’ll make the call at Foggy Bay whether to go all the way across Dixon Entrance to Prince Rupert. Will keep you updated!

Kasaan | The Re-Dedication of Naay I’waans (the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House)

Laura Domela — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 06:50:47 +0000

Oral history indicates the Haida people have inhabited Haida Gwaii for over 17,000 years. Archeological findings have established habitation on the islands as far back as 13,700 years. Regardless of which number is correct, that’s over 100 centuries of cultural history, dating back beyond 10,000 BC. So when the Haida invite you over to share some of their traditions, it packs quite a bit more weight than a “tradition” like watching football on television at Thanksgiving.

The Haida arrived in Southeast Alaska around 200 years ago from Haida Gwaii. The first clan leader to arrive took the name Son-I-Hat. Son-I-Hat’s household settled at the Old Kasaan village (Gasa’aan) site as early as the 1700s. After the first Son-I-Hat passed on, his nephew (born in 1829) took and carried on the Son-I-Hat name. The village grew to include up to 500 people living in 18 lodges with up to 60 totem poles. In 1862, a smallpox epidemic killed almost ninety percent of the population in Old Kasaan. Son-I-Hat moved his remaining family to a new site (about 10 miles to the north) to a new house he built in 1880. The new house Naay I’waans, was nicknamed the “Whale House.”

By October 2011, the Whale House had fallen into disrepair and a plan was made for its restoration. A team of four carver/craftsmen was tasked with rebuilding the Whale House using traditional methods and with as much of the original components and material as possible. Five years later, the work was complete, and yesterday the village of Kasaan (population normally around 50 people) was packed with hundreds of visitors celebrating the re-dedication of the only remaining Haida longhouse in the United States.

Last summer when we visited Kasaan for the first time, we met several of the carvers on the project. They invited us to come back a year later for the celebration and re-dedication, and so we did!

To start things off, people gathered on the beach in front of the Whale House to greet the canoes from other tribes and clans as they arrived.

Kids playing in the water while the canoes came in. (I heard some people a little unhappy that the kids were ruining every photo, but I disagree.)

This kid got right in on the action of greeting the first canoe to land (from Klawock):

Chief John McAllister warmly greeted every canoe and gave permission to come ashore:

This canoe was designed by Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo), and the canoe was paddled over 30 miles to Kasaan from Ketchikan the day before. They are Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian (with friends of Salish, Quinault, and Chinook heritage):

Carver, Harley Bell-Holter bringing in the canoe from Ketchikan:

Announcing arrival and asking for permission to come ashore:

We were standing next to this kid’s mom, and I believe she said the piece he’s wearing was carved by his grandfather and indicated it was very precious to her…she was freaking out a little bit every time he leaned over the side of the boat with it (which I get! look how cool it is!)

After the canoes had landed successfully, everyone made their way up the beach to the Whale House for the re-dedication.

First, there was dancing and singing…the dancers/singers danced and sang, circling the Whale House and then filed inside, filling it with the good spirit. When they were finished, the speeches and dedications and thank yous began (much of it in the Haida language, which in itself is incredible since there are only a couple dozen people who still speak Haida, and most of them are over 70).

Julia Coburn, the eldest Haida matriarch, spoke early on, flanked by her daughter Jeanie and her grandson Lee.

The carvers, L to R: Harley Bell-Holter, Stormy Hamar, his son Eric Hamar, and Justin Henricks.

And speaking of carving, would you take a look at this adze work!

Each of the carvers spoke about the effect this project had on them, and it was….you know what? There are just no words to describe how incredible this whole thing was. I’m trying, but the level of heartfelt communication coming from every person was something so special to witness. Harley talked about the longhouse being a beacon not just to Haida people, but to ALL people, and it really feels that way. The community is so friendly and welcoming, and the level of respect and honor for the Haida culture and tradition is impressive.

Stormy Hamar and his grandmother:

He said he was trying to be all cool and then his gram came up and made him get all teary and messed up his cool. It was pretty sweet.

I took quite a few detail shots of people and regalia during the in-between times.

Detail of Chief John McAllister’s head piece (while it was not on his head):

I couldn’t help this next shot. This little boy was grabbing hands of gravel and pouring them over his open sandals. Then, he’d go sit on a stump and remove his shoe, pour the sand and gravel out, put his shoe back on, and then do it again.

The re-dedication ended and everyone made their way back via the trail to the village center for food, more singing and dancing performances, gift-giving, and socializing. The canoes, leaving the shore:

There was a large variety of wonderful food: salmon, halibut, spot prawns, crab, corned venison and cabbage, deer ribs (bbq style), deer stew, and many side dishes including salads, sea asparagus, pastas, fry bread, fresh fruit, and many, many cakes. The Totem Trail Cafe cooks were killing it…it was a potluck though, so I don’t know which things they did and which things people brought (I know we brought a big lemon/caper/pasta salad with shaved brussels sprouts, but that’s all I know.)

Gifts (such as gorgeous, hand-carved war helmets, masks, drums, and other amazing pieces of art) were presented to those who had a key part in enabling this restoration. The potlatch and gift-giving tradition is integral and central to this culture. Interesting side note: Potlatches went through “a history of rigorous ban by both the Canadian and United States federal governments.” The generous, gift-giving economy centered around potlatches was seen as “wasteful, unproductive, and contrary to ‘civilized values’ of accumulation.” (Wikipedia) WTF?

Okay, and now more singing and dancing!

The Carver’s Dance:

And I tried, but I do not remember which dance groups were from which places (and they were not listed in the nice program that was handed out, dangit). They were all wonderful:

That’s carver Justin Henricks there, next to the man holding the carved orca rattle that was AMAZING. He was behind us in the food line (his little son was playing with the rattle), and he told us it was very old and had been in his family for a couple generations.

I mean seriously (I zoomed in), how great is this??

Here’s a short compilation video of footage that Kevin took, to give you some sound and movement to go with the still photos:

As the festivities wound down (some time after 7pm), we made our way along the shoreline trail back to Airship.

It was a beautiful evening, and a beautiful day (in all ways).

We hung out on the boat and talked about the day, and then a little bit later we heard some drumming and singing. I opened the door and listened. On the shore, a group of people was playing drums and singing around a couple of bonfires. The sound carrying across the water, combined with the clear, starry sky, after such an amazing day…we grabbed our chairs and some blankets and sat up on the top deck, thinking it just couldn’t get any better. And it couldn’t have, but then it did.

Háw’aa.

Kasaan | Carving Shed Details

Laura Domela — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 07:45:38 +0000

We learned a new word while chatting with the carvers here in Kasaan the other day. It’s a German word that means “making something worse while attempting to make it better.” The word is: verschlimmbessern. They’d just learned it from Thomas, a man we met (while paddling the Haida canoe yesterday!). He’s visiting Kasaan from Germany for the celebration. Verschlimmbessern is a concept every artist and craftsperson knows intimately, and I love that there’s a word for it.

Anyway, we did a bunch of work in the morning yesterday on Airship and then wandered into the village to have some lunch at the Totem Trail Cafe. The food was excellent!! We shared a BLT and a Reuben (the Reuben won but both were great). After lunch we wandered over to the carving shed to hang out and chat some more with the carvers (and get another look at the in-progress totem pole). I took a few more photos of some of the details. Here’s the design for this totem pole, with sections from top to bottom depicting Future, Present, and Past:

You can see the texture well in this light:

The male and female figures at the top of the totem pole, representing the family of the future (there is one child on either side, inside the ears (see design drawing up top). Love the fingernail detail!

Detail of the clam shell. The clam and the crab are part of the Present section of the design:

Rope ties all three sections together, running throughout the entire design:

I love how the grain of the wood works with the design of this face (well, and how the design works with the grain, of course):

The canoes will be arriving today (how many? don’t know. from where? also don’t know. but we’re told there will be canoes), so I’ll try to capture some images of that. So far we’re the only “tourist” boat here at the dock, but town is bustling with quite a few people. (Also, the Port-a-Potties arrived yesterday…the sign of a real “Event”.) Kasaan is connected by road to the towns of Klawock (44 miles) and Craig (50 miles) and the Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) goes between Ketchikan and Hollis. Here’s a map, if you want to see the route to/from Craig, Hollis, and the relationship to Ketchikan, lower right corner:

I think we need to take the boat to Craig next summer.

Oh yeah, last night at sunset, I took photos of the light on the shore too:

But see why it’s so hard to turn around? Just look at what’s going on in the other directions!!

It’s even gorgeous in the boring direction!!!

Kasaan | Paddling a Haida Canoe

Laura Domela — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 02:49:31 +0000

This afternoon we got an opportunity to paddle a hand carved Haida canoe here in Kasaan Bay!

This is the first canoe built by Stormy Hamar (head carver on the longhouse project), and he plans to make more (which is great, because they’re super fun to paddle). It’s a little tippy when you first get in, but as you get used to it and relax (and get moving) it begins to feel pretty easy. This is a smaller, single-person version, carved from red cedar with a decorative, yellow cedar edge. If you want to see other examples of Haida canoes, check out this link to some images.

What a cool thing to be able to do! Thanks Stormy!!

Sitka and the Fortress of the Bear

Laura Domela — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 18:08:43 +0000

We had a nice breakfast with Sam and Anna in Kalinin Bay on Friday morning and then said goodbye to Safe Harbour as Sam and Anna cruised out toward Peril Strait to the east side of Baranof Island, and we headed south to Sitka. We decided to troll for a bit after leaving the bay and about 10 minutes in, Deke caught a nice coho.

Kevin filleted it for him while we were underway. All that filleting practice is paying off. Look at these beauties!

We arrived at our slip in Eliason Harbor and immediately met our neighbor because Tiffani needed to meet his dogs, pronto.

We grabbed a cab (Hank’s Cab) and headed for Fortress of the Bear so we could make it before they closed. Fortress of the Bear in Sitka, Alaska is a private, non-profit bear rehabilitation center. They rescue abandoned or sick cubs and bring them back to health and then care for them. The rescue center opened in 2007, and now houses 8 bears. We arrived in Sitka on Friday afternoon and decided that since we hadn’t seen a whole lot of bears over the last two weeks with Tiffani and Deke, we could visit the Fortress of the Bear to get a good close up look at some brown and black bears.

Pretty cool to see them close up (and not on a trail during a hike). Admission is $10.

After Fortress of the Bear, we stopped at the Alaska Pure Sea Salt Company to get more Alder Smoked Sea Salt (absolutely the best smoked sea salt ever). We also grabbed a bag of their new Vanilla Bean Flake Salt, which is nicely mild and has a great flavor that isn’t desserty at all.

After salt, we stopped in the Sitka Rose Gallery, (the place where we bought a couple Eric Bealer woodcut prints last year). We bought one more Bealer print (Puffins!), and also we found some work by a new artist at the gallery that we really liked (Brenda Schwartz-Yeager), so we bought two of her prints. One on paper, and one printed on aluminum. They are prints from original watercolor paintings on nautical charts. This is the one on paper, called Secluded Harbor:

The chart behind the painting is everywhere we’ve been in SE Alaska. So cool! Here are a couple detail shots:

And here is the one printed on aluminum. This chart shows SE AK, the Gulf, and a bit more, and I can’t remember the title of this one (it’s all wrapped up now). This one’s a little harder to capture in a photo because of the reflective quality of the brushed metal. It’s great in person.

We are (obviously) catching up on blog posts now, as well as a doing bunch of work here in Sitka for a couple days. We were super sad to say goodbye to Tiffani and Deke yesterday morning.

Today was filled with exciting events like doing laundry, filling our propane, grocery shopping, washing the boat, cleaning the inside of the boat, fueling up, and picking up some more patch glue for any future dinghy repair we might need to do. We got a tear on the starboard side of the Zodiac while in Klag Bay, probably on some submerged metal thing from the mining operation there, so Kevin hightailed it (sagging a bit) back to Airship with Sam following in his dinghy, so we could get it up on the davit to examine the damage. It was about an inch and a half tear. We patched it up and it seems to be holding nicely…after it didn’t hold once…so we’ll keep an eye on it and get more patch glue in case we need it. Fun stuff!

Here’s the route from Kalinin Bay to Sitka (26.7 nautical miles, 4 hours 20 minutes):

I think we’ll head out tomorrow or Tuesday…back up to Peril Strait and out to the east side of Baranof Island.

The Village of Kasaan

Laura Domela — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 23:22:47 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We left Meyers Chuck this morning and headed out into Clarence Strait and headed for the village of Kasaan, across the Strait and on the east side of Prince of Wales Island about 30 miles northwest of Ketchikan.

Kasaan (population around 53) is one of the only two Haida villages in Alaska, and gets its name from the Tlingit word meaning “beautiful place.” The Haida people migrated north from Haida Gwaii and established the village Gasa’aan, now known as “old Kasaan” on Skowl Arm seven miles from today’s Kasaan.

We tied up on the public float, which is very nice. In many of the reviews about Kasaan, there’s talk of how bad the dock is (things like “awash in anything but fair weather” and “a disaster waiting to happen” etc.) but from what we can see, things have been much improved since those reviews were written. The dock portion we’re on appears like new, and the other sections must have seen some improvements in recent years.

We headed up to explore the village, and find the trail to the once abandoned, now being restored Haida longhouse.

Boardwalk trail along the waterfront:

Cool stuff, this way:

The trail took us through rainforest, along the water, and over streams (with salmon still heading up ’em):

This longhouse is Alaska’s oldest Haida longhouse, called Naay I’waans (“The Great House” — also known as Chief Son-i-Hat Whale House), originally built by Chief Son-i-Hat in 1880. (Although Son-i-Hat is a Tlingit name meaning “well respected,” both the Chief and his wife were of Haida descent.)

There were 32 (I think) clan members who originally lived in the house. After Chief Son-i-Hat’s death in 1912, the family moved out of the longhouse and the structure eventually deteriorated (wood + rainforest = eventual ruin). The Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt it in the late 1930s. (The totem pole in front of the house was carved by James Peele in 1939 during restoration, copied from the original.)

But of course the house would eventually need further restoration and repair, and in November 2013, the restoration project received a $450,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation. (The Rasmuson Foundation is an Anchorage-based private foundation to promote better lives for Alaskans, with focus on areas such as arts & culture, health, and social services).

The lead carver on the Whale House restoration project is Stormy Hamar, working with apprentices Eric Hamar (his son), Harley Bell-Holter, and Justin Henricks. We were greeted by Harley Holter who was super nice and from this spot on the roof gave us a thorough rundown on the project and some history of the longhouse and totems:

The totems inside the longhouse with the white faces are the originals from 1880, and the one in the center is much older. (I don’t think we learned where the center one came from, just that it was probably a couple hundred years old.)

They are all in remarkable condition considering their age!

The smoke hole in the center of the roof:

The view from in front of the longhouse, looking out into Kasaan Bay:

Birds on a log:

In the forest surrounding the Whale House are more totems:

Skáwaal Pole (below, aka First Eagle Pole). This pole is about 50-feet high and was one of two poles which stood in front of Chief Skáwaal’s Rib House. When the pole was moved to New Kasaan, the thunderbird figure at the top was replaced and the surface was carved down to solid wood during the CCC restoration. The carved figures below the ring appear the same for each pole: Raven with the moon in its beak; Raven holding his beak bent down in his hands; and at the base, a bear with cubs in its mouth. This pole was removed from the village and restored at New Kasaan:

The 40-foot Spencer Pole (below) was raised by Kate Gamede, a Kasaan woman of Táas Láanas clan, as a memorial to her husband, a photographer from Victoria, BC. The image of Mr. Spencer appears at the top of the pole; below appear scroll patterns; Raven carrying the moon in his mouth; and Black Skin, the strong man, holding the sea lion. The last figure illustrates a story familiar to the Haida and Tlingit; a weak boy who trained and finally overcame all of his stronger relatives. His chief exploit was tearing a sea lion in two to the consternation of his companions. This pole was taken down on December 22, 1938 in Old Kasaan and barged to the new site where it was adzed and re-carved by David Peele. [source]

Killer whale grave figure (a CCC reproduction):

Here are a couple of photos of old Kasaan, for reference:

The goal is to finish the Whale House restoration by December. We told Harley we’d come back next summer to see it, and he said we should come back for the big potlatch on September 3. (He also said to just beach the boat over in front of the longhouse, and that many people would be arriving by canoe.) We’ll definitely come back, but perhaps not beach the boat.

We walked back through the village and stopped at the carving shed and chatted with Justin. He was hand adzing some wall boards, but seemed happy to give it a break to show us some of the projects they’ve got going in there:

The curl on the sides of this canoe is from the tree’s original shape. To do the final shaping (so it’s not just a rollover-machine) they’ll take it out and fill it about half full of salt water and then place hot lava rocks inside, creating hot water and steam that will enable them manipulate the wood.

Paddles:

The carving shed recently hosted a free paddle workshop. So cool!!

After we left the shed we walked up to the school to check out the Unity Pole (raised in 2007) carved by Tsimshian master carver Stan Marsden (1930 to 2015). The pole’s base depicts a bear holding up a healing man with a basket of roses (also referred to as the “uninvited guest” who appears with a rose for everyone — the rose representing love, peace, and beauty–the guest is asked to stay). It also has a killer whale, eagle, raven and thunderbird, with three watchmen at the top.

On the way back to the dock, we saw a giant white slug (two of them, actually):

The weather just keeps improving, which is great because there’s a good chance for more Northern Lights tonight (if the sky is clear enough to see them):

Looking from the trail toward the public dock:

We are back at Airship now doing some work and our plan is to head over to Ketchikan tomorrow to start the watch-and-wait for a good Dixon Entrance crossing (and to do some laundry, and get some mail, and more groceries, but not the stuff we can’t take into Canada, like eggs or potatoes or garlic or lemons).

Not sure what we’ll do for dinner tonight yet, but it’s beautiful out, so we probably should take advantage of that and grill something.

Today’s route from Meyers Chuck to the village of Kasaan (our track in green, about 30 nautical miles):

Hoonah, AK

Laura Domela — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 00:51:21 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

Today was a rainy rainy day in Hoonah. (That's the view from Airship's galley, above.)

But we had things to see, so we suited up "full Alaska" (rain pants, rain jacket, hat, Xtratufs) and headed out to do some exploring. First up at 9am was a visit to the carver's studio just up the road, where local native artists Gordon Greenwald, Herb Sheakley and Owen James are working on the cultural elements of the traditional Huna Tribal House being built in Bartlett Cove in Glacier National Park.

Our tip from Sherrie–the harbormaster here–to get there at 9am when they opened in order to beat the cruise ship crowd was a great tip! We heard later from some boat neighbors who went later on that there were about 20 people in there when they visited. We were the only ones at 9am, and spent a lot of time chatting with the carvers and learning about the project.) More info about the project is here if you're interested.

I took a bunch of photos, but even shooting RAW the white balance was so hard to get right in the final photos. The light was a mix of natural light and giant green fluorescent jobbies hanging from the ceiling, so I'm giving you the black and white versions (which look much better).

These panels make up what will be front of the tribal house:

The panels are all hand-textured, and the texturing alone takes about 12 hours per panel:

Handmade tools for the job (the one on the far left has an antler for a handle…the rest are from tree trunk/branch sections):

This is carver Gordon Greenwald, telling us how they make the tools, and why the wood handles are better than the antler handles (because they're softer and have a little give when you're using them, and the antler handles are too hard, and the impact transfers more into your hand when you work):

We also got to see the four interior house posts, each one representing one of the four original Tlingit clans. The clans are the T'akdeintaan, (Raven), Wooshkeetaan, Chookaneidí and Kaagwaantaan (all eagle moieties). The central pole carvings are a goat, a shark, an octopus and a wolf, respectively. Each image has to do with the history and stories of that particular clan.

Here's one color shot that turned out okay, so you can see the paint colors (that's the shark, and the spine of the shark which is important for the story of this corner house post, but I don't know that particular story). They're using consumer paint to match the traditional pigments (and not, for instance, salmon roe mixed with saliva):

On the corner post next to the shark…this story I kind of know. It's story of a giant octopus who was snatching villagers as they went about their daily fishing and gathering. Since the clans get so much of their everything from the sea, they could not go on being afraid of the water.

A boy (I forgot his name) tied a spear or a knife to his hand, killed a dolphin to use as bait, and went out in his canoe to attract the giant octopus. He threw out the dolphin parts and the giant octopus showed up and grabbed the bait and the boy and the boy was never seen again. But soon, the carcass of the tentacled monster washed up on the beach and the young man's body was found inside.

This one tells the story of the glaciers in Glacier Bay advancing (at the speed of a running dog). Some young men were hurrying to tell the rest of the villagers to flee, but the glacier was moving too fast and swallowed them up before they could warn the others.

The orca's blow hole is often depicted as a face, because the spray of the whale's breath is like a spirit that radiates from the blowhole and without it the whale could not breathe.

Traditional tribal carved headwear, some with fur:

Gordon was so nice to spend so much time with us and share so much information with us. Follow along with the progress of the Huna Tribal House here on facebook, if you're interested. I think we won't get into Glacier Bay this trip. We'd like to have more time to spend in there, and I'm doubting there's much in the way of internet so we'll aim for next summer and as a bonus, we'll probably get to see this work on the actual Tribal House there in Bartlett Bay when it's finished.

After the carver's studio visit, we headed down to Icy Strait Point to get in a bit of touristy activity at the cannery (about a 2 mile walk from the marina).

The bummer about the cruise ship(s) being here is that the town is flooded with (a minimum of) 2,500 more people. The benefit of that, however (besides the economic impact is has on a small Alaskan town of 750), is that many of the places that would not be open on a "no cruise ships day" are open. (Like, the baleen and fry bread place, for instance.)

The cannery museum and shops and restaurants (and zip line, of course) were all open today, so we grabbed some halibut fish & chips and a beer and had a fun conversation with some other diners from the cruise ship. (Seven days! All they get up here is 4 ports in 7 days!)

They've got a bunch of the old equipment in there with a ton of info about how they processed and canned salmon when the cannery was a working cannery:

I even bought a touristy thing in the gift shop. (Well, I bought two…one for Tiffani and Deke, since I'm pretty sure if they'd seen it, they'd have gotten one for themselves anyway.) Click to enlarge, for full detail.

The woman working in the gift shop was super nice and gave us a good tip for a breakfast spot (and what to order) tomorrow morning before we take off for Elfin Cove. (Everyone we've met here in Hoonah has been so nice and friendly. This is a sweet little town and a recommended stop.)

Our walk back in the rain was wet but pretty:

The forecast tomorrow looks good for Icy Strait so we'll head to Elfin Cove and then on to Pelican if the Icy Strait/Cross Sound conditions stay chill. After that, I think we'll start heading….I know, please no, but we have to….south. Slowly, very slowly…south. I have to stop thinking about it now.

Hey look! Another humpback! Shiny!!