Simon Koonook

Simon Koonook carving soapstone.

Simon was so fast at carving soapstone that he would get coated in soapstone dust. I would sit there drinking coffee and watch him...turn a stone into a bear in 15 or 20 minutes. It was just amazing to see. I started off sanding sculptures for him, first starting with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper, then finishing with 400 grit. He would sand the sculpture in warm water, keeping the hazard of dust in check, then he would dry it off. The sculpture would be sprayed with an acrylic spray. He often said that the smell of the spray smelled like money. He was a great believer in afternoon naps... so if I was stuck on a sculpture mid afternoon, I would have to find him, then wake him up. He had such a sweet spirit that he would smile, get a cup of coffee, then proceed to help me. The last carving technique I learned from him was using a bow saw for rough cutting the stone. The saw does the most work, thus it is the most important step. It removes the most material. It took me a long time to master the saw, I used to cut myself so many times that I had a small first aid kit in my tool box. Now I can cut stone without really thinking... thoughts just turn into action... voila!... a sculpture.

Inupiaq sculptor & painter, from Point Hope, Alaska.

Simon illustrated some books with his paintings... if you google him... you will see the books his drawings are in. He used to be a DJ at a radio station in Barrow... and he would sometimes talk like he was on the radio. He was so funny that he would entertain crowds of people that was watching us. The Wiemer gallery was a place that traveling artists would come by to visit... to show thier latest work. It was so great meeting so many outstanding artist. I knew back then that I really loved this work. It slowly took hold in my life, until it was all I thought of... sculpture. I later studied and worked with Simon's teacher in Anchorage at TAHETA... with George John and Patrick Mezzena. Later I will tell you interesting stories of my time at TAHETA. I can give you a hint... the profession picks the person... it takes a special person to be a native artist.