AFN Arts & Craft Show --- Anchorage

Brian Chilton & Sonny manning the table
The 2008 Alaska Federation of Natives Arts & Craft show was held in Anchorage at thier new convention center on October 23rd, 24th and 25th. Doug Chilton, Gene Chilton, and I drove up from Haines to Anchorage... a drive that is about 870 miles. Brian Chilton flew up from Juneau. The AFN is mostly a political event of Alaska Native leaders from all over the state. Alaska's political leaders all come to address the assembly... Mark Begich spoke, as well as Don Young. Ted Stevens was having his trial at the moment, and our worship... the governor... Sarah Palin was running for Vice President of the U.S. The AFN has a show called the AFN Arts & Craft Show... which attracts the best native artist in the whole state of Alaska. This is definately the most important show we have here in the far north.

Silver & Copper bracelets & stone sculptures.
The Chiltons had thier Tlingit silver & copper engraved bracelets & jewelery. I had my stone sculptures of polar bears, seals, sea lion rookeries, owls, and whales... all made of soapstone. We did quite well... but we did better in Fairbanks when they hosted AFN. But there was many more vendors here than there was in Fairbanks. The convention center is so beautiful... It was quite comfortable place to have a show.






Aakatchaq Schaeffer
My friend Aakatchaq Schaeffer came by for a visit. I haven't seen her since the Juneau Public Market in 2007. Her work is quite beautiful... especially her masks. Her paintings are great too, I am sad that I missed a show of hers... just down the street. She is talented and so great to talk about art. That is why I love these shows... you get to catch up with other artists friends... and see thier latest work. I was trying to convince Aakatchaq to come down to Juneau for the Public Market. The only problem is there is never enough time to visit... because after the show is over... everyone is tired. I did get to spend a little time with her... she came over to my sister Carolyn for dinner. It was fun. You can check out her work at her website listed at the bottom of this web page.



Brian Chilton Jr., Gene Chilton, and Aakatchaq.
Gene Chilton, Brian Chilton, Aakatchaq, and myself were at the table. Doug Chilton was at the AFN conferences... working on different native issues. It doesn't look like much art on the table... but it is all work thousands of dollars.





A view of the main floor of the AFN Show
There was about 120 vendors... maybe more. Our table was easy to find... we had a six foot totem pole next to it.






Sonny and Aakatchaq

It is always sad to say goodbye. Doug and I were getting ready for the long drive back to Haines. It was quite cold outside... about 9 degrees F. I'll miss Aakatchaq... as well as other artists here in Anchorage.

ANB Arts & Crafts Show --- Juneau, Alaska

Front Table: Brian Chilton, Doug Chilton & Sonny

This is the first annual Alaska Native Brotherhood Arts & Craft Show held at the ANB Camp 2 on Willoughby Avenue in Juneau. This event also celebrated Native Heritage Day. There was about twenty vendors selling native art. Three Tlingit dance groups performed on the main stage, and there was native food on the menu at the cafeteria... including fry bread. The most popular event was the drawing... held on the last day which artwork was given away, donated by the vendors. The thing that everyone was waiting for was the silver bracelet engraved by Doug Chilton. It was a lot of fun... but very tiring... since we helped set up this event. Next year it will be larger... and it will coincide with the Juneau Public Market.

Sonny with his niece Nova

My niece Nova is so happy to see me... but she is shy when the camera came out. I look so tired in the photo... I had only about 30 minutes sleep the night before... I must make changes in my life so I never do a show with that little sleep. I wasn't the only one... Doug Chilton, Benjamin Schleifman, and Tom Wehnes were up with me to the wee hours of the morning.

Yaaw Tei Ti Dancers of Juneau

The Yaaw Tei Ti Dancers of Juneau performed during the show. All of together, three dance groups performed at the show. Another favorite group was the All Nations Childrens dance group, performed at noon on Saturday... this group has trained over hundred kids Tlingit singing and dancing. The vendors donated artwork for the drawing... which was popular... and of course... everyone loved the fry bread.

Control of old E-mail finally achieved!

Hello Everyone, I finally been able to regain access to my old e-mail: eagle_wolf99@hotmail.com which was hijacked for about 5 days. I have been working with Christian of MS Windows Live to gain access to my e-mail account. Now I am sifting through all the e-mails that this person sent... saying I was stuck in Dublin, Paris, London, Vancouver, and Bali... saying that I lost my wallet and needed $2000... 2000 Euros, 2000 pounds.... and to be sent to some address in London. I am thankful that no one fell for this scam. I am working with Windows Live to help capture or at least let authorities know about this scam. I hope everyone is doing well. I am currently preparing for the two shows here in Juneau. Presently, it is snowing and about 30 degrees F. I am doing well and still living in Juneau, Alaska. Cheers.

New E-Mail, old e-mail is hijacked!

Hello Everyone, my old e-mail: eagle_wolf99@hotmail is compromised... someone hijacked it and is sending e-mails to people... saying I am stranded in Europe... and need money. I wouldn't mind being stranded in Dublin, Paris, or Florence... because I am quite capable of supporting myself in Europe. Currently I am home in Juneau, Alaska... and am doing well despite the problems associated with my old e-mail. My new e-mail is chilkat.wolf.studios@gmail.com . I am current working with MS Windows Live team to regain control of my old e-mail account. Take care.

Two New Shows in Juneau, Alaska

There are two shows coming up in within the next three weeks. Both shows are put on by the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) Camp #2 at the Andrew Hope Building on Willoughby Avenue in downtown Juneau.

Public Market
ANB Camp #2 Arts & Craft Show
November 28th & 29th.
Andrew Hope Building, Juneau
Juneau Gallery Walk
ANB Camp #2 Arts & Craft Show
December 5th & 6th.

The show that happens during the Juneau Public Market is separate from the events that happen at Centenial Hall. In fact, Pete Metcalf, who happens to be an ANB Camp #2 member, will periodically announce 'our' show during the Public Market show.

Both of the shows will have a great selection of native artists from southeast. The ones confirmed so far are, Doug Chilton, Gene Chilton, Brian Chilton, Tom Wehnes, Dwaye Bousch, Benjamin Schleifman, and of course myself... I'll have a nice large selection of sculptures. There will be many more artist that will be vendors, I'll announce them later with a more complete list.

Joining the "Gathering of Canoes" on Vancouver Island

Mike Fletcher took this photograph of me at the Seattle waterfront. I have been here working on sculptures. My friend Doug Chilton and his son Michael flew down from Juneau to go to the "Gathering of Canoes" in Vancouver Island. We will be one of seventy canoes to gather along the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia. I will post photos of the event. Of course I will bring my tools and stone to Canada. I will bring them to some galleries in Vancouver.

Raven Canoe at the Smithsonian, Washington DC

Thompson Boat Center, Potomac River
In early June, I called my friend Doug Chilton in Juneau (I was still in Seattle) and he told me that the installation & ceromonies was moved up to late June. Well... I quickly changed my plans and bought a round trip ticket on Northwest Airlines from Seattle to Washington DC for $405... two days before departure! Those websites for air fares are great, you might have to surf the web for a bit, but if you are lucky, you can get great deals. I arrived in DC on June 18th at night, met my friends from Juneau, and the next day I laid eyes on the finished canoe that Doug Chilton and his brother Brian carved. I only worked on the canoe for about 4 months. I looked great to see it in all 'her' glory, sitting there waiting to go in the water.
The Raven Canoe was given the name "Raven Spirit."
Many representatives from the Sealaska Corporation, the Sealaska Heritage Institute, and our State Senators were there to witness, talk about the canoe project and present the canoe to the officials of the Smithsonian Museum. It was quite warm that day, temperatures in the high eighties, but the humidity is what I will remember... it was sauna like. The canoe was given the name "Raven Spirit"... the design on the canoe is from an old Tlingit story called the 'Box of Daylight', where Raven steals a box of daylight from a wealthy old man,... when raven opens the box the sun flew out up in the sky, where it has been ever since. The naming ceremony was done by Tlingit tradition. Many of our elders were there to witness it and to make sure it was done by proper protocol.
Master carver Doug Chilton and the 'Raven Spirit.'














Doug Chilton was the one who recieved the commission to carve the Raven canoe for the Smithsonian. Many people, myself included, are so proud of Doug for this project. The canoe will be in the Museum of Natural History in the new Oceans Hall... forever... for all to see.
Doug Chilton is the Captain of the 'Raven Spirit' in the Potomac


















The 'Raven Spirit' is finally in the Potomac River. When I was helping Doug & Brian with the canoe, we would often talk about this day... paddling the canoe in Washington DC. Back then when it was cold out last winter, paddling the canoe in the Potomac seemed like a far away dream. It was so great to see 'her' going up the Potomac. In my mind I can say, the Tlingits were here in Washington.
Group photo around the 'Raven Spirit'















The carvers and paddlers... are posing for a group photo with the Raven Spirit. Brian Chilton (wearing a black vest on the left), myself, Doug Chilton (wearing a black vest on the right), and our State Senator of Alaska, Albert Kookesh (right of Doug) were along side the canoe. It was a proud moment.
Carvers: Sonny Grant, Doug Chilton, Brian Chilton.














Doug, Brian, and myself had official visitors passes for the Smithsonian Museum, we could walk anywhere we wanted... including to the depths of the basements where the really interesting art is kept. Here we are standing in front of the Museum of Natural History where the 'Raven Spirit' will be displayed. Come and see it... all the museums of the Smithsonian are always free.
The White House, ol' George wasn't there at the moment.


















This was my first trip to Washington DC... it is a great city to visit. I went to the White House Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and to the Vietnam War Memorial. There is so much history here. It was nice to see it in person.

Sculpture Show at Gathering Tribes, Berkely

Pennie Opal Plant and Sonny Grant.

I first met Pennie Opal Plant at her gallery called Gathering Tribes in Berkeley, California. I was passing through San Francisco after the Tucson Shows. She liked my work and bought some of my sculptures for her gallery. She suggested that I have a show at Gathering Tribes in April on the 12th & 13th. I quickly agreed and I proceeded to Seattle. I met a few friends from Juneau, Alaska in Berkeley... it was nice to see familiar faces. Indian Rock was so close by, I was so tempted to go there to boulder... best place in the Bay Area to rock climb.

Gathering Tribes, 1573 Solano Ave., Berkeley
On the 12th of April, I arrived at SFO early in the morning, jumped on the BART and went directly to the gallery in Berkely. The weather in the Bay Area was hot... temperatures were in the low eighties. I didn't have time to check in my hotel at Fisherman's Wharf in SF... I went directly to Berkely BART station and took AC Transit to Solano Ave. I arrived at the gallery and it was hot... there was a few people waiting to see me. I proceeded in carving small soapstone sculptures.

Rebecca Haines is the gallery manager when Pennie not there, Rebecca was quite helpful in helping me set up. I sold almost all the sculptures I made the first day at the show... that is always great for me... that people like my art, and I get paid for my work. A day never goes by that I am thankful for the gift the good 'Lord' has given me... and yet it feels like the profession picked me.

Solano Avenue in Berkeley
The show went very well, many people came by to visit and say hello. Most people never seen anyone carve soapstone before so quite a few of them stayed and watched me carve several sculptures. I carved some sea lions, polar bears, some snowy white owls, and a harbor seal. I mostly made several small seals and bears. After the first day of the show, I walked around San Francisco to China Town, Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, and of course Union Square area. It was so fun to be back in the 'city.'... the city by the bay. The next day I carved several more sculptures... including a large walking bear. Several people almost bought it... but by the end of the day, Pennie bought it for the Gathering Tribes. I really like Pennie and her partner Michael Horse... it is so nice to meet great people who happen to be 'Native American.' Her staff at the gallery were also really nice, and made me feel right at home there on Solano Avenue. The customers who came by were really interested in my work, and seem to know quite a bit about Alaskan art. It was a fun experience. If you are ever in the SF Bay Area, drop by Gathering Tribes on Solano Avenue... they have a great selection of native art.

View from Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf

I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf... for only $14 more to my roundtrip ticket to SF. It is great using those special travel discount websites on the net. It was so beautiful in San Francisco... it felt good to be back in the 'city'. The city waterfront is so nice, they removed the old viaduct freeway that went along the north waterfront. They replaced it with a boulevard. The sea lions at Pier 39 are fun to see... it makes me feel like I am at home in Alaska. There are about 30 to 40 seals laying on the floats... if you are in the right place, you can smell them. You can hear them from far away, their barking carrys quite a distance in SF.

Union Square, downtown San Francisco

Union Square is in the middle of the shopping district in downtown. On earlier visits, I stayed at Hostelling International, located one block from here. I worked on sculptures on the edge of this square along Powel Street, watching the cable cars go up and down the steep hill. Many people came by to watch me carve seals and bears out of soapstone. I even met people I knew from Vashon Island here. When I travel, I often find myself carving sculptures in the oddest place... like along Powel Street at Union Square. I attract a lot of attention when I carve because many people never seen anyone carve soapstone before. I have often considered myself as Alaska's unofficial ambassador... I tell people of how it is like to grow up in Juneau... tell bear stories... and fishing stories... of the big one that I caught... its true. I also help people plan thier trips to Alaska... to guide them on places to see.

Cablecars going up Powel Street

The Cablecars are leaving the Powel Street turnaround on Market Street. It was close to this spot where I recieved my first 'jay walking' ticket... I didn't even notice the light turned red and I walked across the street... I didn't notice the officier either. Oh well, after I pay it, I want to frame it... maybe get a photo of me and the officier... oh shucks... I feel like such a tourist.

Transamerica Building, Columbus Street

The Transamerica Building at the end of Columbus Street, viewed from the intersection of Columbus, Grant, and Broadway. This part of the city is one of my favorites... North Beach, the Financial District and China Town intersect here. This city never sleeps. There are 5280 restaurants in San Francisco, a city that is 7 miles by 7 miles... a lot of great food. I hope to have a sculpture show at the Images of the North on Union Street in 2009. Yes, I have left my heart here in San Francisco. I used to live here in the 'city'... and back then I thought I would never leave SF. But today I am quite happy that I live in Juneau... to do my art... I can always come back to SF for a visit.

Tucson Shows

Feb.1st: I arrived in Tucson at noon via Alaska Airlines... it was already 64 degrees F. Just the day before in Juneau, the temperature was 3 degrees. In Tucson, the sun was shining and the Saguaro catuses was there to greet me at the airport. I flagged down a shuttle to take me to the InnSuites... today was setup day at the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show.
Feb.2nd: The InnSuites is one of four venues of the AZ Mineral & Fossil Show... which is one of the forty shows in Tucson. It was great meeting so many old friends and familier faces and seeing so many new vendors. My friend Terry Williams was set up at the Ballroom where there was about twenty

vendors. I was set up with the leisure class along side the swimming pool. I was happy to have an umbrella to provide shade from the sun... I didn't need to get any darker. It is so much fun to be in Tucson during the gem shows... there is alot of excitement in the air. The Tucson folks who lived here complained about how cold it was... I smiled and thought... 'those mere mortals would die a frozen death back home in Juneau.' I don't even consider it cold until water is in the solid state... then there are many levels of frozen. Some lady at the InnSuites remarked that the freezing point of water in Tucson was 68 degrees. Driving around Tucson is quite the adventure... Tucson drivers are the worst (fastest) I have ever seen... and I thought the Juneau drivers were bad. My friend John once told me that to Tucsonians... the green light means drive fast, the yellow light means drive even faster... and the red light means proceed with caution. During the gem shows there is pedestrian or bicyclist who is hit & killed everyday. Tucson is really flat and spread out and there are now one million people who live here now... and rush hour to me... is combat driving. To drive well here is to throw caution out the window and drive boldly at ten mph over the speed limit. I started to carve polar bears and sea lions for my demonstration table at the InnSuites. My sculptures were quite small compared to other sculptors who were there at the venue. Each of us were good in the different aspects of sculpture. But my work was quite interesting for people... because I could complete a sculpture while they were watching. During the week the temperatures reached the mid seventies and the sun feels great.

Feb14th: I set in the arena of the Tucson Convention Center... where the 54th annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Society Show is held. There was about 250 vendors at the 'big retail show' or 'TGMS' as other vendors call it... the best of the best are here at this show. This years theme is 'Minerals of the U.S.' I went to bed early in order to be well rested on opening day. It was nice and busy. I sold a few sculptures in the morning and it slowed down a bit, so I walked around to see the vendors. The array of minerals, fossils, and jewelery was quite amazing. It was so hard not to spend money... since I was here to make some. The second day was very busy, all the vendors were to be there at 9am, one hour earlier... because of the Tucson school kids were to visit. There were supposed to be about a thousand of them that morning... but by 11am, it didn't seem too bad to me... but then the main group of the student body arrived in the arena... there was thousands of them and they all watched me carve soapstone. It was alot of fun but they sure took up my personal space. Some kids was an inch from my face. I had to keep an eye out for my tools and sculptures or they would be grabbed and possibly dropped. Overall it was fun. The kids were respectful and asked me some good questions. They all wanted to try carving stone, but I wasn't set up to teach a class of a hundred kids.

My friend Regan whom I had met last year at the TGMS was here again to help me sand my sculptures. Her mother Wendy is here to sell trade magazines here at the shows. Last year I taught Regan and her brother Grayson the basics of soapstone carving. They both carved something small. This year Regan was quite a help on finishing several sculptures. In fact we sold a sculpture that we both worked on... both our signatures was on the bottom of the piece. The hosts from the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society were very helpful to me... they always asked if I needed anything. They were quite happy that I was there at the show. I look forward to doing the show again next year... at the InnSuites and the TGMS at the Tucson Convention Center.