Pacific Northwest | Shawn Athari

Pacific Northwest Styles

Pacific Northwest Coastal indigenous groups were generally highly skilled woodworkers. Their masks were often master-pieces of carving, sometimes with movable jaws, or a mask within a mask, and parts moved by pulling cords. The carving of masks was an important feature of wood craft, along with many other features that often combined the utilitarian with the symbolic, such as shields, canoes, poles and houses.

I recreate a number of Pacific Northwest images. Some are masks, and others are representational of practical objects of art. My totem poles are among the pieces that I am most proud of. The are large, colorful, and faithful to original.

Oars Example