| Felix Solomon, a Lummi tribal member and also of
Haida descent, is the son of Barbara (Phare) Hartman and Willard Solomon.
While Felix considers himself basically self-taught in the technique of creating
the bentwood box, he credits Northwest Indian College instructor, Ray Morris,
and Lummi Island artist, Scott Jensen, with helping to create his carving
and drawing skills.
The bentwood box, a lost native art, is significant
to the Pacific Northwest coast area because originally a technique was needed
to make a box out of one piece of wood.
The first bentwood boxes, typically made out of cedar, were used for storage,
ceremonial purposes and for cooking. Carvers today use alder, maple and birch
as well.
One plank of wood is "kerf-cut" on three corners. The wood is then steamed
and bent to form the box, with the fourth corner being pegged or sewn.
Traditionally, fire pits were used fir the steaming, while artists today
use a steam box. Steam boxes are individually hand-made by each artist.
In addition to the bentwood box masterpieces, Felix
also carves traditional Coast Salish masks. |
