Don Hummell Birch Bark Canoes

Don Hummell

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All handmade items that we carry will vary ever so slightly
from the reference picture in shape, size, and color.
Ordering handmade items from this website will not get
you the item in the picture. Your piece of handmade art
will be unique, due to our artist's wonderful creativity and
the magic of the universe!


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Birch Bark Canoes

Artic Rose Galleries
(907) 279-3911

420 L Street
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
(907) 279-3911

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We were lucky enough to have this soft spoken
gentleman walk into our gallery in 2003 to show us his
birch bark canoes, and we have carried his unique form
of handmade art in our gallery ever since. Don's canoes
are a merger of skill and sheer will, as he has had to
overcome some pretty hard setbacks with his hands and
fingers in the past years. Yet always, he still arrives with
beautifully crafted pieces of the best quality- they are
each a tribute to this hardworking and very kind soul.

Don is a talented, self-taught artist, who began his art
career while hospitalized in Viet Nam after suffering
extensive injuries during battle from his tour in the
Marine Corps. He suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns, in
addition to other injuries. Don says that one of the
reasons he lived was the constant dreaming of going to
Alaska, and even to the Arctic. Coolness- snow, ice, raw
winds- a vast and wild land- kept him dreaming of better
times to come.

Another reason Don attributes to his recovery was
teaching himself to paint from memory the wildlife and
landscapes of the beloved eastern Oregon desert where
he had come from before his tour of duty. To accomplish
the start of his self teaching and discovery of painting,
Don stuck chopsticks up the bandages of his burned
hands. It was an effective therapy that began a dream-
to be his own person- an artist and photographer.

In the years that followed, Don has had his time in the
spotlight. He was often an award winner in Fishing and
Hunting News, and has had numerous articles and
photographs published in state and national magazines.
In 1981, Don was awarded the Klamath County Western
Heritage Award at the Favell Museum of Western Art and
Artifacts, for his ability “to portray on canvas the beauty
of Klamath County and it’s wildlife”.

In 2001, Don an operation on his shoulder left him
unable to lift his arms to paint or take photographs. Don
expanded his creative endeavors to baskets and his own
design of birch bark canoes. Don makes his canoes
completely from natural materials, with birch bark that he
finds in the Alaskan woods. He hand paints paddles for
some of the canoes, and also creates “canoe
sculptures” by fashioning several canoes onto a flowing
piece of driftwood.

We are proud to have Don’s art in our gallery. Our
online gallery offers secure server and convenient
shopping cart technology. Order today or contact us at
(907) 279-3911 for more information about Don Hummell
original birch bark canoes”.