Rose Albert
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Handcarved Cedar Boxes
Rose Albert is an Athabascan artist who was born about 40 miles upriver
from Ruby along the Nowitna River. Rose graduated from the Institute of
American Indian Arts in Santa Fe New Mexico in 1981. In her Anchorage
home
studio in 1998, she started experimenting with carving Tlingit designs into
red and yellow cedar boxes. 'I was told by Mayble Pike, a respected Elder of
the Tlingit Indian tribe, that it was OK to do their designs, but I have to do it
right,' Albert says as she points to a brightly colored box that features a
raven, a killer whale, and their offspring. 'With her help, I was able to refine
my raven and got it to where it was more acceptable to her people.' Rose
says, 'We don't have abstract designs in my Athabaskan culture, but I work
on changing the images of the wolf, eagle, killer whale, and raven as much
as I can without losing the integrity of the piece.'
Rose started her box carving 'with a collection of little boxes that I found at
thrift stores. I hand carved and sanded all my things.' People liked her work
and bought her boxes as fast as she could make them. After Rose
exhausted her supply, she turned to Vern Hartvigson and his son, Carl. They
built 6 boxes for her in 2000.
'They were perfect- four years later I'm still paying them to mill wood and
build those boxes of different sizes.'
Ex-husband and partner Roy Westfall, whom she says is her biggest
supporter and cheerleader, then mastered finger jointing. Between them, the
couple now puts together a variety of boxes each year from Alaska yellow
cedar, hemlock, California clear
pine and red cedar. The artist, who usually has five or six boxes in progress
at any given time, traces her designs onto the lids and sides. Once a
drawing is in place, Rose carefully cuts the wood with a dremel tool and
carves the design in relief. She then hand paints each intricate part of the
figure with vivid colors like red, blue, green, and jet black. 'I love bold
designs, depth, and bright colors,' she says. 'I do more ravens than
anything else. It's a very popular image in the mythological beliefs of the
American Indian culture.'
We enjoy having Rose's work at our gallery. It's always a fun treat to visit with
her when she delivers her boxes. Our online gallery offers secure server and
convenient shopping cart technology. Order today or contact us at (907)
279-3911 for more
information about Rose Albert original hand carved boxes.
Rose Albert is an Athabascan artist who was born about 40 miles upriver
from Ruby along the Nowitna River. Rose graduated from the Institute of
American Indian Arts in Santa Fe New Mexico in 1981. In her Anchorage
home
studio in 1998, she started experimenting with carving Tlingit designs into
red and yellow cedar boxes. 'I was told by Mayble Pike, a respected Elder of
the Tlingit Indian tribe, that it was OK to do their designs, but I have to do it
right,' Albert says as she points to a brightly colored box that features a
raven, a killer whale, and their offspring. 'With her help, I was able to refine
my raven and got it to where it was more acceptable to her people.' Rose
says, 'We don't have abstract designs in my Athabaskan culture, but I work
on changing the images of the wolf, eagle, killer whale, and raven as much
as I can without losing the integrity of the piece.'
Rose started her box carving 'with a collection of little boxes that I found at
thrift stores. I hand carved and sanded all my things.' People liked her work
and bought her boxes as fast as she could make them. After Rose
exhausted her supply, she turned to Vern Hartvigson and his son, Carl. They
built 6 boxes for her in 2000.
'They were perfect- four years later I'm still paying them to mill wood and
build those boxes of different sizes.'
Ex-husband and partner Roy Westfall, whom she says is her biggest
supporter and cheerleader, then mastered finger jointing. Between them, the
couple now puts together a variety of boxes each year from Alaska yellow
cedar, hemlock, California clear
pine and red cedar. The artist, who usually has five or six boxes in progress
at any given time, traces her designs onto the lids and sides. Once a
drawing is in place, Rose carefully cuts the wood with a dremel tool and
carves the design in relief. She then hand paints each intricate part of the
figure with vivid colors like red, blue, green, and jet black. 'I love bold
designs, depth, and bright colors,' she says. 'I do more ravens than
anything else. It's a very popular image in the mythological beliefs of the
American Indian culture.'
We enjoy having Rose's work at our gallery. It's always a fun treat to visit with
her when she delivers her boxes. Our online gallery offers secure server and
convenient shopping cart technology. Order today or contact us at (907)
279-3911 for more
information about Rose Albert original hand carved boxes.
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