“Box Kerfs”
The technique of bent corner boxes had always intrigued me and in 1963 I decided to try it. Working from a drawing by Franz Boaz, I made my first attempt at cutting a set of kerfs on a board and steam-bent the corners. They all broke. Assuming that the drawings were correct I did at least a dozen more trials with no success. Eventually some worked, but purely by accident. The only old boxes I had seen were in photographs or through the glass in museum windows and they all had lids, so I was unable examine the real thing.

In 1968 I had put one of my boxes with painted formline design in the Richard White gallery in Seattle. I happened to be in there one day when Bill Holm walked in. He complemented me on my work, but politely informed me that my kerfs were wrong. He asked me if I had anything to write on. I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled out a book of paper matches onto which he drew a diagram of a correct kerf. Franz Boaz had neglected to show the most important part of the kerf in his drawing, which is a small forty-five degree undercut at the bottom of the kerf. With my new-found knowledge I went on to make many boxes with few failures, as well as teaching others. A short while later on Bill's recomendation, I was invited to demonstrate the technique at the K’san project in northern British Columbia, which resulted in a year-and-a-half teaching contract. Thanks Bill.

“Bent-Corner Boxes”
Various sizes. Western red cedar. Collection of the Seattle Science Center.
Around 1970 The Seattle Science Center, under the direction of Bill Holm, erected a replica of a Kwakiutl House, which gave the general public a glimpse into the culture of the Northwest Coast Indians. Entering through a frontal totem pole, the visitor was confronted by two huge support columns carved to represent Thunderbirds, which supported the roof beams. Around the interior walls were replicas of Kwakiutl artifacts and house furnishings. Many of them were made by my apprentices and I, including this set of bent-corner boxes.

During the of making of these boxes the Science Center hired a professional to video the process of making one. This involved my splitting a plank from a log, surfacing it with an adze, and cutting the kerfs. A fire was built to heat rocks, which were placed in an excavated trough in the ground. A bed of sword ferns was laid over these and water poured over the whole, creating much steam. The kerfed board was placed over this and allowed to cook for ten minutes, at which time the board was bent to form the four sides of a box.

When the cameraman was editing the video, he felt that it needed to have more sounds from nature, so he plugged in a raven's call. It was a nice touch. The interesting thing about this is that before that day there were never any ravens anywhere near my property, but since then ravens have been daily visitors.

Steaming and Bending a Box	Bent-Corner Boxes

The four sides of these boxes are made from one plank—kerfed, steamed, and bent in the same manner of others from the area. The only difference is that the kerfs are cut at an angle, rather than at ninety-degrees to the edge.

Tackle boxes are a lot of fun to make and I have made many, in all sizes from four inches to a few a few feet in length. A leather thong typically secures the lid, which can also be used as a canoe bailer, in fact some traditional bailers are exactly this shape.

This style of box is great as a carrier for small tools when fixed with a shoulder strap. I have also made them for women who use them for storing their sewing, knitting, or weaving equiptment.

In an abstract medium such as Northwest Coast Native Art, one can depict this subject without the need to be too graphic, which some people find offensive, if that can be believed, considering that’s how we all got here.

Reincarnation can portrayed as rebirth, by having one species of creature giving birth to another, like a woman delivering a raven, a bear giving birth to a human, etc. Liberties can be taken on the subject of birth, such as showing birds delivering a well-developed infant, when in reality birds lay eggs.

On one end of this carved and painted chest I have depicted a mother hawk complete with breasts, which, of course, are not part of a bird's anatomy. On the opposite end is baby hawk emerging from the mother’s pelvis.

Unlike a bent-corner box, in which the kerf is carved so as to allow one side to press tightly into the other, actually crushing the fibers a little, the kerf on a bent dish is carved to precise dimensions allowing the sides to slide together snugly, without stress to either surface.

Generally, as in this case, I cut the kerfs and steam and bend the corners, fastening the joined end with spruce root. I then shape and temporarily fasten the Western Red Cedar bottom. Then I treat the whole as a block, sculpting the sides into the typical bulged configuration, incorporating formlines and sculpturally-intruded faces and appendages. Next I remove the bottom piece and hollow the inside of the dish, trying to create as much of a bowl configuration as possible and still maintain an even thickness to the walls. This done, I secure the bottom permanently with spruce root and finish the outside surface with painted and relief-carved formline design.

The theme of this bent dish is of a mother hawk giving birth to its young.

"Red Tail Hawk" detail of inside, showing lacing	"Red Tail Hawk" detail of outside, showing lacing