Well, thank you so much for the interview today, Mr. Tommy Joseph.
We just have a couple of questions for you as you are
carving the new Waasgo Legend Pole.
I guess to start,
do you want to introduce yourself and your background, then briefly?
My name is Tommy Joseph. I am a Tlingit
wood carver from Ketchikan, Alaska here at the Sitka National
Historical Park. I'm doing a reproduction pole.
Can you tell us about how long you have been carving?
How long have I been carving? I've been carving,
my first opportunity to work on a piece of wood, work
on a piece of wood with a carving knife, when I was eight
years old and in the third grade.
And so if you started carving that young, how did you learn
to carve? And what drew you to carving as well?
Well my first opportunity to work on a piece of wood with a knife,
it was a brand new school in Ketchikan and the teachers got
together, and bought an old A-frame cabin from one of the
islands and that became our wood shop behind our school in a
muskeg. And they brought in a local Tlingit, sorry Tsimshian
carver and, a small group of us got to sit with him and make one of
what he was making. And that was my start, from there, it just
the desire inside me to want to- I've always been an artist
creating, drawing, whatever I had there was always something
around to make something with.
So anyways, from there I was always drawn towards
carvers, woodcarving. I was a pretty quiet kid, very quiet
kid, but I was usually the one hovering around the back,
watching and observing and then going home and trying to do
the stuff myself. At a young age, it wasn't till later
that I had the opportunity to work, work in, take classes, or
work around other carvers.
And when did you move up to totem poles and did you see that
as your next step in carving?
You know in carving everything is, the next step, everything you
do is just practice for the next piece you are doing. And I guess I
never thought I was going to grow up to be a totem pole
carver, it just happened progressively. You do one thing
and move on to the next thing. You learn that. You learn that,
there's just so much more. And it's a part of it and so, in
the early days it was very intimidating, not at all
anymore. I just I can't wait to dive into it and get going.
And while you were learning to carve, I'm sure there's a few
things you learned with each project but were there any
particular skills or techniques that were more
difficult to learn?
You know, in doing a woodcarving everything,
everything we do from the tools and, when I started out I
had very minimal tools like everybody. But I have more than
I need now and I have enough for my students and, what have you
there. But, you know the hardest things to come by, which
is, there were some old old tools that I tried to find,
and resurrect, and bring him back to work. I mean I have,
toolboxes full of antique tools that are over one-hundred years old.
Just Clean them up, put an edge on him, they go back to
some of the finest tools they are.
But as for,
well, I don't know,
the hardest things to learn along the way. Well,
everything is a progression. Everything is just one step
to the next step and so on.
So, learning what is inside you, I guess, and how to how to pull
that out and that's,
that's a big one.
And you've been carving for a while, and you've also been carving for
Sitka National Historical Park for a while. How many poles have
you carved for the park? And what has that been like?
This is actually my fourth reproduction pole that I've
made for the Sitka National Historical Park.
I have three other poles in this park that were not,
by the local cultural center, and, another
local clan that worked that out with the park service. So that
was a separate deal which is in the park, and one of them was
a demonstration piece which is in the old studio inside here.
So yeah, this is my fourth for this park.
Yeah, and then, if someone was inspired to follow
in your footsteps or wanted to become a carver, where would you
suggest they start? Is there, are there good teaching resources
they could look into?
Yes, I've gone around Southeast Alaska teaching
classes with high school students, or as they call it,
oh what do they call it? It's an art fest thing with high
school students, is the best art students from all of the high
schools, from around Southeast and they all group in,
different communities. We did it once here.
So what, doing that, I haven't done that in a few
years, but normally I work at the University of Alaska
Southeast campus here, in Sitka and I have workshops,
classes, and when there was a cultural center here I was
here all the time and had workshops then.
So, we're not set up anywhere to do workshops especially because
of COVID and so,
when I'm on the job, whenever I have a, I've had a
number of apprentices, assistants over the years.
my only requirement is, you know, Just show up. If you want
to learn, just show up.
Whether it's sweeping the floor or picking up,
you start somewhere. Yeah, I have not had any show up in
a long time.
Yeah, difficult nowadays.
Are there any like, I don't know, personal projects outside of
commissions, and you don't have to reveal or go over
anything. But, any like.
further goals you'd like to do if you haven't yet?
I've got goals for the future. I have lots of ideas and thoughts
and stuff, and a few solo show ideas. But they're down the
road and we really don't know with COVID, because of,
I had a few other shows that were going to go
international, that right the beginning, of all this and all the
artwork was in place and packed up and ready to go. And
then this happened. I don't even know where that show is now.
Probably still in boxes,
crated up. Yeah yeah, so as far as future shows and future
doings, I don't know.
Yeah, well, thank you for talking with us today. We really appreciate it.
Absolutely. And we look forward to seeing it
when you're finished it already looks so amazing.
Getting there, well, thank you.