Felix Solomon

https://1889mag.com/think/washington-artist-lummi-carver-felix-solomon/

Before becoming a full-time artist just ten years ago, he was a fisherman and later ran a food truck, Felix’s Fish & Stuff. In 1997, he began teaching himself the art of carving under the mentorship of Scott Jensen and Ralph Bennett. It quickly became a passion, and Jensen, seeing his student’s seriousness, took him under his wing.

Few carvers achieve success in a short time, but Solomon’s relatively brief carving career has far exceeded his wildest expectations. He carved canoes commissioned by the Stillaguamish Tribe in Arlington and the Sauk-Suiattle in Darrington and created a story pole called “Evolution of Gambling,” for Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale. He has another story pole, this one horizontal, on display at Bellingham International Airport, titled “It’s Mine.” The sculpture depicts two Coast Salish fishermen in a shovel-nosed canoe, pursuing a salmon with a gaff hook. At the other end of the story pole a serpent is pursuing the salmon, its mouth reaching for the fish.

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