[BCMA] Fw: CMA Clip Serv: Bill Reid - a genius, trickster technician

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Here is a corrected version of what I just sent.
Thanks,
Cuyler

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Cuyler Page 
To: bcma at lists.vvv.com 
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 10:40 PM
Subject: Re: [BCMA] CMA Clip Serv: Bill Reid - a genius, trickster technician


I was introduced to Bill Reid when I first arrived in Vancouver, BC in 1962.   At the time he was employed by UBC to copy some decaying poles in the collection there.   A sculptor/craftsman myself, I was taken to meet him at his carving shed on the UBC campus.

He spoke of his youth in BC and of trying then to figure out which culture he was really part of.   However, what he was most eager to speak about was a carving technique he had invented, and this really caused his eyes to light up.  In carving the replica poles, he had begun by using traditional metal adzes, hacking away for endless hours to produce and replicate the typical historic adzed surfaces.   During our conversation, he was really proud to show off his new invention using a chainsaw blade with the largest teeth he could find, modified with three out of every four teeth knocked off.   The resulting chainsaw blade had only every other tooth on one side.   With the motor running at an idling speed, the well sharpened blade neatly took big even chips out of the log surface with great and easy control.    So, after sculpting the basic form of a pole with as much regular chainsaw work as possible, he would then finish the surface with nice even rows of nick - nick - nick - nick marks that looked remarkably like adze marks.   It still required the craftsman's skill to manipulate the saw, but beautiful long rows of gouged marks were easily created.

In all the writings about Mr. Reid's art and career, I have never seen mention of his early work in creativity with the chain saw blade, and his clever invention of the nick - nick modification.   Yet at the time, at least on the day I met him, that was what he was most proud of.   That was his creative gesture of the moment.

Cuyler Page
Curator
Maritime Museum of BC
Victoria, BC
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