THE SHOOTING OF DAN McGREW - PHASE 11

December 14, 2003

The miner has been roughed out. The body is close to the final dimensions, while the head is still a little large, to allow for its final alignment, the hair and the beard. The clay maquette has seen better days, but it still serves well to help me rough out the basic shapes of the figure.

I have been working in Old Crow, Yukon for the past couple of months, filling in at the local community campus of Yukon College. They have been missing an instructor, but hope to hire someone soon. It will be good to back in my studio again. During my stay in Old Crow, I have been offering an evening antler carving course. Since there is so much caribou antler around town, (the Gwitch'in people live off the Porqupine Caribou Herd), there has been quite a bit of interest in learning how to carve. The students have picked up on the art quickly and have been a joy to teach.

My congratulations go out to the commissioner of this piece, Yukon's Member of Parliament, The Hon. Larry Bagnel, who was recently sworn in to the Privy Council of the Government of Canada and appointed to the post of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), with special emphasis on northern economic development. It is, no doubt due to the tireless efforts on behalf of his constituents in the North, that Larry was chosen for this post.

Take care for now,

Shane