In September of 2006, with my hands in wet clay, salmon and steelhead started emerging about the same time they were passing by my house about half a mile from the Clackamas River near Carver, Oregon. One evening after dinner, I pressed in some fish bones. Later, I liked how red and black oxide washes brought out fossil-like images. Soon, I added words and experimented with pressing in elk antlers, fishing lures, computer motherboards, fern leaves, riverteeth, etc. Eventually some honest feelings showed up.
Since then, my clay pieces have sold at Columbia River Gallery and the Spirit of the Salmon Fund for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Additionally, exploring the intersection of ancient sustaining life forces and modern industrial technology, my clay pieces “You Can’t Download a Black Rockfish” and “Walking Through What Used to Be Wetlands” won the 2007 Antioch University/Knock Literary Journal Green Art Contest in Seattle.
Recently, I have been making redwood and driftwood sculptures. My "Trask River Giant" was exhibited in the Portland, Oregon City Hall “Keep Portland Weird!” Art Show in March, 2008, and my newest piece is the nine-foot-long Eagle Creek Giant. The hardest part of making the giant sculptures has been enduring the snide comments of my fishing buddies who have difficulty seeing why I would want to give up valuable fishing time to lug wood up from river canyons. “Uh, what a treasure you have there, Scott,” said one, “But where’s the fish?”
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