Events

Transform a piece of western red cedar into a traditional bentwood box carved with Salish design elements under the guidance of Suquamish Tribe elder Randi Purser. Randi Purser, whose tribal name is XWibulica, has been carving for over 10 years now, including the 14-foot Welcome Pole representing Chief Seattle's father, which stands at the start of the Sound to Olympics Trail on Bainbridge Island and pairs with her companion pole in Seattle representing Chief Seattle's mother.

This one-week, full-day Handwork class will start with a discussion about the wood and which planks from a log are likely to work for bentwood boxes. You'll receive a piece of locally milled, old-growth cedar, lay out your box, and cut V-shape kerfs for each corner. Then you'll put your prepared plank in a steam chamber to make the fibers pliable enough to bend without breaking, but only for a few minutes as you quickly fold the sides together to form a box.

You'll use wooden dowels, a modern version of the traditional hand-carved pins, to secure the only joint, where the beginning and end of the board meet. You'll also make a lid and a base for the box and attach the base. The final days will be devoted to embellishing your box by carving a traditional design suggested by the instructor or your own design.

Woven into the whole class will be a discussion about Salish design, how boxes were used, and other woodworking traditions. Salish designs were developed by people from the Columbia River north through Puget Sound and up to about the middle of Vancouver Island along its east coast. Salish designs aren't as well known as the styles used by more northern, coastal indigenous groups.

Presented as part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a national initiative led by PBS's Craft in America and the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery.