Alaskans, help me out!

[mom'sfolly]

The Red Dog is right next to the cruise docks. I like the Alaskan better myself. Franklin Ave in Juneau is where all the tourist shops are now. It used to be very unsavory when I was a kid. There are still many a local joint on Franklin Ave. If you like beer, stop in the Alaskan for a Juneau brewed Alaskan Amber. I believe they have it on tap.

The last time I was in Sitka, we stopped in at the Pioneer's Home, and meet Dale DeArmond. She was working on a wood cut series of Kushtaka. It was really cool to meet her and talk to her. She had been a fixture in Alaskan art all my life. Gene Chilton was also carving in one studios, I think at the Sitka Historic Park. He was busy in his little room, behind the glass, with tools and goggles, making gorgeous jewelry.

I grew up in Haines and Juneau, and it is really too bad you can't go to Haines. The town has deliberately said no to the big cruise ship lines, and in some ways it has hurt the local economy. But it has kept most of the business locally owned, which is not true of many of the other towns. This has preserved the local character, and kept it a freindly small town. Haines has also become a big destination for flight skiing and snow boarding. I still think it is the prettiest place on earth.

 

[Imp]

When I was a kid I knew native Alaskans who would not talk about Kushtaka. (Native Shapeshifter legend) They believed that it was evil and came in the form of a river otter. If you talked about it. It would come for you. I worked with one native woman that told me that in 1959 on Prince of Wales Is. A caucasian guy was married to a native woman. The local natives believed that a Kushtaka had killed the man and taken his place. So they came and surrounded the house. The women took the wife away, and the men killed the Kushtaka. Gave me the creeps at the time. 1959 wasn't so long ago then.

mom'sfolly,

Ever heard of an Alaskan Artist named Kitty Bauer? I ask cause I bought a signed, numbered print called Juneau at a garage sale for $1. or David Leight, was given a signed print by him. I can't find any info. I'll bet you felt honored to see Gene Chilton in person. My High school art teacher was Doug Jewett, don't know if he was known up Juneau way.

Imp

 

[mom'sfolly]

Kushtaka was the only monster I was afraid of when I was a kid. My school was about 1/4 native, and I had a lot of native friends. I knew Kushtaka was real, and if I was alone in the woods or near the water, he might come for me. When I was a kid, some kids at school said someone I knew had seen one near their home, at 5 mile. The person said to have seen it had grown up next to me, at the parsonage of the church I attended. At church the same week, the people were talking about a demon that the couple had seen outside their house.....I don't think I slept well for a very long time. Still sort of creeps me out when I think of it as an adult.

Nice score on the print. Name Doug Jewett sounds familar, but can't put to mind any of his art.

One of my childhood friends was Nadine Price, her brother Wayne Price does this:

http://www.silvercloudart.com/

 

[Imp]

Yeah I hear ya. That woman I worked with was very upset when I said I'd seen a River Otter. She thought I had been killed and replaced. She didn't talk to me for a long time.

I love Tlingit Art.

Doug Jewett I think was more local to Ketchikan. He did ink drawings of local scenes some colored with browns and oranges.

Imp