...inspired by ancient spirits
Back in the 1990’s Walker Goldsmiths became aware through our friends Ken and Monica Decker in Ketchikan of a part of Celebration that came to be called “The Grandmother Wars”. Celebration is a biannual gathering to celebrate SE Alaskan Native cultures (Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida) hosted by Sealaska Corporation. One […] Read more »
Loon is rather rare in North West Coast art which seems a bit strange as there are so many loons living here. Perhaps it is because they spend so much time underwater. He appears as a kind of minor walk on character in a few stories, but nothing of a […] Read more »
March brings us here at Walker Goldsmiths the first really spring days with temperatures in the upper 50’s in between rain storms. We often have a bit of flooding on the rivers but overall the weather is improving. The clam and mussel harvest continues without urgency as there is plenty. […] Read more »
February It is […] Read more »
Here at Walker Goldsmiths we use precious metals every day and even though metallurgy is a science we often feel we are dancing with our materials to get the desired results. Gold (Au) and silver (Ag) are the precious metals. Platinum (Pt) is often added to that list […] Read more »
Now that Walker Goldsmiths has explored Sterling Silver let us explore a rather more complex set of Alloys, those referred to as “karat gold”. Just like sterling we have the stamping laws to contend with. The law was designed to appeal to the vanity of artists so that if you […] Read more »
Here at Walker Goldsmiths we make our Sterling Silver from scratch. Silver is one of the noble metals along with gold and platinum, the chemical symbol is Ag, which stands for argentium. Silver is the most conductive (of both heat and electricity) substance at normal temperatures and pressures, it […] Read more »
Walker Goldsmiths have over the years created quite a menagerie of ½ inch wide bracelets that because of the constraints of space are indeed small bracelets to delight the eye and excite the mind. It is difficult to confine the personality of magical creatures into a 1/2 inch strip of […] Read more »
This is a classic Haida story illustrated in a Hand Carved Sterling Silver Octopus Bracelet by Owen Walker that carries a message about how we humans are meant to interact with our fellow creatures here on the Earth. In Chinook Jargon it would start “Hiyu lally ankutie” Which in […] Read more »
I was commissioned by the Oak Harbor Lutheran Church to create two North West Coast themed crosses to be presented to the bishop of the Kazan, Russia, Lutheran Church and one of his assistants while they were visiting their sister church in Oak harbor, WA. I must admit I am […] Read more »