Bunny Wilbur
Skokomish/Twana Coast Salish

$375

Bunny Wilbur is a member of the Skokomish (Twana) Tribe, a group of Salish-speaking people who live on the Hood Canal in Washington. Her given birth name is Louisa Bluebird, but she likes to go by her mother's nurturing nickname of Bunny.

Inspired by her parents, Andy and Ruth Wilbur, she was always working on many different projects while she was raised in Sheldon, where the Skokomish Tribe has a reservation. She is being trained in the traditional art style of the Coast Salish design and carving techniques. Her great-great-grandfather is Henry Allen, who is a sculptor and major source of information for an extensive anthropology study of the Twana people. He has given her great insight as she studied his art pieces. Most of Bunny's work is focused on the carved panels made of old growth Red Cedar.

Bentwood Boxes

Prior to contact with Europeans and the introduction of metal tools, Northwest Coast artisans developed an ingenious woodworking techique, which involves grooving, steaming, and bending a single wooden plank to form the sides of a box. Three corners of the box are bent and the fourth is pegged or tied, (or more recently glued) and a bottom is added.

Artists decorate these boxes with shallow bas-relief carving and use paint to add designs. Sometimes inlay surfaces with pieces of shell and metal will be added. Lids are commonly left undecorated, although some feature an inlaid border of opercula. Boxes are typically made from red and yellow cedar or spruce.

The boxes are prized possessions, customarily used to house wealth and ceremonial objects. Mortuary boxes and coffins were also produced this way. People often give names to their decorated boxes, telling stories about their histories and treat them as important heirlooms.