Relief Carving with Owl, Whale and Walrus

View more work by Virgil Soonagrook

This piece of fossil walrus ivory was previously an old adz handle, the tool carvers use to remove the rough exterior of the tusk.  Soonagrook follows the soft curve of the material and places the animals strategically so that their own natural form aligns with the ivory.  The lush color variations are a result of the countless years the tusk spent underground.  The nearly black exterior has been deeply colored by the earth's minerals, but the deeper Soonagrook carves, the more the exposes the creamy interior.