Comox Artist Puts Smiles On Faces
Comox Artist Puts Smiles On Faces
Text By Valerie Luquette
Emanating peace and serenity, Courtney Powell’s wooden masks are created with the intention of making people smile.
Growing up in Powell River on Vancouver Island, Courtney has always been close to nature. During our interview, he expressed how important it is to him to respect and care for the earth. Living in a cabin surrounded by the rainforest in Comox, Courtney lives a self-sufficient life by hunting, fishing and growing most of his food. He always loved nature and spent most of his life in the forest. Once a logger and the owner of a mushroom picking company, Courtney knows Vancouver Island’s forests like the back of his hand; thus when a friend from Hornby Island introduced him to woodworking, he was immediately inspired and knew exactly where to find wood pieces of the highest quality.
This talented and creative Comox Valley artist has the wonderful ability to breathe life into still material, letting us see, through his carved natural edge burl bowls and joyful masks, the beauty embedded in the art of woodturning and woodcarving. For over twenty-five years, the grain, color and texture of the various types of wood found on the west coast have intrigued Courtney Powell and inspired him in the creation of beautiful art pieces.
Working exclusively from locally sourced material, Courtney started his artistic career through woodturning, a unique technique that can be traced back many 
thousands of years. This technique differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving on an axis of rotation, with the help of a machine tool called a lathe, while a stationary tool, such as a chisel, is used to cut and shape it. In all other forms of woodwork, it is the tool that is moving and the wood remains stationary. Using this technique, Courtney started exploring the medium and creating unique wooden bowls, plates and vessels.
Soon, he began to integrate free-hand carving into his woodturning work, combining this transition with a fascination for the human face. Courtney was artistically influenced by Tofino artist and friend Gael Duchene who also found inspiration in the beauty living within Vancouver Island’s rainforest. Gael carved magnificent yet gentle faces on large pieces of turned wood embellished by wood burning patterns and inset stones. The two artists greatly appreciated each other’s work and collaborated for many years: “she is part of how I became the artist I am today”. Nurturing their creativity and collaboration, Courtney would turn beautiful wooden bowls which Gael brought to life by decorating the surfaces to create unique west coast inspired works of art.
Focusing mainly in the creation of moon and heart-shaped masks, Courtney celebrates the beauty of Vancouver Island rainforest and its ancient trees by letting the wood guide him in his creations without a predetermine design. His technique and stylized carving lets the wood express its own qualities with all its natural imperfections. Courtney chooses to work with yellow and red cedar old growth burls above all types of wood because of their wonderful grain structure, density and polished glassy finish. Burls have been called “Jewels of the forest” and they are prized for their beauty and rarity.
To create his masks, Courtney shapes a piece of wood on the lathe into a hollow wooden bowl and then leaves it to dry for at least two years ensuring the stability of the wood and preventing the appearance of cracks. Only after that period of time, can the wood be hand-carved, sanded and polished with beeswax. Incorporating copper to some of his masks, Courtney creates contrast between the warmth of the wood and the metal while mastering a beautiful combination of these natural elements. The signature patina of the copper is the result of a unique recipe concocted by the artist himself. Exposing the metal to salt, sawdust and a variety of secret ingredients, Courtney reveals a beautiful variation of texture and colors that were hiding within the natural proprieties of the copper.
Through the natural beauty of cedar old growth burls Courtney nurtures a profound respect for the earth and is able to aesthetically, emotionally, visually and tactilely move us. Wanting to engage the viewer on several levels of appreciation when admiring his artwork, Courtney expressed how the sense of touch, because of the satin finish of his masks, is as important as the sight to fully appreciate his work. His art is meant to evoke emotions of happiness: "I love carving, it's about emotion. If it makes me smile, it will make everyone smile."
http://www.reflectingspirit.ca/artists/courtney-powell
