 “I
grew up around a shipyard, and have a long fascination with
the shapes of working vessels and the myriad moving shapes
of water.
For me, carving is one way of remembering a way of life that
is disappearing. Many images are from memories of working
on boats or fishing along the coast, and most of the figures
in my carvings are people I have known.”
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Gordon Bok grew up in a musical home around the boatyards
of Camden, Maine, and sailed on the lovely old schooners that
hail from that port. He started playing guitar when he was
nine. Later he sang of mythical sea folk, seals and selkies
who came to him in dreams and legends. At a time when folk
music was experiencing a great revival, he became a leader
in preserving, collecting, creating and sharing a wide variety
of rich and intensely beautiful songs of both land and sea.
He has recorded over 20 albums in his musical career. He was
deemed the “poet laureate” of seafarers by Time
magazine.
But Gordon is not only a musician; he also creates these
Seafaring scenes in relief-carving sculptures in wood. His
familiarity with wood began a long time ago. He started carving
in 1970, after he inherited his mother’s tools, most
of which he still uses.
The scenes of his relief carvings are also scenes from his
songs. They are scenes of wind, water, fortitude, music and
life at sea. They are scenes that leap from the mind of man
who is rooted in tradition, music and the rhythms of the sea.
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