Len Sylvester
Coast Salish Carver
Len was born on July 4th 1948 . Carving since he was 17 Len was influenced by Norman John, a well know west coast carver, Simon Charlie, a famous coast Salish carver, and Chief Dan George. While living In Vancouver Len remembers visiting Dan George at the Burrard reserve at seventeen years old without any prior knowledge of carving Dan George sent Len away with a knife and a seasoned piece of wood. Len returned with a carved Halibut and a friendship that ensued to Dan George's death. Today, Len commits his time to his art and the teaching of it to his people . His preferred wood to use is yellow cedar but has been known to use red cedar upon special requests. His specialties include disks (as shown in photos) and carving cedar boxes. Currently, Len has his work in England, Australia, Germany, New Zealand , and the continental United States. Len focuses on carving the indigenous animals of the Northwest coast in the style that he has developed from many influential people as well as his personal creative perspective.
