It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say Cranberry Portage-based artist Irvin Head has carved out a better life for himself.
Over the past two decades, Head has become one of northern Manitoba’s most notable artists, creating hundreds of unique, intricate carvings along the way.
Head’s work has taken him around the world, from Quebec to New York City to Switzerland and many places in between. Head even showcased some of his work during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
“There’s a lake in Switzerland with a big park around it. I sat there and carved and people came around. As fast as I carved them, people wanted them. It’s been an interesting life. It’s taken me to places I never thought I’d go or do,” he said.
For his inspiration, Head sticks to what he knows best – the north itself. Nature scenes and wildlife like bears, wolves and birds of prey are some of his favourite muses. Head often makes use of materials from the north, including locally-sourced soapstone and marble. Often, Head will receive material from other artists.
“It’s all on my journey. When I go do a presentation or an art show or something, I get talking to people and all of a sudden they’ll say something like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this chunk of soapstone from B.C.,’” he said.
One of his current projects, a large face, is made out of a large wooden burl Head found while doing an art workshop in Barrows.
“When we put it in the back of the truck, a three-quarter ton truck, it wedged itself in there and we had a hard time getting it out. I had to take a chainsaw and make a hole in it,” said Head, with his signature, beaming smile.
Change
Things weren’t always this way for Head.
In his younger years, Head struggled with drug and alcohol addictions.
“I had trouble with stuff like that,” he said.
At first, Head took up carving as a way to get in touch with his roots and overcome those issues. Even as a child, Head saw figures and shapes in nature. Where most people would only see a twisted piece of driftwood, Head would see a bear claw or a hand creeping into the water.
One of the first pieces he ever made, carved from caribou antler in 2000, shows a woman and two wolves. Head still has it hanging on the wall of his gallery.
“It tells my story. Any piece around here, that’s a chapter in my life. Some chapters are bigger than others. It all started from one little carving.”
“It’s something I don’t forget, where I came from. Through drugs and alcohol, darker periods in my life, I got away from that. This is my medicine, this is my therapy,” he said.
Even my wife says, ‘You love carving more than you love me!’” joked Head.
Today, Head has been sober for more than 20 years and is able to make a decent living from his art.
“You’re not carving that piece. That piece is carving you, it’s making you into this whole other person, a different lifestyle,” he said.
“If you really look at it, you have a big, rough stone like this and you take off all the rough edges, all the garbage off that you’ve collected throughout your life and you shape it and polish it. This is what everybody is looking for. It’s nice. I like that.”
Full-time artist
Years ago, Head left his job with Frontier School Division to pursue carving full-time – a move that didn’t go over well with his wife at the time.
“She said, ‘No, you’re not quitting your job!’ But she saw the time and the things I did, the efforts I put into it,” he said.
“I was just itching, itching, itching. I had to do it.”
Since then, Head has opened his gallery to the public and holds education and art sessions for area schools and community groups.
No longer needing to rely on commissions has given Head almost total creative freedom over the projects he pursues.
“I’ve been to New York City and been to galleries there. People have said, ‘We want one of your carvings, but can you make it bigger?’ They mean tons, five, six, 10 feet high, made out of marble. I said I could probably do it, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on one piece. It’s more fun when you can do a little bit here, little bit there, make little tidbits and small carvings,” he said.
Mother
Perhaps the most personal project Head has ever worked on was a tribute to his own late mother – a personalized headstone. The project took him four years of tinkering and fine detailing before he considered it finished.
“It was nice. It was something that I had to do, to thank her for putting [up with] all the garbage that I put her through. I was no angel,” Head said.
After the headstone was completed, Head kept it around his workshop instead of moving it to the cemetery.
“I kept it around just because...I don’t know. It was a very personal thing. My mother never got to see any of this, the change in my lifestyle, any of the things that I done. I always thought that piece, before I put it into the cemetery, meant she was here,” he said.
Head and his family placed the headstone on the gravesite after the existing grave marker, a large wooden cross, was blown over by a strong wind.
“I thought it was time for me to bring this piece over. I put it on the place,” said Head.
Future plans
Head hopes to keep carving for as long as he can, using the same hand tools and trowels he uses for most of his work.
“I have a good quality set of tools and materials everywhere I go. Even in my vehicle, I’ve got tools. If I have a flat tire and I’ve got no spare, I’ll go for a walk and I’ll whittle away until we can figure it out,” he said.
He’s not sure what projects will come his way in the future, but knows his creative process isn’t always something that can be predicted or controlled.
“Where do you get the idea? It’s the Creator’s idea – I’m just along for the ride. That’s the way I’ve sort of summed up my life. I’ve got to this point, I’m just riding along, enjoying it, doing these things as I go,” said Head.
“It’s the circle that we travel. No matter where we go, there’s an artist. When you talk to one another, you understand each other. It’s like you’ve been friends all your life – you have something in common. It’s a good circle to get into.”
