The Raven Sculpture

The focal point of the gardens surrounding Dr. Weil’s summer home in British Columbia is his giant raven sculpture. Crafted of painted wood on a metal frame by Oregon artist Andy Strickland, it embodies the wild spirit of this remote, forested location.

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Video Transcript: The Raven Sculpture

The raven was built by an artisan in Oregon named Andy Strickland, who is the caretaker of the Oregon Country Fair, and I went to the fair. I used to go there long ago, but I went there about 6 years ago and saw on the fairgrounds there was a nest with a crow in it that he had made; I was quite taken with. So I found him and told him I wanted him to commission a piece for up here. I sent him pictures of the place and so it was sight unseen. I just trusted that he would make the right thing and this is what he made and he and a friend drove it up on a flatbed truck. It created a sensation wherever they went. They said whenever they passed Native Americans, the Native Americans cheered and yelled. Came over by ferry and then we went down on the beach and holed up these big pieces of driftwood to make a support for it. In the northwest it’s extremely important in the mythology, in creation, of the native peoples here. It’s something analogous to coyote in the Southwest, sort of trickster god and initiator into mysteries. And there are a lot of ravens here as well, so whether they recognize this as one of theirs, I have no idea.