Pat McVay

Pat's long history in the arts goes back 30 years to Paris, where he gradually fell into furniture repair and later, furniture design and construction. Then came work in porcelain tile, and after moving to the Olympic Peninsula, his attraction to the natural forms of the forest led him into wood carving.

Currently, most of his work is large-scale carvings from already-downed trees, using everything from a chain saw to fine chisels. His whimsical and even comical sense is often the basis of unique carvings of people and animals. Many of his works are visible in public spaces up and down the West Coast.

He was founder of the Northwest Stone Sculptors Association, the Cascade Wood Sculptors Guild, and is assistant editor of The Cutting Edge, a wood sculpture magazine. He is an active member of the Artists' Cooperative Gallery in Langley as well as the Island Arts Gallery near the ferry dock in Clinton, Wa. where his sculptures of whales, salmon and unique chairs often adorn the premises.

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