COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE
Carved by MARTIN COONEY
Kenai Skiff / Autumn of 14 Collection / Colorado Yule Marble
20.5 x 8.5 x 4″ / 17.2 lbs / SN141104 / Sold
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The decision to carve Kenai Skiff materialized while deeply engrossed in the early, formative stage of my previous sculpture, ‘Polar Trout’, and began to take shape from recollections triggered by memories of a summer spent in Alaska commercial gill-netting on the Cook Inlet’s Kenai Peninsula. The year was 1983, and the place… the Kenai Peninsula deep in the heart of Alaska’s Cook Inlet, and if memory serves it was widely proclaimed as a record catch. So vast was the salmon run that I imagine the locals are still talk about it to this day. My Boss, a veritable mountain of a man, “Big Joe” Koski, tough and as strong as an ox, was also as smart as a whip, and ran what was widely considered to be the best, most efficient operation on the entire beach. My job was to pick salmon from the gill nets with sufficient speed that we could immediately reset them, and do it all again: and again, and again.
I carved Kenai Skiff directly as a result of memories stirred from the many hours our zero draft, tippy, flood-prone, easily swamped aluminum can of a boat bobbed atop the often choppy waters of the Kenai Inlet. Whilst hardly the most stable vessel however, one thing this workhorse of tub will not do, due to the rudimentary nature of its sturdy 100 percent welded aluminum hull, is to fall apart: a not insignificant detail when putting out upon such a treacherous body of water as whipped up by the inshore currents of the Cook Inlet.
And so, when it came to carving ‘Kenai Stiff’ I wanted to ensure two things: one, that it is as tough as nails, and two, that it will never fall apart ! To ensure neither of these grim outcomes should befall the skiff several integrated factors combine to suggest that this little battleship of a boat is set to see out a great many centuries to come. ¶ The structure of the design lends maximum possible support to the four extended corners: her marble is of a very fine quality. ¶ The four surfaces of the underside of her hull are polished gloss – affording the maximum protection and insulation. ¶ The interior of the bowl’s surface is composed of my very latest matte luster finish, and the boat’s state-of-my-art white luster interior provides a high performance, uniform, none-glare finish. Kenai Skiff seeks no fuss, makes no bold artistic statement, but does bring to the table a sleek, sophisticated touch of style, despite, indeed perhaps because of the humble nature of her Kenai, Alaska, salmon fishing, boating origins.
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COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE
Carved by MARTIN COONEY
Kenai Skiff / Autumn of 14 Collection / Colorado Yule Marble
20.5 x 8.5 x 4″ / 17.2 lbs / SN141104 / Sold
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