Summer 2026
July 13-17

Class size: 10
Cost: $1,070
Materials: $50

In this class, students will learn about mask carving in the Yup’ik tradition before designing and carving their own masks. This will include some history of the Yup’ik culture and the importance of mask carving for spiritual and community-building purposes. Students will learn about traditional tools, materials, and symbols, and how those traditions are evident in modern art practices. There will be opportunities for students to explore their own personal and cultural backgrounds as the basis for the masks they design and carve. 

You will be guided in creating a mask in the Yup’ik tradition, but using personal narratives and symbols. We each have a background and a story, and you will be encouraged to find inspiration from your own experiences to help design your own mask. 

Each region and Indigenous group has their own unique and specialized traditions. Learn about the Yup’ik approach to carving masks - origins, purposes, materials and tools used, meaning behind symbols and attachments. Students will also learn about historic vs. modern approaches and philosophies.

Instructor Jennifer Angaiak Wood is Yup’ik, Irish, and Italian. She was born and raised in Fairbanks, AK. The Yup’ik side of her family is from Tununak, AK, and she spent summers there with her family when she was growing up. The experiences she had there greatly inform her artistic expression, and her main focus is on carving masks from that region. The designs she uses are inspired by ancestral artworks, but incorporate modern materials and concepts to emphasize that the Yup’ik, as well as all Indigenous people, are a contemporary culture, not just a historic one.

Tools

Required

PTSW will provide all the tools necessary for this course. However, we strongly encourage you to bring your own carving tools. There are a few blacksmiths now making and selling Northwest Coast Salish-style carving tools. Most are made to order, so make sure to place your order as early as possible so that you have your tools by the start of class. Some of the tools can also be made with simple techniques, especially if you have any experience working with metal. Here is a tutorial on how to make a bent knife. 

Recommended

Please also bring any other carving and layout tools you already have and like to use.

This class will utilize various carving tools, and each student will have the opportunity to select the tools that best suit their needs. Some tools Jen uses are: 

• European-style gouges 

• NW style bent knives

• Whittling knives

Prerequisites

Open to all.  Interest in carving and Indigenous ways of knowing/thinking is helpful. While this class is open to all skill levels, it does involve moderate hand strength and stamina. We will emphasize safe working practices, as you will be working with very sharp tools.

Class Information and Registration

Classes run 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday in Building 315 at Fort Worden. Map
Please read our What to Expect page for general information about the School.
Please also read our Registration Policy. Please sign up for the waitlist if the course is full.