© At his woodworking shop in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island is Brian Randall beside a giant salmon sculpture he recently
finished.

Ex-faller produces wildlife sculptures

Not too many of us have natural
talent to do quality sculpture and art.
work. We've either got it or we haven't.

For Brian Randall, an ex-timber
faller from the Comox Valley, B.C.
those natural talents, which he first
developed as a youngster, have helped
him find a new line of work after he
sustained an injury in 1988.

Today, the 40 year old father of two
children, second generation logger,
and ex-member of [WA Local 1-363 at
MacMillan Bloedel’s Eve River Divi-
sion, operates his own wood sculpture
shop in the Seal Bay area of the
Comox Valley.

To date his art work has drawn rave
reviews from local media, fellow work-

ers and other art admirers who are
impressed with Randall's God-given
talent.

“I always had a little knack for
pencil work as a kid but really never
thought anything of it,” says Randall.

He quit school at age 16 to go
logging and started on the rigging
like just about everybody else. While

Disability Institute

Continued from page eleven

“We've (Canadians) got alot of
catching up to do with the rest of the
world,” added Janssen. “I'll be push-
ing our Ministry (of Advanced Edu-
cation) now so we can make this a
priority item.”

As party whip Janssen sits on the
government's legislative committee
and will also be involved in seeing
how the issue is dealt with in the

house. 2
Minister of Advanced Education,

Tom Perry and other members of the
cabinet, however, won’t be making
decisions without caucus appro-
aa which is a reflection of the NDP’s
2 ” style of government. x
e local MLA also sees the Insti-
tute as an economic generator for the
Port Alberni Community, which has
been hit by MB mill closures and
: during the recession.
The epporiunitis (for the pave
it TO} are open ende
ad ical coalecae Zimmerman.

However, in addition to the verbal
commitment from labour, manage-
ment and government there has got to
be some money to make things
happen.

Mr. Janssen says NIC needs some
government funding to determine the
essential budget to be put into place.
This “pre-planning” money which is
available to all ministries should be
available soon. After that there should
be some final planning money and
then proper budgetary allocations
from the government.

To ensure that the Institute will
have enough money to continue oper-
ating the DFWFC hopes to raise
between $2-3 million to create an ini-
tial endowmeht fund. Along with gov-
ernment funding, it is hoped that the
governments, industry, unions and
other groups could contribute to spe-
cific projects on an on-going basis.

IWA-CANADA has been a long time
supporter of the Foundation and is
also pulling for creation of the Insti-
tute. Port Alberni Local 1-85 Presi-
dent, Earl Foxcroft who will retire at
the end of this year, is a co-chairman
of the DFWCF while the local union’s

third Vice-President, Henry Neder-
gard, also President of the Port
Alberni and District Labour Council,
is a member of the Foundation’s 13
member board.

“The IWA’s role in seeking solu-
tions to worker rehabilitation is cru-
cial,” says Zimmerman. “We would
never have moved this far along with-
out the commitment of the union.”

Next April, the DFWFC will be in
attendance at “Independence 92,” an
International Congress and Exposi-
tion on Disability to be held in
Vancouver.

During the conference joint labour-
management representatives from
Canada, Germany, Australia and the
United States will present various
models of disabled worker re-integra-
tion.

Such a conference will enable Cana-
dian employers and unions an oppor-
tunity to see how other countries are
taking on this difficult challenge.

“The Australian Council of Trade
Unions is playing a leading role in
that country to a point where disabil-
ity issues are now being negotiated
into every collective agreement,” says
Zimmerman.

jobbing it up and down the coast,
Brian developed skills as a west coast
faller and eventually went on to work
in the bush for a total of 28 years.

During the recession of the early
1980’s he went around looking for
alternative work. One day he picked
up a piece of wood and started whit-
tling away and eventually a shape
started taking form. Eventually he
produced a fish and began to do other
table size sculptures which he sold
while taking a welding course.

What started out as a hobby grew
and his interest in sculpting increased.
to a point where he began to produce
figurines on a regular basis.

Randall started using yellow cedar
to make animal figures, killer whales
and other marine life.

During the 4% month 1986 prov-
ince wide strike against contracting
out, Randall worked on a gigantic
sculpture of a bear on a platform
which has dimensions of 7% feet in
height and 21 feet in width and weighs
1,000 lbs. The sculpture now adorns
the entrance to the Bear Creek Ranch
at Black Creek about 10 miles north
of Courtenay.

Randall’s work gathered such atten-
tion locally that word got around and
eventually Adam Zimmerman, the
president of Noranda Forest Prod-
ucts, commissioned him in 1987 to do
a sculpture for their corporate board-
room table in Toronto.

He has done a number of classic
pieces which have drawn critical
acclaim but the project he’s working
on now should become one of his most
praised artworks.

Inhis shop at home he’s putting the
finishing touches on a giant salmon
sculpture which is made entirely of
edge grained pieces of western red
cedar.

The sculpture, which will be lac-
quered in black, has taken over 2
years to build.

He started building the sculpture
from its centre then kept adding

pieces of red cedar to form the fish’s
shape. By using carpenters glue and
various tools of the trade he was able
to put the wood together in a pattern
of staggered joints to form the sculp-
ture’s overall figure.

“Once I started putting it together
piece by piece there's little room for
error,” said Randall. “I only got one
shot at it.”

When the sculpture is finished then
he says he will search for a suitable
place to display it.

Although Randall does mostly
wildlife sculpture he also does other
design work such as decorative doors.

As a special project for his fellow
workers at Eve River Division, Ran-
dall drew and sculpted a giant cross
cut saw blade which hangs on the
fallers’ shed.

He's had two operations on his rup-
tured disc and a thorough go around
at the WCB’s rehab centre in Rich-
mond. Although an operation took
pressure off some nerves, he can still
feel discomfort when he works.

As part of his settlement with the
Workers’ Compensation Board, a
work shed was built on Randall’s prop-
erty. There he does most of his work
with an inventory of hoists, supports
and other tools of the trade.

“It’s been a slow grind at times,”
says Randall. “I love doing sculptures
and it’s something that can keep me
going for a long time. I’ve got lots of
ideas for future projects.”

No doubt that as more people are
exposed to Randall’s sculpture work,
he'll have plenty of things to keep him

going.

LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1991/11