- Ashley

The Master Carver 

by Ashley Earl

         Peter Diemientieff, a middle aged Athabascan/Inupiaq, held a piece of ivory in his hand as he greeted me. When I first walked over to Peter’s table at The Native Heritage Center I knew he would be an interesting Alaskan to talk to. His table was filled with beautiful hand crafted wood and jewelry, along with figurines.
         Peter has lived in Alaska all his life. When asked what his favorite characteristic about Alaska was he said, “The people, everyone is kind and friendly.” He loves the scenery, including the mountains and animals. He first got interested in ivory at a young age.  “When I was young my teacher had a carved piece of ivory and showed it to me,” Peter said. That’s when his interest started and since then he has simply fallen in love with it.
         When Peter got older he taught a class at Kodiak High School about how to carve wood and ivory. Before coming to the Native Heritage Center Peter spent some time fishing.  This can be a very dangerous profession, as Peter found out when he was bitten by a crab. “I was crab fishing one day and crab jumped out of the water and pinched me really hard right on the back of my arm,” Peter said. He crab fished for two years until he realized his true passion. 
         He showed me many of his amazing. He told me stories about getting his “10 seconds of fame” on television because of his art. His peers know him as “The Master Carver,” and the name really fits by just taking one look at his work. The tone Peter takes when speaking about his work tells you that he is doing what he was meant to do, be “The Master Carver”.