by Janet Smellie
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 29/97) - While he's created works of art from elements including ivory, horn, animal teeth, antler and bone, it's everyday wood that carver Sonny MacDonald can't get enough of.

MacDonald, a self-taught artist from Fort Chipewyan who now makes his home in Fort Smith, has been turning tree trunks, branches and other abandoned finds into carvings for almost 30 years.

"I use spruce, pine, willow, birch, tamarack -- there's no preference. I'm always on the lookout for wood that lends itself to something different. I've got quite an imagination," MacDonald chuckles, as he shows his latest work in the making, a lake trout made out of a simple piece of pine root he's using in a creation called "Feeding Time."

"I like wood because the colors are so natural and you don't take away from their natural state. I'm inspired by my lifetime spent watching birds and animals on the land, how they relate, how they survive."

Intricate detailing has become the hallmark of MacDonald's work, from the short feathers around the throat of the eagle to the fins of the arctic char.

MacDonald's work has found its way into homes and offices across the world. Commissions include the papal chair for Pope John Paul II's 1987 visit to Fort Simpson. Made of moose antlers and a cross-section of ivory, the chair now sits, abandoned, in a storage room at the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

"One hundred hours I carved that, he (Pope John II) sat on it all of 22 minutes," says MacDonald.

His work has also been showcased at trade shows in Paris, Frankfurt and Japan, thanks to the Department of Economic Development.

"They've been great in helping promote my work, which, I must admit, I usually sell through word of mouth. I've never signed with one gallery exclusively, which is I believe is the way to go."

An avid supporter of Duck's Unlimited, MacDonald says one of his greatest honors was taking part in an auction years ago to raise money for the international outfit that preserves and protects water fowl habitat.

"There were 50 artists from across Canada. It was a $350-a-plate dinner. One of my carvings came in second to Robert Bateman, selling for $7,500 to raise money for conservation. That was a great honor, indeed."

Now retired at 58 from many years as a wildlife protection officer with the Department of Renewable Resources, MacDonald is busy building his own studio where he, and his two sons, will continue to run his business.

"I'm busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I enjoyed my career, but it would've been foolish for me not to retire when I'm still young enough to go around and travel and continue my art," he says.

"As long as I have my imagination, I can produce."

MacDonald's currently working out of his shop in the basement of his home.

"My eyes get a little tired. So I've gotten into the routine of working on one piece until I get tired when it gets too intricate. Then, I just move onto another item, something bigger."

His son T.J., who is quickly becoming quite a painter, and his other son Toko, are helping him run his business.

They're currently looking into starting their own Web site to market their work.

"There's about 84,000 Web sites in the world already, it's a force we can't escape," he says as he bends down into get to work on another carving.