Gus Galbraith, Sculptor

BIOGRAPHY

The Sculptor of Cowichan At various stages in our lives, many of us are urged by an inner voice to give up our present lifestyle, retreat to the solitude of the proverbial log cabin in the woods and release the creative and artistic talents straining to escape from our souls. For whatever reasons, few of us ever listen to that voice. Gus Galbraith, a former hockey player, and industrial chemist is one who did. He now spends his time sculpting the animals, birds and fish he sees from his boathouse - his version of a studio - situated by the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Born in Canada of Scottish parents, he grew up in South Porcupine, Ontario, with an abiding love for nature that shows clearly in his sculpture. The range of his experiences from boyhood onward and the complexity of his life's events have been quite remarkable. Coal bagger, sawmill worker, railway gang man and miner were part-time jobs as Gus developed his first career as a professional hockey player. It was to be short lived. At 21, a hockey accident in Scotland resulted in the loss of his leg. Signalling the scope of his interests, he graduated four years later with a chemistry degree from Paisley Tech in Scotland. Returning to Canada, he began a twenty-year career with Suncor Canada. A trip to Paris during his student days in Europe was Gus's first meaningful exposure to the world of art. Later, after moving to Fort McMurray, Alberta, he was further influenced by Inuit and West Coast Aboriginal art. Much impressed with its' simplicity, Gus did his first soapstone carving in the late 60's. His third career had begun. Though busy as a laboratories administrator through the 70's, sculpture played an increasingly important role as Gus developed the desire to describe and communicate with his hands. Northern Alberta, with its' abundant wildlife, was the perfect background to nurture this growing fascination. It was Suncor's oil sands plant that gave him his primary medium for expression. Gus explains: “The tar sand was sticking to the conveyor belt, and we were looking for something to coat the belt with. We brought in blocks of steatite - or soapstone - to stop the sticking. It didn't work very well and the remaining blocks were jettisoned into the dump. I brought the broken pieces home and started carving them.” But steatite is not the only medium Gus uses. He has also created sculptures in clay, bronze, bone, and wood; and it was while helping a friend build a ferro-cement boat that Gus realized the sculptural potential of this medium. As a result of this experience, Gus was invited to give a paper on the application of Ferro-cement in Art to the Asian Institute of Technology, at it's 2nd International Symposium on Ferro-cement, in Bangkok, Thailand in 1985. Ferro-cement is a medium where an iron frame is encased with chicken wire to form a skeleton; then cement is added to the skeleton and moulded into form. Self-taught except for the odd seminar or weekend course, Gus works full days. He leaves the family's log and stone cabin most mornings and walks the few yards to the boathouse, nestled in the forested five acres, away from the nearest neighbours. It's from this vantage point that Gus observes nature's inhabitants. “I couldn't have picked a better place to find inspiration,” says Gus. The creatures that inhabit the Cowichan area are unsuspecting models for him. Fish and fowl, rodents and bears, all unknowingly sit for the sculptor. Working with various chisels, rasps and sandpapers, Gus recreates replicas of the wildlife he sees from his boathouse studio. Gus's list of clients is impressive. His art is displayed in the Alcan Art Collection of B.C., the Law Courts Building in Edmonton, Alta., the Alberta Legislative Buildings and the Timmins Museum in South Porcupine, as well as in Central Park, Lake Cowichan, B.C. His work can also be found in private collections from British Columbia to Britain and Japan, and from New York to California. Over the years Gus's talents and reputation have brought him to new horizons.... and all because he listened to that inner voice.