“When I was shaping this mask in Juneau AK, a fellow carver said; “Hey that looks like an Octopus.” He was sitting off to the side from me. I thought it looked like an Octopus beak starting, too. So, that’s what I decided to make: an Octopus mask. As I was carving this piece I came to a point where I had to make a managerial decision. I decided to carve and inlay one of the tentacles and paint the other side. Fun project. The Octopus is one of my Chookaneidee Clan symbols.”

-Fred Fulmer