PRESTON SINGLETARY

Read more in our interview with Preston, about his process and the exhibition, “Raven and the Box of Daylight” in the Studio Focus.

One of the many things we love about the work of Preston Singletary, are the stories that inspired him. Story telling is a way to keep history and cultures informed about the past and teach each other about the gifts and challenges of life. Through the objects Preston creates, he continues to teach us. "Fog Woman" is about keeping promises, and we have copied the story below from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks website.

RAVEN AND THE FOG WOMAN

Raven wanted to get married. He went to the chief called Fog-Over-The-Salmon, who had a young daughter of marriageable age. The chief was glad that Raven wanted to marry his daughter, but he said, "You must promise to treat my daughter well. You must have respect for her, and look after her. If you behave badly, she will leave you and you won't get her back. Raven agreed to what the chief demanded, and the couple were soon married. They lived contentedly in the village near the water all summer and fall. Then winter caine, and they were without food.

One, bleak rainy day, after they had been hungry for some time, Raven's wife started making a basket. "What are you making a basket for?" asked Raven testily. "We have nothing to put in it." His wife did not answer him, but continued making the basket, until it was very big.

That night they went to sleep hungry again, and the next morning when Raven woke up, he saw his wife sitting on the floor washing her hands in the basket. He got up to look at what she was doing, and when she had finished, there were salmon in the basket! These were the first salmon ever created.

Raven and his wife were very glad, and they cooked and ate the salmon. Every day, she did the same thing: she washed her hands in the basket, and when she had finished, there were salmon in it. Soon, their house was full of drying salmon, and they had plenty to eat.

After a while, however, Raven forgot that he owed his good fortune to his wife. He quarreled with her. Every day they would exchange bad words with one another; and in the end Raven got so angry that he hit his wife on the shoulder with a piece of dried salmon! He had forgotten the words of his father-in-law, the chief.

Raven's wife ran away from him. He chased her, but when he tried to catch hold of her, his hands passed right through her body as if through mist. She ran on, and every time Raven clutched her body, there was nothing to hold on to. He closed his hands on emptiness.

Then she ran into the water, and all the salmon she had dried followed her. Her figure became dim and she slowly disappeared into the mist. Raven, could not catch her, because she was the fog.

Raven went to his father-in-law, Chief Fog-Over-The-Salmon, and begged to have his wife returned. But his father-in-law looked at him sternly, and said, "You promised me that you would have respect for my daughter and take care of her. You did not keep your promise. Therefore, you cannot have her back."

Killer Whale Totem