W.L. (Bill) Kuhnley has been carving 35+ years. He apprenticed under world renown totem carver Wilson F. Williams in Seattle. He lived and carved with the Ditidaht (means, "people along the mountains") tribe eighteen years in a small remote native village called Nitinat (Nitinat Lake) on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.
Bill has appeared throughout exhibits and galleries around the world over the years. His commissioned work has included The Royal Palace of England (a gift from Prime Minister Mulroney to Prince Phillip), Princess Cruise Lines, B.C. Forest Products, MacMillan Bloedel/Weyerhaeuser head offices across BC Canada, and in various regions of the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Bill carves totem poles, talking sticks, masks, panels, frontlets, and
bowls using yellow and western red cedar. He prefers abalone and pounded copper insets inlaid in his work.
K- (kbar) is his monogram and can be found on all of his pieces.
