Five Fish By Friday? Fine, My Friend

Wood Carver/Hobbyist likes to make fish 25 at a time

Gustavo "Gus" Valencia is originally from Madera, Portugal. He came over in a boat in the early 1900s and he raised his family of six children, primarily in San Diego, California.

He was a whaler in his youth, then a tuna fishermen for 30 years and retired from work as an engineer 40 years ago. He believes strongly in a work ethic, and bases success on that premise. "Everyday is a work day," he said. "I work everyday, so I might as well be here, doing what I like."

He moved to the coast last July, after the passing of his wife, to be near his daughter, Venita, who lives in Garibaldi. Venita's husband, Mike Rebsamen, is a furniture and cabinetmaker. Mike and Gus will be working in their new business together.

The two have just opened Carvers & Designers, in the property that used to be Twin Rocks Building Supply outside of Rockaway Beach. They have gutted the interior, re-painted, re-wired, put in flooring and heating, etc. When finished, they will have an 8,000 square -foot showroom featuring Gus' hobby and Mike's work, along with work of area artists.

Gus' hobby, begun ten years ago, is carving fish out of wood. He starts with a square block and ends up with a product appearing so real that his fish took prizes for accuracy and realism in the Pomona County Fair (California) just last year.

A fish may take him 40 hours to shape and paint, with the bulk of the time invested in carving scales - as many as 7,000 on one fish - by hand. Finished fish sell for $250.00 to $300.00 without scales, and up to $895.00 with scales. He carved a replica of Moby Dick that has recently sold for $2,200.00.

Gus doesn't like doing one fish all the way through, but rather prefers working on as many as 25 fish at a time, taking them as a "school" through the steps of production: carving, shaping, sanding, painting, scaling.

Mike's work is demonstrated in the showroom cabinetry, and eventually he will have an area to display even more aspects of his work in a yet-to-be-completed showroom upstairs. LCB

Carvers & Designers

Principals: Gus Valencia and Mike Rebsamen, owners

Address: 19485 Highway 101

Rockaway Beach, OR 97136-9448

Telephone: 503/355-8508

Fax: 503/355-2607

Website: www.carversgallery.com

Hours: 11a - 6p, seven days

Back to April LCB ONline Home Page

Back to LCB ONline Home Page