Renowned Nova Scotia folk art carver was taken prisoner in 1941 by a German Warship off the West coast of Africa. He and his 40 shipmates were held as prisoners of war (P.O.W.) until the end of W.W. 2 in 1945. Towards the end of of his incarceration, Ray found an old bread knife, sharpened it, and carved a snake cane out of a tree root. Since then he has signed all his canes and carvings with his name and his POW number 93610.

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia acquired a number of his canes for its permanent collection. It is estimated he carved less than 100 canes in his lifetime. His spruce gall carvings were even more rare. One can only wonder if Ray's gall and branch carving of a Horned Green Alien on Redkettle was created for comic relief or an Outsider expression of his wartime experience? A very powerful original work.

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