By Mike Murray

Picture an artist’s tool box full of paint, brushes and canvas. Now check out Reg Akright’s big box of supplies: steel and stone, grinders, welders and air hammers, a plasma cutter and drill press, an air compressor, even a forge.

These are the raw materials and the tools of an artist who fashions sculpture from stone and the metal bases that support and showcase much of his work.

His body of work, and his work on behalf of the arts community, are being recognized by the Arts Council of Snohomish County, which has named him 2008 Artist of the Year.  

The Everett artist joins a distinguished roster of past winners since the award was established by the Arts Council in 1992 to honor artists both for their artistic achievements as well as their community service.  

“He is a true advocate for the arts, says Carie Collver, director of the Arts Council gallery, noting Akright is an active member of the arts community. He’s served on the Gallery Committee and Board of the Arts Council of Snohomish County, and is a Commissioner on the Cultural Commission for the City of Everett among many volunteer activities.  

 “He is a regionally known and well respected stone sculptor who is actively creating wonderful works of art that enhance our cultural lives. His work is in private and public collections up and down the Pacific Coast.”  

Akright said he feels greatly honored to receive the award, but he’s happiest when he’s in his studio transforming hunks of granite and slabs of basalt into sinuous curves and fanciful shapes with sleek finishes that invites the viewer to touch. The cool, tactile beauty of stone inspires Akright to create works that range from the abstract to the whimsical, from small and elegant to big and bold.  

His studio is a converted garage in his north Everett home, with the work spilling out into the backyard where, under a tent-like structure, he begins the first leg of a painstaking process to shape rough stone. The finishing process continues in his studio/shop where he can employ the power tools.  

“My favorite stones are granites and basalts. They polish well and are often from our locale - the Cascades and the Columbia Gorge. I love granite boulders,” he says. “To me they are almost sensuous. Columnar basalt from the (Columbia River) gorge - raw strength and power. I like stone that is common, boulders, columns, stuff you might walk right by or over on a hike.”  

The front-yard of his home is dotted with his sculpture, bringing a bright spot to the neighborhood and drawing the curious. Akright is accustomed to people knocking on his front door to ask about the work.

Everyone can see his sculpture beginning March 13 when the Arts Council opens a month-long solo exhibit of his work at the Arts Council Gallery. Akright said he hopes to have about 30 pieces in the show, ranging from small to large. The exhibit will include some sculpture from private collections plus new work he’s creating now in this studio. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the sculptor was puttering about his studio/shop and talking about his passion for art. Akright has the compact, solid build of someone who works with his hands, a wry sense of humor and deep love of his art.   His artistic odyssey began with his family: his father is a geologist and painter his mother an art collector. His grandfather was a machinist and woodcarver. His love of the land was nurtured growing up in Wyoming, as was a restless nature. He worked a variety of jobs: bridge iron worker, underground miner, fisherman, bronze chaser, mason’s helper.

He returned to college in 1976, studying literature, and added a sculpture class to his schedule “just to relax.” The next stop was Western Washington University in Bellingham where he loaded up on art classes and graduated in 1979. Adventures in Alaska and Arizona followed, as did the art: casting bronze and creating silver, fossil ivory and stone jewelry. The lure of sculpting stone was always there.  

Akright settled in the Northwest, moving to Everett in the early 1990s and buying a home in the Riverside neighborhood.  

The house is filled with art and objects, bits and pieces of things he’s collected. Artists get their inspiration from many sources. His include the natural world such as fossils, and the world of books. He loves the west and people who write about: Wallace Stegner, for one, dubbed “the Dean of Western writers.”

But it’s the stone that leads him on.  

“Sometimes I know exactly what it will be. Other times, I do not have the foggiest idea. The stone will lead the process. I just shepherd it along. My sculptural process is pretty slow. Stone doesn’t move very fast,” he added.


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