Clark Mundy

Clark Mundy is a native of the west Olympic Peninsula who has resided in the foothills near Port Angeles, WA since 1979. A boyhood spent in the woods and on the water sparked his creativity early on, and his love of the natural world has continued to inspire a wide variety of art forms throughout his 55 years. These have ranged from painting, photography, building, woodworking, and copper repousse.

As a teenager Clark began drawing and painting, encouraged by his grandfather, and by age 19 he was showing his work in western Washington locations. Soon after, his love of building spurred him into many years working in various aspects of construction, including boatbuilding, ultimately leading him to develop fine woodworking skills.

In the 1980's Clark took up large format landscape photography, inspired by Ross Hamilton of Sequim, WA. His beloved old Wista 4X5 view camera is still a favorite companion in the backcountry of Olympic National Park.

In the 90's, Clark's love of wood led him to create a wide variety of unique handmade boxes from several species of northwest wood, most notably Western Red and Alaska Yellow cedar.

Always greatly inspired by the people, stories, and traditions of local tribes, Clark volunteers on frequent projects for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe near Port Angeles, and has been learning Northwest Native woodcarving with Elwha Tribal members Darrell Charles Jr.and Al Charles Jr. As a result he has experienced a great surge in his creative spirit, and has collaborated with these artists on pieces on display around the Pacific Northwest. Currently, they are creating a piece for the Clallam County Courthouse.

Clark loves copper as a medium of expression, drawn to its ancient associations and malleable qualities. His favorite subjects are the fish native to Northwest waters, especially the legendary Elwha River salmon. Self taught, he hammers the copper freehand in a process called "repousse," (which means raising in relief by hammering on the reverse side) and then finishes the piece with a torched, lacquered and/or verdi-gris patina.