Allen Halverson & Cecil Dawson

A collaboration amongst two sea faring people is building up, much like a wave out in the sea.

Cecil Dawson is an artist and storyteller from the Kwakwaka’wakw. Allen Halverson was first a logger, then a school teacher, and now a retiree who enjoys working with wood.

The two met at Tofino’s Carving on the Edge Festival, where Cecil was invited as a carver and Allen was invited as an accomplished paddle maker. The two introduced themselves, they talked about their work and backgrounds. Cecil was a commercial fisherman for thirty years and Allen has been surfing since the seventies. This is when their shared interest of the water emerged and their friendship began.

The collaboration and friendship of these two men is remarkable. Their work together is an effort towards the conjunction of two different yet similar cultures. They are two people who share the enjoyment of living and working together on the West Coast, creating works that are representative of the heart of Vancouver Island with the end result being a beautiful surfing craft or paddle that will last for generations.