William "Cedar" Caredio

Teacher and artist William "Cedar" Caredio grew up in Morgan Hill, California, where his father taught school for 33 years. After schooling at Chico State, Caredio has himself taught for 30 years, 26 of them at Pleasant Hill Elementary. "I'm teaching and taking classes all the time, especially art classes," he says. "I try to break down barriers that kids have with art. We incorporate art into projects." In the mid-1980s, Caredio apprenticed with noted woodcarver Dudley Carter, then 99 years old, in Redmond, Washington. "I stayed with my brother and biked to his studio," he recounts. "I worked there, learned techniques, and took pictures." Back in Eugene, Caredio began his first piece of public art, the "Salmon Wall." Over years, he has carved a school of migrating salmon into a long wooden retaining wall in front of his Laurel Hill neighborhood home. "It catches people's attention," he says. "I believe in public art -- available to everyone." Working with native woods and hand tools, he also crafts more portable pieces, such as the antlered mask pictured here. Several totemic carvings appeared in the garden art area at the recent Art and the Vineyard festival.

happening people photograph and story by Paul Neevel Eugene Weekly / 15 July 2004