Canadian Rockhound: Canadian Nephrite Jade Carvers

Canada has produced some of the world's finest jade carvers. David Wong, Lyle Sopel, Nancy Hadler (now Street), and Deborah Wilson are some of the well-known pioneer carvers of jade that have come from British Columbia. They were all very strong carvers in the 1980s.

Jade World

At Jade World in Vancouver, proprietor Jeannie MacCulloch used to conduct visitors on a tour of their carving studio, answering questions and demonstrating how carvings are created from jade. Jade World had a group of five full-time master carvers on staff, as well as part-time artisans creating works of art from blocks of jade.

After seeing the 10-ton boulders of jade and seeing the artisans at work carving jade, visitors gained an appreciation for the steps involved in producing a carving. When they saw the pieces being hand-sanded, they realized how labour-intensive it was to put a fine finish on a jade carving. Figure 1 below shows the steps involved in carving jade.

Carving steps
Figure 1. This photograph shows the steps involved in carving a piece of jade. Blocks are first cut from a boulder. A design may be drawn on the block as a guide. Gradually, the form takes shape. Sanding and polishing complete the carving. Photograph by Chris Fraser, courtesy of the Silver Chameleon.

Arnold Chow

One carver at Jade World was Arnold Chow who was born in Hong Kong. After graduating from school, he continued his art training at the Hong Kong Education Department Adult Training Program in Commercial Design and Painting. When he left Hong Kong for Canada in 1974, he was a designer for a large plastic manufacturer. After arriving in Canada, Chow developed his skill as a jade carver and in 1982 joined the Jade World studio, where he designed and carved jade and mastodon ivory in his own unique style.

Jason Ho

Jason Ho was born in mainland China in 1958. He received special art training after high school. This program in sculpture was sponsored by the Chinese Education Department. In 1980, Ho emigrated to Vancouver and continued his art development in jade by apprenticing at a local jade studio. In 1987 Ho joined Jade World where he freely expressed his own style of North American wild life in jade.

Bear sculpture, by David Wong
Figure 2. This beautiful jade bear was done by carvers at Jade World Studio, Vancouver, and was displayed at the Toronto Gift Show, at Exhibition Place in 1989. Photograph by Chris Fraser, courtesy The Silver Chameleon.

Bear Carving, by David Wong
Figure 3. Another jade bear carving by the Jade World Studio. Photograph by Chris Fraser, courtesy The Silver Chameleon.

Robert Dubé

Robert Dubé, according to Jeannie MacCulloch, was one of Canada's best sculptors in jade. He was a wild character who sculpted carvings larger than any one else at the time. Sadly, after moving to Montreal, he died in the late 1980s of pneumonia at the age of 38. He is best known for a life-size bear carved from British Columbia nephrite jade.

David Wong and Lyle Sopel

David Wong did exceptional designs in jade and soapstone (Figure 4). He was born in Sui-Hing, Kwantung province, China, in 1936, to an artist/photographer father. In 1950 he worked as an ivory carver. By the 1960s he was carving ivory and jade in Taiwan. He gained a formidable reputation and in 1971 was sponsored by Birk's Jewellers to come to Canada on a demonstration tour of jade carving. He opened his own studio, David & Kwai Jade Arts Ltd., in Surrey, B.C. Sadly, Canada lost one of its great jade carvers when David Wong past away as a result of a heart attack in January 1998.

Lyle Sopel is also known for his work. He also set up his own studio with a number of sculptors.

Figure 4. David Wong at the Toronto Gift Show, Fall 1989, holding one of his personal favourite carvings. Sadly, Canada lost one of its great jade carvers when he past away as a result of a heart attack in January 1998. Photo by Chris Fraser, courtesy The Silver Chameleon.

Abraham Su

Abraham Su, was another well-known carver. He was featured at a show in London, England, at the British Columbia House around 1984. The British Geological Museum purchased his large carving of a seal.

In addition to being chosen by the British Columbia government to go to San Francisco as part of a marketing program to sell B.C. nephrite jade, Jade World was chosen to attend the Economic Conference in Davos, Switzerland in 1989. British Columbia jade and Jade World were featured on the front page of the Davos newspaper in February of 1989. Arnold Chow had carved 200 killer whales for room gifts for those attending the conference. That was really handcrafted mass production!

One of the outstanding projects by Jade World was a staircase for the Sheraton Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. According to MacCulloch, when they were asked if they could do a jade staircase, they replied, "Oh yes. We can do anything!" But, no one can really figure out how much it's going to cost beforehand when a project like that has never been done before.

If you visit Anchorage, be sure to visit the Sheraton Hotel and have a look at the staircase made completely of nephrite jade tiles, except for the centre tread of the stairs. There was a concern, at one point, that the treads might be too slippery.

Jade World has been closed since 1998.

Jade Carvings and the Market

The Chinese will only buy green jade because they believe that is the only thing that will sell. They do not have a good idea of what the public likes here in Canada. Frequently, purchasers like the more unusual colours of jade. Jade World had about two tons of Blue Point jade left in stock in 1989. They had done really well with it and it takes a beautiful polish, although I'm told it is more difficult for the carvers to work.

Much of the work of jade carving is done in China because labour is less expensive there. Jade World carried both imported carvings and Canadian made and sold them both. Small carvings made in China are priced very low. In Canada, one can't even start to look at the pricing of jade at an equivalent cost. Canada can compete well with the larger sculptures, though. The less expensive imports make jade affordable for the tourist trade. The bears with fish are popular, not too expensive and they are well done. It is nice to have a Canadian jade souvenir that is affordable.

When the hours of labour (aside from the skill and artistry) at minimum wage are considered – one 5-day week consisting of 8-hour days, for instance – to produce a well-done coffee table sculpture from start to finish in Canada, the cost is approximately $350 Canadian. That does not take into account overhead (studio rental, supplies, utilities). Many people are not willing to pay such a high price for a small sculpture. They do not realize the time and artistry it takes to create a fine piece. To make a living as a jade carver, as with any art, is very difficult. Few patrons exist these days, and the age of kings and emperors is gone.

Jade is not considered a precious stone as such, so one does not find many goldsmiths working with jade. Jewellers seek precious stones, which are more valuable, especially when set in gold. There is not a lot of mark-up on jade.

Polishing Jade

As the old saying goes, "there are 235 ways to polish jade and none of them work." How does one polish jade? Jade is polished with leather using chrome, Linde A, tin oxide, Rapid Polish or diamond, according to Hing Wa Lee in his excellent book, How to Carve Jade and Gems, by June Culp Zeitner and Hing Wa Lee. For those wishing to carve jade, this book is recommended.

Related Articles:

Working with Jade, by Tom Leedham (see Canadian Rockhound, Winter/Spring 1999, Vol. 3, No. 1).

References:

MacCulloch, Jeannie, Jade World. Personal interview.
Makepeace, Kirk, Jade West. Personal interview.
Scott, Andrew. "Jade the Mystical Mineral," Equinox, No. 89, October 1996
Zeitner, June Culp and Hing Wa Lee. How to Carve Jade & Gems, 1987.
Northern Gem Press. Library of Congress Number 87-90064.
Wilson, Deborah, www.deborahwilson.bc.ca,
e-mail: evergreenjade@hotmail.com

This article may not be copied, distributed or reprinted in any form without the author's permission. To contact the author, please use the e-mail address provided. If you are unable to contact the author, please contact the Canadian Rockhound. Authorized reprints must acknowledge the author, original source and the Canadian Rockhound.

The preceding article is a modified and updated version of a series of articles first published in the Winter 1989-90 issue (Volume 2, No. 6) of Cab & Crystal, a Silver Chameleon publication. Updated August 2000.