Edwin Benham returned to his hometown of Shelburne on Nova Scotia's south shore in 1988. After ten years of working in Ontario, he, his wife Melanie and daughter Stephanie settled just kilometers from where Ed lived as a child.

After returning home, he was fascinated by the skill of local duck decoy carvers.At the same time he began to re-explore his heritage and culture, merging the two and taking his imagination in new directions.Ed, a Mikmaq of Acadia First Nation, began woodcarving in 1990. His craft is largely self-taught, mixing traditional and contemporary, to create truly unique pieces with no two alike.

Ed has also worked in other mediums ,to include watercolors and oils, as well as line drawings, and spent his five last years in Ontario working as a modelmaker/finish designer for the jewelry industry. To date Ed's work is in private collections throughout Canada, several States in the US and Greenland.

Inspiration for Ed flows from many things, family, dreams and life itself. "We learn as long as we live".He collects much of the raw materials himself during walks in the woods, and is often inspired by the shape of natural features of a select piece of stock before it is cut.

Activities

• 1994 Lunenburg Folk Art festival
• 1995 Showing, Blandford Gallery, Blandford, N.S.
• 1996 - present Several talks and exhibits annually at local schools,
• 1997 / 98 Woodcarving instructor, Acadia First Nation, Yarmouth, N.S.
• 1997 / 98 Exhibits at Acadia First Nation, Yarmouth N.S
• 1998 Awarded creation grant by the Nova Scotia Art council
• 1999 South Shore Arts Festival, Sandspit Gallery, Shelburne N.S.
• 2000 Invitational exhibit, visit by Secretary of State(rural development)
Andy Mitchell,Sandspit Artisans Co-op ,Shelburne N.S.
• 2001 - 2002 Open working studio, Sandspit Artisans Co-op, Shelburne N.S.
• 2002 Designed logo for Acadia First Nation
• 2003 Exhibit, Nations in a Circle, A showcase of Aboriginal Art and culture, Dalhousie arts Centre, Halifax N.S.
• 2003 Woodcarving Demonstration, living Traditions project,
Kejimkujik National Park. N.S.

"the harvester"

..." My belief is that my work evolves from the wood and comes from the heart." ...