Gordon Bok
Another aspect of the artistic talent of Gordon Bok is his woodcarving
skill, which he developed quite naturally from growing up around
woodworkers. Already an accomplished instrument builder and
furmiture maker, he took up woodcarving in the mid 70s when he
inherited his mother's carving tools. Over the past 30 years,
when not performing and recording, Gordon has been quietly working
out his music and memories in bas-relief. The result is nearly
a hundred carvings of people, boats and other images that have
influenced his life. In 2002, Harbor Square Gallery displayed
his carvings publicly for the first time. Now, many of these
unique and compelling works are available to the general public.
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Gordon Bok grew up around the boatyards of Camden, Maine. In his early years, he worked on a variety of vessels - on America's Northeast coast and others - fishing boats, passenger schooners, and as deckhand, mate, and captain of various yachts. On the boats, he learned many tunes, sea songs, stories, legends and ballads from the people he worked with. After high school, he worked on the boats in the summer months while the rest of the year he worked in Philadelphia and other cities as a carpenter and teacher. It was there that he found a thriving folk music scene and began performing. Dissatisfied with the images generally portrayed of people who work on the water, he began to write songs based on the experiences of those he knew - real people whose language was honest, whose feelings were credible. These early works, songs like “Bay of Fundy”, began to get attention, as did his rich voice and fluid guitar work. Paul Stookey of the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, produced Gordon's first album for Verve.
At
a time when folk music was experiencing a great revival, Gordon
became a leader in preserving, collecting, creating and sharing
a wide variety of rich and intensely beautiful songs of both land
and sea. His mastery of both 6- and 12-string guitars added
to his already well-developed vocal expression to create an unmistakable
style that has carried him through decades of being one of our
most cherished folk artists. He has made more that a score
of albums, and many other musicians including Archie Fisher,
Liam Clancy, and Tommy Makem have recorded his songs.
In addition, his music has been used in films and published
in folk music anthologies, including Rise Up Singing
and his own collections, Time and The Flying Snow and One
To Sing, One To Haul. 
In
addition to performing in concert halls, coffeehouses and festivals
throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Scandinavia, New Zealand
and Australia, Gordon has taught choral singing and song writing
at summer music camps and other gatherings. He has organized
choral groups in his own community and gladly shares his knowledge
with others wishing to do the same. A superb storyteller,
he often introduces songs in concert with a bit of their origin
and history. 
Besides
his countless solo appearances, Gordon toured for nearly thirty
years with the trio,