While working in Guangzhou, China, I carved the original Brin and Melly, a grizzly bear with an owl where his heart would be. As I carved, I began imagining what a friendship between a lonely grizzly bear and a little owl might be like. When I carve, I seem to enter a kind of trance, and my imagination takes over. The grizzly felt strong but lonely, while the little owl was curious, funny, and full of personality. When I returned home to Spokane, I carved them again.
Carved in Guangzhou
The original Brin and Melly taking shape.
The original carving still sits at the front of the Canadian International School in Guangzhou, China, where students and visitors can see the sculpture that started it all.
The two animals seemed like an unlikely pair. One was large and powerful. The other was small enough to perch close to his heart. Yet the more the carving took shape, the more their friendship felt natural.
That sculpture became Brin and Melly.
Melly is named after my granddaughter, Melody. Brin’s personality is modeled after my sons: brave, kindhearted, and protective of his friends and family. Those connections gave the characters a heart of their own.
The forests of the Pacific Northwest became their home. It is a place of mountains, rivers, tall trees, hidden paths, and endless possibilities. It is also the perfect setting for stories about courage, kindness, belonging, and finding your way.
What started as a carving quickly became something much more. It became a friendship, then a story, and now a growing children’s book series.
Every Brin and Melly character begins as a raw log. Sometimes, if you listen closely enough, the story is already inside.