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 Greg Colfax
has been described as an “artist, fisherman, canoe company manager, poet, and
philosopher.” He was trained as an educator in creative writing, with degrees from
both Western Washington University and the University of Washington. He has taught both in
the Native American Studies Program at Evergreen State College and in elementary and high
school at Neah Bay. He began his training as a carver in 1978. “I have no formal art
training,” he says. “A few individuals have provided me with good advice: Art
Thompson, George David, Steve Brown, and Lorne White.”
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 Colfax also says,
“The photo slide collection belonging to Greg Arnold and my own endeavors to collect
photo-slides of unpublicized pieces from the back rooms of our country's national museums
have provided a look-see of our ancestors’ art. My grandfather no doubt has been the
most instrumental person in my life as an artist; he would explain the meaning of what I
was carving and when I would show him a carving I would hear a story seemingly
disconnected from what I was doing, but after years of thinking I understood his
intentions.”
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 Two of his
pieces were included in the traveling exhibition “Lost and Found Traditions.”
Colfax carved a 12-foot figure of a woman drumming for the Native American Studies Program
at Evergreen State College, and he also produced a 50-foot carved and painted cedar mural
for the Tukwila City Hall. He has researched the collections at the Burke Museum, Royal
British Columbia Museum, and the Makah Cultural and Research Center. He consults with
Makah elders about the meaning and uses of art objects and utensils. Today he is a master
carver in Neah Bay, where he works with apprentices such as Micah Vogel. In addition to
his many original carvings, Colfax also restores older pieces.
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 Colfax’s work can
been seen, among other places, in the collections of the Burke Museum, University of
Washington, Seattle, WA; Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA; the University Museum,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; and the Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa
Fe, NM.
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