Fossil & Stone Spotlights Natural Worlds in the Heart of Downtown

Just a quick walk from the Westlake Lightrail Station and a few blocks inland from the bustling Pike Place Market, Fossil & Stone Fine Art Gallery stands still and quiet amongst the normal chaos of downtown Seattle. It is a gallery that one might walk past day in and day out, never quite noticing the inspiring and beautiful art within. 

Amethyst geode with carved ivory moose by Eddie Lee

The Evergreen Echo

Even from the street, there is a certain magic that oozes from within this small gallery. In the windows sit large, intricate sculptures, dazzling geodes, and sparkling stones of all colors and sizes. A step through the door propels you into what feels like a whole other world, with hundreds of delightful creatures made of antlers, fossils, and gemstones, figures carved from marble, and finely crafted jewelry.

Upon entering the gallery, I was greeted by Kathy Lee, the daughter of the gallery’s main artist, Eddie Lee. She invited me in warmly, promising that the gallery was not as stuffy or private as it may have looked from outside. From her friendly demeaner and impassioned energy, I knew that I was in for something special. She walked me to my first of many sculptures, a carving with interlocking eagles made from a tanned, porous material. She smiled, letting me know it was safe to touch, and in fact, that she encouraged me to touch the art.

What I discovered was not stone or clay, but something more textured and rougher, nearly the same temperature as the room. The figure, she explained, had been carved from a fossilized elk antler, and something about the piece still felt alive, whether by the careful consideration of the fossil’s natural shape or by the energy inside it. Kathy confessed that her father often had to touch pieces before he carved them, “to feel if they even wanted to be carved.”

For the next half-hour, I moved between the displays, pressing my fingertips to various pieces, discovering that what might have looked like stone was more fossil, or that something that appeared wooden was in fact carved from a marbled gemstone. At one point I pressed my palm to the head of an octopus, delighted to discover that what I at first glance believed to be petrified wood, was in fact a cool, glossy stone. During my visit, I often stopped to ask Kathy about a specific piece or the process of collecting materials, to which she passionately answered me. As someone who would consider themselves a nature writer (and someone who owns a bit too many stones and crystals), I was in heaven.

Salmon carved from soapstone by Eddie Lee

The Evergreen Echo

Eddie Lee is a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in Seattle after the Vietnam war in the late 1970s. Before entering the United States, he had no experience with carving, but soon after his arrival, he quickly discovered his talent for sculpture. In 1980, he established a studio in Seattle, and even at 68 years old—and 45 years later—is still carving pieces.

Kathy explained that Eddie began carving with the cheapest material he could get his hands on (soapstone), and after being urged by other artists to seek connections in Alaska with the Inuit carvers there, began his experiments with the carving of fossilized antlers, bones, and more expensive stones. She pointed me to a large mammoth skull fossil named “Manny,” explaining that the materials were ethically sourced, as all antlers and ivory were collected from fossilized animals and by experts who had experience handling the materials. We laughed about how Eddie made his connections with these various other artists and experts, the ones who either gifted him materials or helped him collect them.

“It’s strange,” Kathy told me, “Back in the day, you really could just walk somewhere and meet new people.”

Eddie is not the only artist who displays work at Fossil & Stone; other artists include Matthew Baker, from the Squamish/Kwakwaka'wakw Nation who designs cedar sculptures, and Yan Pashkovski, a Ukrainian jewelry maker whose designs are modeled after the natural world, along with several other incredible artists.

Otter and baby otter carved from fossil by Eddie Lee

The Evergreen Echo

What I loved most about the gallery was the inspiration drawn from the natural world. Several pieces were patterned after otters, walruses, and salmon; each seemed to be moving, as if trying to jump out of the sculpture. Other pieces displayed Indigenous canoers in canoes made of dappled stones. More were gemstone or wooden bowls, stone pillars, and other sculptures that carried a natural flowing energy. In these pieces, you could almost see the marshlands or lakes that the creatures or people would have lived in, and the love for the Puget Sound’s natural world was clear and abundant.

There is an energy in Fossil & Stone that is unmatched. Whether it’s the beating heart of the family that owns the gallery, the energy of the materials, or the tender care put into each piece, there is a vibrancy that carries throughout the space and pieces.