Through carving, Alex seeks to preserve cultural traditions that he can trace back through time. By observing the pieces from Ozette, as well as other classic West Coast carvings, he discerns “prevalent form-lines, “which characterize the Makah tradition. He works hard at understanding the essence of his heritage, and sees his own work as a preservation and interpretation of this older style. Alex is driven to understand the past in his quest to develop his carving. He observes that “you need to ‘get’ something before you can preserve it.”

Perhaps his approach to his carving tradition can be summarized in this way:

 learn it with care, preserve it with beauty, and pass it on.”