Alex's interest in making miniatures was sparked when he
made the 1/8″ to 12″ scale model of the Ozette Village for the Makah Cultural and Research Center. The Ozette is one of the five Makah villages and was buried some 500 years ago in a
massive mudslide. Artifacts from the mudslide began washing onto the beach by pounding storms during the late 1960s and the Makah began excavating the site in the 1970s yielding over 55,000
intact artifacts. Alex wanted to help preserve this cultural heritage by making a model that depicted what ordinary life was like for the Makahs pre-European contact. That work is on
permanent display at the Makah Museum in Neah Bay Washington.