Peggy Mccoll

Uncharted Peggy Mccoll

The story of a Vancouver sculptor who takes an exploratory romp into the venture of mastering Jade, the fine art world and the creative spirit.
Awarded the Independant Press Distinguished Favourite, a finalist in Indie Excellence, an Amazon bestseller and Kirkus Star ranked it one of the best books of 2018. "This is a wonderfully forthright examination of what it means to be an artist. Sopel's dedication to his art is palpable and his direct no-nonsense approach to writing proves inspirational. Written with the transparent desire to encourage others to celebrate their non verbal strengths. This is surely one of the most motivating, surprising, and utterly endearing memoirs written by a contemporary artist. An absolute tour de force and a must read for any aspiring artist."- Kirkus Book Reviews.
Sopel's story is described as a quest memoir - an east meets west audacious journey - quoted as being a Dali Lama meets Indiana Jones kind of read. What makes this story remarkable is the fact that this sculptor, Lyle Sopel a Vancouver artist whose career of specializing in jade (a stone that is harder than steel) discovered in the northern Yukon/British Columbia border in the early 70's. Now this industry attracts billionaire investors from China.
Lyle then went forward to train himself about the complex sculpting methods of working with jade, including developing working relationships with tough minded, often eccentric miners. One scene includes Lyle dropping out of a helicopter onto a jade miner's property to be greeted by a suspicious proprietor with a shotgun in his hands.
Overcoming multiple challenges are woven throughout this book as the author is faced with communication issues stemming from immigrant parents. His school years were fraught with balancing his skill level from top marks in geometry but failing grades in reading and memorization. Years of struggling with low self image issues, as he climbed his way into the hearts of many notable art collectors from around the world - including Heads of State, Celebrities, Billionaires and Members of Royalty from around the world.
In the early 90's Sopel was summoned by a head Monk from a temple in Thailand to work on the largest sitting jade Buddha in the world. " Sopel's book takes us on a remarkable life journey to reach the highest skills in the jade sculpting and creative world." Acknowledgements include - Hans-Ulrich Pauly, Professional Sculptor Head of the German Gem Carving Association located in Idar-Oberstein, Germany states "His passion and perfectionist mindset and works of art motivates and touches the soul at a deep level. Lyle Sopel's Uncharted will take you on a compelling journey that will open your mind and heart. Read it and be inspired!"- John Assaraf, Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur,