more totems

Carving an Alaskan Totem pole- old style

current 

first pic  

overall pic

intermediate pic. 

        I have studied a little about Alaskan totems and what I find that is surprising is their desire to be sociable in such a remote barely inhabitable area especially knowing the nature of the white European man of that time, in fact so sociable that they would carve and erect poles to show location and types of animals encountered, and some insight as to who the people were, that carved these huge as in some cases structures of works of folk art associated with the indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest. These poles were usually of red cedar and seemed to exist prior to the early 1800’s but were not as plentiful. They seemed to have progressed from house poles used to support a roof of thatch or bark inside a hut or house used to provide shelter for native peoples, to welcoming posts erected outside the structure symbolizing the hierarchy of what is important to the particular family within.

       It is said that early ship wrecks gave rise to a carving revolution as natives progressed from stone to metal carving aides made from pieces of metal scavenged from the remains of early foundered ships that allowed native carvers to create more elaborate carvings with greater quantity. As the white man became more frequent in outlying areas and trade with natives progressed the number of totems increased significantly. A proliferation of cheap examples of totems exists today, and some are without meaning or significance or respect to the original totems. Some designs are of specific design or copyrighted as trademarks of the native people. The totem itself cannot be traced to any certain people. My design is general in nature but based on what I had gleaned as proper totem construction.

      I never copy and the design is born out of my head, my vision is based on pics I have seen, still it is original and of my style as I have no need to copy anyone directly. The chainsaw works well for my purpose in comparison to wood working chisels or even stones as the early natives would have used. I will try to post earlier pics, so you can see the progression of the carving as I go along. I have managed to carve at least an hour a day and today’s picture will be featured in tomorrow’s blog as I move along with the carving.

      The hierarchy of the totem is best described as having importance in a traditional sense as I was asked for a totem and not an art sculpture of my own design. This was the only request and was general in nature. I thrust it upon myself to try and do something respectful of both the Alaskan tradition and the client I am working for.  I have known him for some time and I have no desire to go cheap on him as that surely wouldn’t be respectful. This is one of the largest, and if not the largest project I have taken on so far. He will need to take special consideration when erecting the totem to assure that it doesn’t topple over to protect innocents from being severely conked in the head and at the least possibly damage the statue. I am still working out mounting the totem in a safe manner to prevent it from toppling. It may involve gluing 1 inch steel rods into the base of the statue and embedding these in a concrete base to assure drainage away from the base and to provide enough ballast to prevent over toppling of totem. Safely erecting the totem will be the responsibility of the client, but I will consult with him if requested.

2 fish detail starting to come out under talons 

       The technical aspects aside, I went with what is considered traditional hierarchy of a totem. The eagle appears at the top of the totem and progresses to fish of which I will have two coming together in the center under the eagles talon, then below that will be a bear resting on the shoulders of a native Alaskan . The man represented by being at the base of the pole and center to all,  being the benefactor of all the above symbols of abundance making him a rich person welcoming all who enters his family’s residence.

       Something I have learned of studying totems is that they are not only used as welcoming posts but are also used as shame posts. one was dedicated to the CEO of Exxon at that time for his handling of the Exxon Valdez disaster where the tanker ran aground and spilled millions of gallons of crude into Valdez harbor and to this date have never paid a dollar of the fines levied against them for their part in the disaster, instead tying up any compensation to victims who suffered from their neglect. Instead choosing to pay lawyers and perpetuate into the future any possible settlement. 

           One thing you will notice as I place the pics of the same eagle on top is the progression of removing material as I work to define all those things I feel are important to the successful completion of the sculpture. I continually return to the top of the sculpture when I am working, reworking the same areas until I have nothing else i desire to remove. I employ different methods of cutting across the grain, and then going with the grain to finish the final sculpture to a certain fineness and eliminating chainsaw marks. Very little sanding will be needed when completed.  Paint will be added to the final sculpture and will be addressed later. I am continually thinking this project out as work out the details once settling on a final design. Details such as the paint and security of the structure to prevent harm, and to provide maximum viewing appreciation need to be addressed.  You not only have to be an artist with a vision in front of you, but also how you are going to present your art and others will view it, when it is completed.