Thread: The Beginning of a Totem Project

I took these pictures of the Western Red Cedar tree segment on a carriage I built expressly for the purpose of being able to move it by myself, in and out of my carving studio. The USA and Canada have trade agreements which necessitate that no 'old growth cedar' over a certain diameter can be exported unless the tree is processed in Canada. So I hired a professional wood broker to help me locate, bid on, and ship a tree that would meet the requirements both legal and my needs in terms of design for a carved totem pole.

Carving cedar is best accomplished when the tree is green, full of water. So the weight of this segment was in the thousands of pounds upon arrival. A fork lift was used to set it on the carriage. 8 inch ball bearing wheels were added to the carriage enabling movement to and fro. I needed to soak the entire log every day and wrap the portions I wasn't working on to insure it from drying out too quickly. This aspect of soaking went on for 11 months. I pushed it in and out of the studio to accomplish the soaking and let it drip outside before pushing back into my studio.

I live at an elevation of 6000 ft. Winter means snow and freezing temps. So moving it in and out on the ensuing ice sheet did have its challenges.

I have chronicled most of the process and will begin posting images as I have time.