Carving A 16 Foot Totem Pole: Part 1 (of 2)

Although I will be posting a more detailed description on my blog at http://woodtrails.blogspot.com I will give a brief run down here:

The carving of this magnificent 16' totem pole began during the fall of 2009 and was completed by Thanksgiving. The winter then became enormously busy with work and other projects, then came the "blizzards" of snow almost back-to-back. Therefore the totem was painted then left sitting on the porch for about 4 months until we finally got it standing proudly in the good earth just this week. We're an alternative wilderness school for at-risk kids and the story of the new totem is as follows:

The Bear: On the bottom is the bear which symbolizes strength and thus the counselors in our program because they build the foundation (see the hammer in the bears paws) upon which all else stands. Without our counselors we would be nothing so sometimes the most important character on a totem pole is on the bottom and for good reason.

The Beaver: Next is the beaver which represents the program directors since they always seem to be gnawing on wood seeking the sometimes elusive trail to a safe and effective program for the kids.

The Frog: This little creature represents the family workers who do a lot of "hopping" around between the kids, families, counselors, and everyone on property as they mediate various problems and solutions that make our program work.

The Wolf: Indian symbolism sees the wolf as having great wisdom and knowledge so this magnificent creature will represent the teachers who make sure that our students stay current in their school work and are well prepared to succeed in the future.

The Raven: This bird will represent the campers family who are also working hard to make the necessary changes in their own lives and preparing the home "nest" for their son to eventually return and flourish into the future together again.

The Thunderbird: The Thunderbird with his wings spread out tall and proud at the very top of the pole will represent the youth and the successful people that they are capable of becoming. If a strong foundation is laid beneath then every kid will have the opportunity to succeed and that will be the real story of our totem pole.

This video is also being used as part of a blog posting on this project at my blog: http://woodtrails.blogspot.com/ so please visit me there for more information and pictures.

Music "Acoustic2" courtesy of Jason Shaw
http://www.youtube.com/user/audionautix#p/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• carving
• totem pole
• boy scouts
• totem pole carving
• totem pole chainsaw carvings

[SuperJoshman420]

I would like to carve a tree frog in my front yard, anyone have a vid suggestion? TY

[olmospeter]

Well with the right tools ... I used a chainsaw and one chisel . It's going to look good!

[jimeronimo]

Wow. Thanks for sharing this man. I've wondered about a totem pole. Kinda cool to see one in progress. Keep em coming!

Jim

[assassin616]

nice one !!! 5/5