Creating Totem Poles

Next to the Public Market on Granville Island, Vancouver, was a workshop for Art students carving Totem poles. At first sight, they looked like mummies lying about. The wood was from tree trunks. I believed the carving tools were mainly hammers and different sizes of chisels and there should be some preview drawings of the totems before the wood was carved. The final work went to polishing and painting.

I just wondered how heavy a totem pole was when finished. What we can see here in the photos were only sections of a totem pole. These sections should be transported, erected and fixed together like ‘Lego’ pieces at designated spots for display.