Traditional totems: Artist carves wood using Native American, Pacific Northwest influences
By PAMELA J. PODGER of the Missoulian
WOODSIDE - George Gulli's chisel bites into the tamarack, shaping a fish on a totem pole emerging in his yard on the edge of Highway 93 South.
Bits of wood careen into the air. Shavings lodge in his hair. Several wood chunks land on the ground as Gulli concentrates, oblivious to the traffic rumbling past, a backbeat to his art for 15 years.
The spectacle of a roadside totem pole carver often draws curiosity seekers down his dirt driveway. He stops and answers people's questions.
He's happy to be outdoors, chisel flying on a brisk evening in this reluctant Montana spring. He says he prefers the outdoors to staying cooped up in his metal shed during the winter.
George Gulli works on a totem pole: outside his shop at Woodside recently. He roughs out the tamarack logs with chain saws, then uses dozens of different chisels to create the intricate shapes, figures and animals of a finished piece. Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian
Along the busy Bitterroot Valley highway, Gulli fashions totem poles and ships them to private residences near Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Seattle and elsewhere. One Japanese business purchased 14 totem poles several years ago, and some of his poles flank German doorways, too.
Clad in several layers of warm clothing, Gulli has the sturdy build and strength to roll the logs as his work progresses. He wears sunglasses and earmuffs as he carves, tapping the chisel with a metal mallet.
Ellie, his golden Labrador mix, lies nearby - but out of range of the raining wood chips.
"She kind of blends in with the sawdust," he quipped.
He said his totems are not religious, but are influenced by Native American and Pacific Northwest traditions. He carves images of beaver, salmon, bear and other animals.
"I don't have any ceremonial gods," he said.
A 17-foot totem pole and a 35-foot one, both carved by his father, tower near the highway. One day, Gulli said he'll put a totem pole of his own out there.
"They are reminders of him," Gulli said. "This location is the best place to be if you're going to do this. Curiosity gets them and people stop by."
Other logs repose in stacks, awaiting transformation by Gulli into renderings of animals, faces and wings.
Gulli's tools dig into the golden wood.
"I'm always looking at the shapes and lines, trying to avoid a sharp corner," he said. "There is an energy to this. I try and envision what the fish look like when they're swimming."
Several completed totem poles lie on the ground under a George Gulli & Son sign painted on a building facing the highway.
He learned his trade from his father, George Gulli Sr., who arrived in 1981 and began carving after investing in a struggling trailer park.
"It was a fluke, really," he said. "My father had to establish himself as a carver. It didn't go too well initially, and then one day he sold 11 totem poles."
His father's business flourished, and he carved 58 totem poles for two theme parks during an eight-year association with Marriott Corp. He also created five totem poles for Dennis Washington's private enclave on Stuart Island in British Columbia.
The younger Gulli, then 25, visited his father from California and began fashioning smaller, table-top totems. He often brought his father redwood from California's majestic trees. The elder Gulli carved the reddish hues into wings for the totem poles.
After his father started experiencing heart troubles, Gulli moved to Montana with his wife, Vonni.
"I came to help him because he was behind on his orders," Gulli said. "This is where I belong."
The couple, who've been married for 26 years, have three children. None has taken up carving totem poles yet, but "maybe the grandkids will," Gulli said.
His business is mainly spread by word of mouth. The totems range in price from $300 to $20,000. He said he requires about three weeks to finish a totem, with its carvings encircling the pole. He completes about 35 totem poles a year.
His wife paints the faces, tortoises, rams, fish and other images on the totem poles, which are polished with log oil before delivery.
"Heck, we'll ship them anywhere they want," he said. "When people are building these multimillion dollar homes, the shipping isn't anything."
He said he prefers creating totem poles at a steady pace.
"I don't like to do volume for the wood carving," he said. "If you're doing volume, you're not an artist anymore. You're on the phone, peddling, peddling, peddling. That's just not me."
He selects his poles from Plum Creek Timber Co., choosing ones for their shades, grain and natural hues. He rips away the bark and pale outer "sap wood," reaching the inner depths.
"They have beautiful color and are the best wood to carve, ever," Gulli said. "The tamarack speaks to the totem poles and brings out the colors. It is a cedar color, but it dries harder than cedar."
Gulli also does specialty carvings, including signs. So far, he said the most unusual one he's done is a chicken head and bust for a Georgia farm.
"The guy was happier than heck to have it," he said.
Over the years, Gulli has seen changes in the Bitterroot Valley.
"There are lots more cars coming by," Gulli mused. "It seems like a lot are moving out and a lot are moving in."
Somehow, he said, it is fitting to have the timelessness of the totem poles facing the daily bustle.
"They could outlive us for sure," Gulli said.
Reporter Pamela J. Podger may be reached at 523-5241 or at pamela.podger@missoulian.com.
