Post #22016 by 7TiKiS on Wed, Feb 5, 2003 6:07 AM

That's funny F!

Charlie is a really nice guy, I met him on a drive to NOL last December. His talent in carving tiki is pretty obvious, what's not shown are the life size sculptures of sea turtles; sailfish; pelicans and a huge (400x life size) Blue Crab. The non-tiki carvings are for the most part carved in Cypress and have a really rich texture.

Charlies shop is situated on Hwy 98 which runs the edge of the gulf coast of Florida, it looks like a little patch of paradise as you drive by, must be 20 or 30 tiki carvings in the front of a small tin shack building. Some of the tikis are 12 to 15 feet tall.

When I pulled into the lot, there was a little smoke coming from the roof of the shack, turns out, Charlie is using a small wood buring heater to warm the interior of the building - which is where he keeps some of his more important works and happens to live.

He really enjoys meeting people, and loves to talk about surfing. If you're ever in the Gulf Breeze, FL. area be sure to swing in and see him and his work, it's worth the effort.

Here's a link to his web site:
http://www.palmtiki.com