Post #450179 by Mo-Eye on Tue, Apr 28, 2009 1:23 AM

Found another article - Dec. 4, 1967 Evening Independent

Native Woods Become Gods

If you want something really different for a Christmas gift, there's just the place to find it down at Indian Rocks Beach South Shore.

There, Frank Schmudde carves huge brooding native gods from great logs of Florida cypress.

His workshop is on Gulf Boulevard under a shedlike structure attached to a small white frame building. The logs and finished gods spill out all around him so that those passing are startled by ferocious wood creatures which grimace at them.

Frank set up shop here about two years ago, as he neared completion of five years of work at Tampa's Hawaiian Village.

At the moment two great unhewn logs are lying out front. He picked out the trees himself deep in Florida's cypress swamps. Central Florida loggers and three sawmills keep in mind his need for trees and ship them to his door.

He spends most of his days carving, chiseling and polishing the short fat evil spirits or tall majestic protective gods, no two quite alike.

Frank says he has worked with wood all his life, always trying to create authentic figures. With Hawaiian Village, it became a profession. He calls his custom carving shop "The Workroom of Native Decor."

A beautiful cypress totem pole, for a Clearwater restaurant, has its base coat of white paint. When done, it will be splashed with vivid color and have its winglike crossbar of sugar pine affixed near the top.

Frank explains that the American Indians' totem pole tells the story of the tribe. In contrast, the Polynesian memorial pole is designed to show the social status of the island natives.

The ideas and designs for all his pieces are carefully researched in museum and library pictures, reference books, old copies of National Geographic magazines, historic reports and other available resources.

Some of his favorites are carvings of Tiki, the man god; Kava Kava, the ghost man; the fisherman god; Ky, the war god; and even some is cement and featherstone (volcanic ash). One of the latter he finished a while back was "happy lady" a reproduction of an Easter Island statue.

So if you want a Christmas gift that's on a grand scale and custom made, order a carved god and tie a red bow around his neck. You'll have to deliver it yourself though. Santa's sleigh just wouldn't have room.

And this one had some usable pictures!

Notice those tikis behind the turtle? They look exactly like Witco bar stools...