Tikis on the Oregon Coast !!

Along highway 101 from Northern California to Tacoma Wa. you will come across town after town with it's local roadside chainsaw carvers hawking their goods to the tourists. It's all the same stuff. Big bears , little bears, sea gulls, salmon, and once in a while , a Bigfoot. But there's a guy up the road from us that does some really unusual stuff. I've kept an eye on his place thinking I might just catch a glimpse some day of something really cool. One day, a couple of weeks ago, it happened.

That's Mrs.Seamus who is a little over 5', making this Tiki a Ten footer.

Here's a look at this guys usual work.
some of the locals.

After poking around a bit we found a couple more Tikis.

..and another big one waiting to be finished.

A few miles up the road in Newport, we dropped by the historic bayfront. The Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum has a jungle theme at the entrance. A few months ago this fine specimen was unrecognizable, because it was covered in ivy vines.

the other side of the entrance had this guy, who appears to be made of concrete. (yeah for concrete!!)
and inside is a mesmerizing scene of a headhunters paradise. (they wouldn't let Mrs.Seamus sit down next to him)
Across the street is a nice view.
To round out the tour, up the highway another 20 miles or so is the town of Lincoln City. Right in the middle of town is this strange setting.
These bad boys are approx 12-14 ft tall Korean Jangseung totem poles. Really Incredible.


These Totems were erected a couple of years ago around the time of the World Cup Soccer Tournament. When they first appeared they all had soccer balls in their mouths. When I took these pics I was suprised to see only one of them still had a ball. I asked the gas station attendant directly across the street, who I know has worked there for quite a while, what had happened. He looked at me with dismay and said they never had balls in their mouths. Hmmmm.... somethings odd. You can even see the fresh unweathered wood in the mouths where the balls used to be! Maybe it's all those fumes.
Here's the website to this amazing Korean artist.

It's all in Korean, but there's some really nice pictures of more of his work.

So that's just 3 towns in a row on Oregons hwy 101. Not too bad. It makes me wonder if there's any more around our green and soggy state.

TikisbySeamus.com

[ Edited by: seamus on 2003-11-26 18:11 ]

[ Edited by: seamus on 2003-11-26 18:15 ]

[ Edited by: seamus on 2003-11-26 18:17 ]

the concrete tiki is an OA design. Don't know who did the concrete version though?

[ Edited by: thechikitiki on 2003-11-26 18:46 ]

Great stuff. I spotted the Ripley's Tiki a while back and admired it. Good to see they have done some pruning. Also caught the Korean giants in Lincoln City. I get a chance to see them every so often. Man, I want to see the chain saw stuff from down south. Looks much better than than usual Sasquatch junk. That is a significant find.
Keep us posted.
What is he asking for the big guy with the tongue?

[ Edited by: mrtikibar on 2003-11-26 23:03 ]

Hey there MrTikibar,
Yeah, I found your old post on those Koreans, when I was going to post them earlier. They are really impressive up close.
That first one is something as well. The guy is in Seal Rock, about 7 miles south of Newport. There's an old west village that he has taken over. Cowboys, Miners, Vikings, and now Tikis are perched all over the place.
The big one and it's unfinished mate are a custom order for someone in Cannon Beach. They brought him pictures of something they saw in Hawaii. He didn't say what they paid and I didn't press. Little bitty machine made bear cubs a foot or so big were something like $250, so ??? He said as a kid he made alot of Tiki stuff. "Sold like hotcakes!"

There's also a guy down in Yachats doing weird organic looking stucco/concrete yard art. He's got a couple of heads that look very Moai.

I know it's not much, but it's nice to have a couple of spots just to drive by once in a while when you need a little Tiki fix.