PENINSULA:David Shankland walks alongside a 38-foot-long arrow-straight piece of history.He touches the wood and imagines in his mind where it came from.“I imagine the tree looking out over the Pacific Ocean,” Shankland said.The tree probably started growing around the time of Lewis and Clark’s expeditions in 1804-06.The Summit County artist is turning what was once an 80-foot-long First-
Energy utility pole into a totem pole.As he works, he uses a tent to protect him from the elements.Shankland, a wood sculptor, said the cedar pole probably got its start in the Northwestern United States or in British Columbia. He has counted 200 rings in the tree.“It is exciting,” Shankland, 58, said of the effort. Shankland, a 1975 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, grew up in Lyndhurst and has lived in the village of Peninsula for nearly two decades.His work can be found at many area locations, including Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron; Hale Farm and Village in Bath Township, where he worked in the late 1990s; at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; and Cleveland Metroparks.He has a fascination with totem poles that were made by Native Americans from the Northwest.This particular pole, his second, has been commissioned by Stu and Melanie Chaney of Cuyahoga Falls.The first effort can be found in the front yard of Ronda Russell of Bath Township, owner of the Downtown Emporium in Peninsula.After he was commissioned by the Falls couple, he contacted FirstEnergy about the possibility of using an old utility pole for his project. And one day this summer, the two-century-plus pole was plopped onto his yard.He has already sculpted an eagle at the top, along with a scene from the Hudson River Valley, where the Chaneys used to live.The pole will have a dozen or more scenes that represent the story of the Chaney family, he said, including a thunder bird, a Ford Model T and an image from Purdue University, Melanie Chaney’s alma mater.Telling a storyTotem poles were used by Native Americans to tell the story of a clan or family.“They were a way to show the history of a family,” he said.The Native Americans used stones to carve the trees into totem poles, Shankland said.He uses carving tools and power grinders and other more modern tools to fashion the images that go on the pole. A space heater in the tent will keep him warm while he toils away this winter.He hopes to have most of the totem pole finished before he leaves for a mission trip to Haiti in late January. He is traveling with the Functional Literacy Ministry, where he will teach sculpture to children.The plan is to put the totem pole into the Chaneys’ yard in the spring.“We are honored he took the time out to do it,” said Stu Chaney, who knows Shankland through the Peninsula United Methodist Church, which they both attend.“I don’t know how he does it.” Russell said she went on a trip to Alaska and saw the regional Tlingit art. Once she returned to Peninsula, she ran into Shankland and said, “David, we’re going to do a totem pole.”The pole, which was built at least a decade ago, “has been a great source of enjoyment for me,” she said.Bouncing off ideasThe cost can be high. While wanting to respect the privacy of his clients, Shankland said, a totem pole similar to the Chaney’s is more than $5,000.Shankland said he hopes he can eventually create up to four totem poles a year.Another one of his projects, which he did off and on for seven years, is an 80-pound cherry wood bust of Mark Twain that he keeps in his home studio.“It will find a home eventually,” he said.Shankland has stayed in touch with Ebb Haycock, 88, a retired professor of fine arts at Ohio Wesleyan, and still bounces creative ideas off his mentor.Haycock praised Shankland, saying he “has a very sensitive way of presenting ideas.” The two visit regularly.“He has a craftsman-like handling of tools and materials,” Haycock said.When the totem pole is finished, the artist will paint it with an oil base and then use acrylic paint on the scenes and images.When he works on the pole, he said he is ever mindful to respect Native American culture.“This is going to be a beauty,” he said of his work-in-progress.An exhibit of Shankland’s work will be up during February at the Akron Woman’s City Club on West Exchange Street.To contact Shankland, email him at dfshanklandsculpture@hotmail.com or call him at 330-467-6772. He is in the process of building a website. Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or at jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.