Creative artist dedicates life to making tiki sculptures

TALKING TIKI-A stern-faced tiki stands guard while Zach Zachary takes his chain saw to a log, ready to expose the spirit that lies hidden within. Zachary's work catches the eye of the passerby. Zach Zachary, 53, couldn't tell you what drove him more than a decade ago to quit his job, sell his house and dedicate his life to carving tiki sculptures. Nor could he tell you what each one of his peculiar-looking wood sculptures means or represents, or even how long it took to create them.

In fact, the eccentric artist isn't keen on giving too many straight answers when it comes to his passion and gift for the Polynesian art form, preferring instead to let the striking faces of his amazing sculptures speak for themselves. And speak they do, each day to passersby traveling along Kanan Road.

"People are always telling me, 'put up a sign, put up a sign,' to attract customers. Well, I don't think I need to," Zachary said. "All I need to do is put my tiki up."

Zachary and his son, Steven, spend most weekends during the year creating and selling their tiki creations at Malibu Mountain Gallery's roadside shop about five miles from Agoura Hills, just before the intersection of Kanan Road and Mulholland Highway.

WORK OF ART-This bird tiki, made by Zach Zachary, appears to be taking flight. The prominent carvings are on Kanan Road. Though based out of Visalia, Calif., Zachary has been a regular to this area for more years than he can remember, ever since meeting Malibu Mountain Gallery owner Rio de Jarnett, a fellow wood sculptor.

"We've had a lot of artists come through here, but Zach's been here the longest," de Jarnett said.

Zachary, who also frequents Encinitas, Laguna Beach and La Conchita, said there's something special about the location of this gallery.

"I like being here, along the way to the ocean," Zachary said. "There is a good feeling. We've met a lot of good people at this spot."

Zachary's tool of choice is a chain saw, which he'll use to whittle away at any piece of wood he can get his hands on- including old telephone poles.

His own harshest critic, Zachary said he might spend months perfecting a piece that could only have required a week to complete. In the meantime, he begins countless other projects.

"It takes a lot for me to say a tiki is finished," Zachary said. "If I've done my job right, people can't tell I've carved them. They look like ancient artifacts."

Though nearly all of them follow the basic tiki form, each one of Zachary's thousands of sculptures is unique, the artist said. They can vary in size from under 12 inches to more than 20 feet, type of wood (palm is preferred by the Zacharys, who also work with redwood, cedar and pine, among others) and especially in feel.

The father of two said he never knows what his next tiki will look like until blade meets bark.

"The options are infinite," said Zachary, a Vietnam veteran who made a living as a carpenter and a furniture builder before becoming a full-time artist. "No two are ever exactly the same."

Though their expressions differ, most of Zachary's carvings are either fierce-looking or openmouthed--not smiling-which sticks to the tiki tradition.

Tiki culture in America actually began in Hollywood in 1934, when Donn Beach, aka Don the Beachcomber, opened a Polynesian-themed eatery that featured decor from the South Pacific.

"Sometimes there's more expression in an unhappy face," said Steven Zachary, who dropped out of college four months ago to work with his father.

A natural artist, Steven Zachary is already churning out his own unique brand of tikis, and enjoying the opportunity to learn from his father, who is self-taught.

The Zacharys' tikis range in price from $100 to more than $10,000 for the largest and most detailed pieces. According to Zachary, the most he's ever gotten for a tiki carving is $28,000.

To meet the Zacharys and see their artwork, the best place to find them is at the Malibu Mountain Gallery on weekends-just don't bother making an appointment. Although they try to be available as often as possible, the Zacharys' pride themselves on keeping to no definite schedule- a reflection of Zachary's free-spirited mentality.

When they're not in Malibu or at home in Visalia working on new sculptures, the pair are putting thousand of miles on "the company truck" with their tiki faces in tow, in search of new customers, new friends and new inspiration.

"The last 10 years has been a spiritual journey as well," Zachary said.

"I'm not sure exactly why I decided to dedicate my life to tiki, but I know I'm glad that I did," he added.