Ed carves at Jamaica Jakes for the Crippled Childrens Aid Society

Catching-Up

Tiki carver turns heads

By Cynthia Van Gaasbeck — TODAY Writer

Ed Volonnino has his heads together.

The
Cocoa Beach resident isn't some egg-headed monster. Instead, he carves tiki heads and has been known to leave his artisan mark on roadside trees.

In April 1979, Volonnino caused some human heads to turn when he began carving the twisted faces of his craft in the trunks of palm trees along SR 520.

A TODAY story detailed Volonnino's efforts to redesign the trees in front of the Bob Lancaster insurance office on Merritt Island.

The controversy then centered not on the carvings, but rather on the artist doing them. According to Jack Salem, maintenance engineer for the state Department of Transportation's
Cocoa Beach
, permissioned use of the dead palms.

Wayne Coombs, owner of the Mai Tiki Gallery in Cocoa Beach, had taken the official route in getting permission to carve the trees. But Volonnino, who said he had been eyeing the wood for months, dug in without official blessing.

"When I started carving those trees on 520, I just wanted to get some visibility. Those trees are dead, wouldn't people rather have a good carving on them instead of just seeing dead palms?" Volonnino said.

After adding
to one tree along the road, Volonnino was censured and quit working the
.

Since then, Volonnino's carving continues to
the public, though he admits the art isn't all that profitable. He said he needs "legitimate" work to supplement his art income, and has taken a carpenter job with the city of Cocoa Beach. The job provides more than a paycheck, Volonnino said, for it gives him a chance to build with his favorite medium — wood.

Meanwhile, Volonnino has amassed a gallery of tikis made from his private "stash" of logs. He sells the carved figures to local businesses and residents, and sometimes puts on demonstrations.

In March, he enjoyed a successful week as a guest artist at Sea World's Florida Festival in Orlando.

"They have a lot of palm trees in Orlando, but I guess nobody carves them. I was doing great selling tikis to the tourists."

This weekend, Volonnino also hopes his carvings bring good money, though he doesn't want to keep any.

On Saturday, Volonnino said he will donate to charity the proceeds of a sale at Jamaica Jakes Shrimpworks and Drafthouse.

The exhibition and sale at the restaurant on SR 520 in Merritt Island will include other craftsmen's work as well. A surfboard maker will be selling boards, with the money going to charity.

Sixteen of Volonnino's tikis will be for sale, with
ranging from $10 to $80. "I want to make them reasonably priced so they'll move quickly. Then, if people want to donate a little more money, they can," he said.

The Crippled Children's Aid Society will benefit from the sale.

"I wanted to find a legitimate organization in Brevard. My friend wrote down a list of groups like United Way and UNICEF, but they're all Orlando-based. I came to the bottom of the list and there was the Crippled Children's Aid Society," he said.

Volonnino decided the other charities would get
through organized fund drives and he would concentrate his efforts on the crippled children's group.

"I want to raise some money and do something
. I could use the money, but if I
these people, that would make me feel better than anything else," Volonnino said.

Gary Gregory, owner of Jamaica Jake's, will be offering "free beer, dinner specials and good music" to those attending from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Eventually, Volonnino, originally from St. Louis, Mo., would like to take his talent on the road.

"What I want to do is work my way around Florida. Just travel around and carve wherever I can. I've heard of other artists doing this, and I would really like to try it, too."

ED VOLONNINO — Sculptor — Cocoa Beach