Walking along El Medio Avenue towards the Asilomar bluffs, visitors often stop to look at the 12-foot giraffe sculpture in the front yard. They also notice other interesting yard ornaments, such as tree stumps filled with flowers, and a colorful geometric box that serves as a neighborhood book exchange.
These one-of-a-kind pieces were constructed by homeowner Farzan Ekhtiar, who moved to Pacific Palisades from West L. A. three years ago with his wife, Chehreh Golzah. They chose the location because of Palisades High School, knowing their daughters Tina (now a freshman at San Jose State) and Dana (a senior at Pali) would be attending a safe and highly-regarded school.
When the Palisadian-Post visited Ekhtiar in mid-February, his hand was bandaged. He had cut himself with a saw while working on a wood project and needed 22 stitches. Yet he was upbeat, smiling and laughing during the interview.
Ekhtiar, who received a degree in physics from Ferdowsi University in Iran, came to the United States in 1985 and initially worked as a handyman for a construction company in Beverly Hills. He met his wife in 1988 and they married a year later.
Ekhtiar owns CaBSCorp, an onsite facility maintenance and janitorial service, but when business slowed in 2008, his wife signed him up for a woodcraft class in Oxnard because, “He was bored and needed something to do.”
“My wife sent me to a class to learn to make pens,” Ekhtiar said. “I made 300 to 400, and then gave them all away.” Encouraged, he started taking other woodworking classes that piqued his interest.
Two years ago, he created a Valentine’s Day sculpture for his wife. Then, he said, “I was picking up palm fronds and I saw the potential.” His first frond sculpture was a man and a woman, which he placed on a bench in the front yard with a treasure chest.
He then brought home tree stumps from along Temescal, hallowed them out and planted them with flowers.
When a windstorm yielded more palm fronds in his neighborhood, “I decided to make a giraffe,” Ekhtiar said. “I get them wet, which makes them more flexible, and then formed them around an aluminum frame.” Once they are dry, he applies a clear finish to keep them from fading.
Studying sculpturing on the Internet, Ekhtiar has been working on making his animal heads more realistic, including the lion that now sits in his front yard.
“I find a picture of the animal I want on the Internet and start carving wood with a chain saw,” he said. From there, he uses smaller hand tools to shape it.
Ekhtiar also constructed a 3-ft. by 2-ft. “book” that serves as a planter. The left side of the book is filled with lush green plants and the other side is sandy, with desert plants that he found near Las Vegas.
“It’s the history of the earth,” Ekhtiar said. “Before its green and lush. The day after an atomic blast it looks like this.”
He continued, “Somebody approached me about putting a book library in my front yard. I said, yes, with the condition I design it myself. It is completely waterproof.” One side is for adults, the other for children.
“The library is good,” said Ekhtier’s wife Chehreh, a native of Iran who works as a legal aide for a law office in Encino. “I go to work early and get back late. But with neighbors gathering near our house, we get to know each other.”
With his lion completed, Ekhtiar’s next project will either be a flying eagle or a running man.
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