The Resinator

“I guess you could say it started as a procrastination device,” says guitar maker Michael Spalt as he drapes a strip of the flag he bought at a thrift store around a chunk of hand-carved wood. “I started making guitars to get away from writing screenplays, and at a certain point, I realized I had a lot more fun with the guitars.”

Walk into Spalt’s Silver Lake studio/showroom and you understand almost instantly the origins of the name Totem Guitars. Hanging from the showroom’s walls are dozens of guitars that resemble a cross between a time capsule and musical voodoo altar, as seen through a Cubist lens. Employing his background in design--he attended both the San Francisco Art Institute and the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts--Spalt makes use of all manner of found objects. And when commissioned to design an instrument, he’ll include items of personal significance, from family photos to half-smoked cigars.

Many of the instruments have a distinctly Los Angeles connection, such as the “Onyx Guitar,” named after the now-defunct Onyx Cafe. A longtime habitue of the legendary Los Feliz hangout, Spalt scooped up the remnants of a sidewalk memorial shrine that spontaneously arose after its closing, minutes before it was scooped up by street sweepers. Embedded in the piece are photos, cigarette butts, playing cards and shards of coffee cups.

“Using the guitar body as canvas gives you a dynamic base--as a shape, it’s almost an archetype,” says Spalt. “And I like putting found objects in a context where they regain or even transcend their value. They have a history, which is something you can’t buy.” In fact, many of the works are intended to stand alone as wood collages and have been exhibited in local art shows. (A monthlong exhibit of a dozen of his guitars will open Wednesday at the Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood.)

As a commercial enterprise, Totem outgrew Spalt’s garage six months ago but is still a fledgling. Spalt’s customers range from studio musicians entranced by the instruments’ tone to ordinary Joes still nurturing rock ‘n’ roll fantasies. Prices range from $1,250 to $3,000.

The pieces take an irreverent turn when Spalt is left to his own whims. The thrift store flag, for example. With the fabric secure to the wood, Spalt begins gluing small, powder-blue capsules of Prozac to highlight the points of each star. The piece will be called “Happy Nation.” “There’s probably about $200 worth of Prozac in there,” he says as he prepares to pour the polymer resin that will encase the body. “If somebody’s having a bad tour, they’ve got a built-in emergency supply.”

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By appointment only, (323) 666-0791; https://www.totemguitars.com.