Post #197938 by Palama Tiki on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 6:43 AM

I'm going to have to agree with Benzart on this one. I love the traditional look of tiki, i have read much about the origins of tiki, read the history of Rapa Nui so that i could better understand where the island carvers were coming from as i attempted to capture the spirit of the Moai.

i would love to be able to carve the intricate detail of a BK piece, and BK's earlier posts were an inspiration to me as to how to plot out the cuts prior to digging in. my skills are not at the levels that his are, but i look to carvers such as BK, A-A and especially Benzart for inspiration.

do i carve technically traditional tikis? no. am i working to that end? yes, but what's in my head and what comes out are not usually the same thing. that's why we are individuals, that's why art is what it is.

I can honestly say that if it weren't for Benzart and A-A giving me positive reinforcement, I never would have gone beyond carving 2 tikis for my yard that I originally intended.
Now i am including other art media such as sketching and painting into my bag of experiences.

And I can honestly say that i was extremely discouraged by BK's post as i read it this morning. it reminded me way too much of fundamentalist church people that i know who love you as long as you believe like they do, but shut you out the minute you have the audacity to believe (or not believe) anything other than the party line.

There is a wide variety of style of tiki, and the BoT exemplifies that. Polynesian Pop was not necessarily about technically perfect recreations of authentic art, but about the infusion of the tiki spirit and inspiration.

Once inspiration is quelled, the spirit dies and all you have is an empty shell.

I would encourage all discouraged carvers to use this post as a way to step up to the plate, use that creativity and individualism and carve up - and post! - some bad ass tikis!