Post #198643 by Aaron's Akua on Thu, Nov 17, 2005 1:01 PM

Mahalo, my friends!

Alientiki: Which island are you on? We will probably return next year, not sure which island. Probably the big island or Kauai. It would be cool to look you up.

PCT: No pics up yet, but I will try to do it soon. The wood should have some mojo for me - coming from the islands and all. They will be for special tikis for my wife & son.

Spermy: Great pics! That looks like the open-air crafts market in Lahaina. I meant to stop by there, but didn't think dragging the whole family around looking at tikis all day would be wise! It was vacation after all. Those tikis in your picture are quite a bit different than the others that I saw, although the same basic style.

Palama, 5-0, 8 FT., Surfintiki & BK: I really enjoyed hanging out with the carvers for a short while. They are not used to tourists with much knowledge of tiki and carving, I could tell. It was a highlight of the trip for sure, and I think they also were pretty curious about the mainland carvers, tools, & other stuff we talked about.

BK & Raffertiki: Thanks for the comps. Well, I've posted about a zillion pics of this tiki from start to finish, so what's one or two more? BK, we're thinking alike. I'm doing a 3-tone stain job on this guy for an "ancient relic" sort of look. I hosed him down with ebony stain, even used a spray bottle to spray it into all of the cracks. Then I sanded it all down again so I could apply the next color. I have a few mores steps to go. Here's a sneak peak (I will do a little step-by-step on the finishing later):

Hewey: My son may be immune. After the 3rd or 4th stop he told me "no more tikis" (sternly)! He just wanted to go to the beach and play in the sand.

Chongo: Yeah, the first guy seemed a bit taken aback when I asked to buy a wood blank - not a common request. I forgot to mention, that "Hau" wood is also known as "Wild Hibiscus". It is hard as a rock, but should look pretty nice all sanded up.

Sirginn: Thanks for posting the great pics. Those particular carvers seemed like the most talented of the clan in my opinion. I saw a few similar pieces with the limbs incorporated into the piece like in your pictures.

Manokoa: Yes, definitely look these guys up. Any of the local carvers would spend some time talking with you I'm sure. Suggestion: If you have any decent mainland wood that is scarce in the islands, bring some along for a possible trade.

Mooney: Thank for the comps! Much appreciated!

Ben: I don't have that much knowledge of Tonga, but the style just looked cool to me. Tevita promised to carve me an authentic Tonga style tiki (not Hawaiian) if I let him know in advance before coming out next trip. I think that would be really cool.

Now I've gotta start thinking about the next carve.

**Thanks for all the great comments!

Mahalo,

A-A**