Post #272955 by Polynesiac on Sat, Dec 16, 2006 9:48 AM

Aloha!! and thanks for the encouragement. More pendants on the way, but I thought I'd show a little bit of what I've been up to.

I'm just about done with my "Kaiku" lamp, short for "Kaikua'ana" which means older sibling (of the same sex, so in this case older brother). It's a rather late birthday present, so i want to shoot it out as soon as possible. The first shot is of it all lit up with a temporary shade, that will be sent with the lamp until the real shade is done. My brother works as a lawyer in Dallas, and has all sorts of balanese/south pacific masks and art in his office. He told me this one was going to sit on his desk.

The next image is a close up of the carving - if you look at the base you can see the carved/painted name and some designs along the side.

I've always been obsessed with getting my carvings as near perfect to my vision as possible and that eats up a ton of time, especially when I NEVER achieve that goal. I'm always taking a little more off here or there or whatever. Plus, I give myself only an hour a day after work and a few over the weekend to carve, which means the more anal I am, the less I get done. So as I was carving some pendants, I decided to do a "quick carve". I gave myself 30 minutes (which is still too long in my mind - but MUCH shorter than usual), a small scrap of rosewood, no pencil for lines and nothing to look at. Here's what happened:

Not bad. not great, but not bad either. I was done carving the tiki in about 20 minutes, so I had a little extra time to add some of those chin lines and scallops at the crown. I think I'm going to cast him and see how he looks as a resin pendant.

And this is what really eats up the majority of my carving time:

My Balls!!!! This was a completed order for a company that outfits tiki bars, located in whittier. Soon, you will be able to see, touch, fondle AND purchase my balls from the same establishment. Tea bags are extra. These 12" diameter globes are heading down to a rather well known tiki establishment in Atlanta Georgia. I've changed how I play with my balls and cut (ouch!) a 4" hole and frost the inside, rather than the outside. This way they can fit regular sized light bulbs. In case you're wondering, they were ordered without electrics.

THanks for looking!