Post #300044 by Tiki-Kate on Tue, Apr 17, 2007 9:06 PM

On 2007-04-12 17:00, Hula Cat wrote:
what's the wood?...and where are they now

They're all palm. About seven years ago, I was driving past a neighbor who was cutting down some palms. I pulled over and asked him if I could have them. He was thrilled to get rid of them. I was so excited. I ran off and got my ex-boyfriend's truck and my brother-in-law and picked up the trees. They were about seven feet long. The guys had a hell of a time loading them up. After about two years, my brother-in-law got sick of moving these massive trees around, so he took a chainsaw to them. I left them outside my house to dry for another five years. Some of them are still too heavy for me to lift.

As far as the finished tikis go, I've got two in my living room and three in my bedroom. I like keeping them close to the objects they're based on.

Here's what I'm working on now. It's another Shag design.

I've set up a little carving space near my breakfast nook. I like being able to carve indoors (and in my pajamas.)

I'm having a lot of fun with this one. It's not really turning out like the picture. I'm just kind of making him what I want him to be now.

Thank you all for the encouragement.

On 2007-04-12 18:44, Cammo wrote:
Why is Tiki carving so relaxing? You'd think carefully smashing a tree stump with a sharpened steel spike would be just the opposite! And its addictive!

It's a total Zen thing. It's one of the only times I can completely concentrate and get my mind off of all my worries.