Post #348597 by AlohaStation on Sun, Dec 9, 2007 4:13 PM

First of all - Props go to Wplugger (Will) for initiating this.

For about a year now Will has been making copies of the Mai Kai tikis from molds that were created some time in the past. He has found newspapers in the molds that date back to the late 50s. Whether or not the date is correct?? - the foresight to create molds of such a large volume of tikis/artifacts was pure genius. The investment that was made in Oceanic Art must have been spectacular. Perhaps the writing was on the wall that the tikis would not last in the humid and hot environment of South Florida. Will roughly estimates that there are at least 100 molds in storage. PLUS - some that were right in front of us every time you walked thru the gardens.

I NEED HELP!
Please show your images of the inside garden...

I also need a picture of the white tiki that led to small dining area inside the waterfall area. More on that later.

When you walked into the inside garden from behind the stage, on the right hand side of the banister was a small non-discript brown tiki. To most it looked like some really funky Pop Tiki - It wasn't! In reality it was a small tiki that had been enclosed in a rubber mold. It had been buried up to his chest in dirt and mulch. Will knew what it was and asked to see what was inside!! Permission granted!!! Here's what it looked like.

The brown skin on the outside is paint on top of a rubber skin. The whole thing was very light and we feared that the tiki inside had been eaten of rotted. Remember the rubber must be at least 30 years old and no one had a clue what was inside. The skin came off with some struggles but the tiki inside was well preserved. Here it is skinned.

The tiki is really unique. Any help identifying it would be greatly appreciated. The tiki apparently was painted. The paint had turned to dust/dirt but the wood was in decent condition. This guy had some damage that had been repaired - we guess for the mold making process. The skin had preserved the tiki perfectly from when it was placed in the rubber. He needs some help to restore him - but how cool. The skin is still intact and with some work, Will should be able to use the mold. Here are some glamour shots.

There is more to this story. I will update after dinner.

PLEASE HELP WITH THE PHOTOS!!