Post #501919 by TikiMango on Sat, Jan 2, 2010 12:19 PM

I hope everyone had a fantastic and safe New Year's Eve. I'm so sad I missed out on Tikiyaki Orchestra's gig this year. Here's to hoping that 2010 will treat you all kindlier and sweeter than 2009! I especially want to thank everyone for looking at my stuff the past year, your encouragement keeps me going and growing.

AlohaStation, TikiHardBop, Surfintiki, Laojia, and Clarita, thanks for all the support and great comments. The recipient of the above was truly touched, and that's all I could ever hope for. I over heard someone in the family say that it could become a new family heirloom, made me feel good.

On to some new stuff...

I haven't had the energy to do much due to the Holidays, but now that they are behind me I hope to try a few new things this year. One aspect I am trying is to be a little more "commercial" I guess. For me that means to try to reduce my times and make designs that have mass appeal. Let's face it, not everyone is a fan of Maori work. So for this piece I didn't take the traditional route with some of my detailing, but rather tried to make the piece visually interesting.

I felt the koru detail at the top was a challenge. A tribute to Benzart's new jade earrings.

I've seen similar designs online, thought I'd give it a try.

A tad smaller than I usually make.

Next, I decided to see how "practically small" I could make a pendant. I have heard several times that my pieces are just too big for some folks. This was a hand-cramping size that I probably won't go smaller than. For me, there just isn't enough heft to be a pendant. You probably couldn't even tell if you were wearing this.

I tried adding a few detailed engravings, but not too happy with the way they turned out.

Maybe just big enough for a child? Not sure if I'll ever make 'em this small again, about the size of the first digit of my thumb.

I enjoy working with all the New Zealand Maori design elements. It's been great studying them and understanding the meanings behind them. This next piece I started a tad before the holidays, and he's waiting for me to finish him. My problem is that I think there's too much detail, and the beauty of the bone is getting lost. Sometimes the bone needs large uninterrupted expanses of flat bone space so there is something to put a sheen on. Also, just not happy with the symmetry or proportions of this little guy. Anyways, here's a sneak peek in-progress...

Lastly, I have decided that my dog Matai is not so photogenic... a face only his Master could love.