Tama - NZ Pounamu/greenstone - Last post for '08! - pg99

Nice again. The kid swapping thing sounds like a good deal! Or put the wives together with the kids and have a carve-a-thon together. Just be careful about letting the women-folk conspire against you... :)

I'm all for that. we will all ome down and bring the wives and kidz and the dads will all go off and carve and the wives will all do the women stuff,,order McDonalds and bring it to usHa ha ha. Now the wives will NEVER Love me.
Tama, keep everyone rollin along while I'b gone to this Left Coast Tiki OkiOki. Hold the fort.

Kia ora all!

Paipo: Yeah, thanks for that mate. They all had such a good time I think they're coming back tomorrow... :)
*Maybe James W is going to join the handicapped race..? hmmmm?

Cheers for the support here & in the marketplace everyone, & a big thanks to Heath who is soon to be sporting a nice wee traditional Taonga...

No worries Benz; Ill keep them occupied & Im sure they'll be a few new things for you to see when you get back. Have a good trip! :)

So today saw the young-fellas commission piece finished...

And took the rest of the day as 'play'... Drew this up & made a start. Fair way to go still but Im sure youll recognise:

'Kon-Tama'

This one is being made from 'Kokopu'(trout speckles) variety pounamu & has a beautiful honey-brown translucency, havent seen any other jade like this before...

It will probably be another for sale here as I dont think there would be too many people in NZ who would know what it is! haha

I plan to put a lot more shaping into it & to inlay the eyes and mouth with paua... Stay tuned!

Take care y'all. TTT

A Last post here before I go. I Love Kon-Tama. The super Precise,Machined looking lines really look difficult, even in PhotoShop

Hey Braddah Andy finally had time to join up and add comment or two and drop by and say Aloha No!

Also a hello to everyone here at tiki central especially to those who are fans of Andy's (Tamapoutini) I have been a big fan of Andy's carving for a wee bit and Andy really is da Luna (the Boss) Andy No Ka Oi!

Thought I would also sport my little Hawaiian Fella made by Andy to add to pics on this forum heehee...

...beautiful extremely dark kawakawa pounamu and beauty I wear everyday...:)

...veiw of his okole' haha!

...and the perfect amount of translucency under light to hint at its hidden inner green beauty...wootah!

Hope you don't mind that I used your images Andy they were perfect and hadn't taken any of my own yet:)

Again Aloha to everyone here and mahalo's for all the great posts and to Andy for this invaluable thread.

Kia ora K'Boy! (thought Id jump in and tag you a nickname) :)
Thanks for the compliments & for adding that pic!

Hope you're going to stay a while & join the fun?!

*The stone used for your Hei-tiki is from the very same small chunk I used for my own dark girl (pg.2), the darkest NZ pounamu I have ever come across...

Glad you like it, thrilled you wear it regularly (not in the shower I hope; the heat can sometimes cause the glue on inlays to soften...)

HEAPS to see around here, (Im still dredging through the back-pages!) -pull up a chair Braddah!!

Tama 'The Terrible' :) haha

hey tama,
i've been admiring your little guys for a while and the proof is in the pudding with all your customer's glowing reviews - everyone seems to be over the moon with their beauties!
keep up the entertaining posts!
harro

Kia ora Harro! Or should I say, 'gidday mate'? :)

Your Moais were some of the first works I ever saw in this place. Something about those guys, eh? And you're the lucky bugger who's been there right? Great pics!
Man, ONE DAY... (you're not going without me Paip'!!!)

**Got to be tuning in daily if you want to keep up with the kiwi boys, haha :)

(can anyone tell me how to do the laughing smilie?... and the winking too...) Cheers!

Spent the morning working for Heath today, (haha) but managed a bit more on Kon-Tama today...

and will hopefully finish a nice one tommorrow!

See you tomorrow, Kei te ngenge/Tama The Tired... yawn!

Tama,

colon grin colon

colon lol colon

Go to Help/FAQ for more choices

-Gman

Got it! Thanks Gman!! :D :lol: :wink:

This color is gorgeous! Super precise carving.

JP

Yes Tama, that was a Special one for sure.
Careful what the Gman is getting you into;lauging out loud at a colon and grinning to a colon. don't know what a colon is where you come from but,,Ask him.
Welcome K'Boy too, is this an invasion wave going on? Hope so.
Got a few minutes air time from the hotel out here in San Deigo just to hay Hi guys. Hi Guyz.

[ Edited by: Benzart 2006-10-27 16:59 ]

Come on man, I know you're holding out on us!

Yeah, we need our T3 pics fix!

Kia ora all. Been a busy boy...

Thanks JP, looking forward to receiving your tiki/matau!!!

Benz, I wouldnt be laughing if I had a semi-colon! :lol:

Paipo/Gman, had to drag myself away from here(TC) in order to get some work done; the more I look around, the more I have to keep up with! But Im back with your fix...

Im usually pretty good at having exhibition work ready in plenty of time for deadlines, but was working right up to the line in order to finish a couple of pieces for an upcoming show. The show is to be displayed locally for a few weeks in Jan/Feb next year & will then travel to our nearest 'big city' for a further few weeks. (It is the 2nd venue that holds the prestige) The exhibition is called 'Out of the Rain'; a halarious(not) make on the infamous West Coast rain, oh yes, ha-ha

I had already set aside the large 'Hawaiian Flava' tiki (from pg 1) & had begun work on another which you have seen half complete (on pg 5)...

This one; He has know had a sex-change & is another Hei-tiki Wahine...

And I can finally introduce...
'Hei-tiki with Taiaha' Tuh-Da!

A quick pic of all three together.

Due to a timely reminder from JohnnyP Ive spent this morning working on my own Tiki/matau commission. Will hopefully finish this by the end of tommorrow as its only a small one.

And finally on a different, but equally tiki note. The whanau & I went to a kiddies Halloween party last night & so's not to be the party pooper, I thought Id get into the spirit & wear a costume...
"The Headless Hei-tiki" :lol:

I keep a stash of plastic hei-tikis to fob visiting children off with, who invariably ask, "can you make me a tiki"... Ive run out of larger ones so had to make do with just a wee fella.
*Carved a tiki-esque pumpkin too, but left it at the party & forgot to get pics, doh! (too many visits to the 'adults' punchbowl) :lol:

Take care all. Happy carving! T3

More Excellent stuff from the Tama Man.
I Really love the bloody stump-headed Hei-Tiki, super imagination. Hope your show goes well, that trio should be a show stopper. The Taiaha bearing guy is just plain Fabulous. I seem to run out of great words to describe your great stuff so you'll just have to make do with the same oldthing..Fantastic,,Super, Unbelievable, etc.

Wow Tama. Those show pieces are incredible. The taiaha hei-tiki is fabulous. Man, I'm speechless...............droooool......

"The saw is family"

[ Edited by: gman 2006-10-31 17:45 ]

Sweet stuff.
What is the yellow color in the Hei-tiki wahine piece? The stripe is a nice touch.

Your hei-tiki maku looks impossible to do in stone after trying one in wood.

John

Drooooool!!!!!....continued....

Hi guys, thanks for watching.
Gman, thanks for drooling... :lol:

JohnnyP, by 'yellow' do you mean the patch at the bottom? If so, its actually quite a white/ivory colour
& is an area of oxidised/'outer' stone. Basically 'rusted' jade... At one time it would probably have been as green as the rest, but exposure to air?/soil?/water? (probably air) for any length of time (maybe 100's of years) & it starts to break down. This particular variety has a pretty useable 'crust/rind' & and is the same used for Bens' Lono.
If you go back to pg 1 of this thread you can see the large blocks that they were cut from... The smaller 'dead' stones shown there have been through the same process but due to their small size, have oxidised right through/rotted.

As for the Tiki-Matau...

Im not 100% happy with it but its a 'family' commission & going at a give-away price, so... My Uncle Gordy in Australia wants to impress the Maori boys he works with on a mine I think. He's a good character. He's got a few of my carvings now & always hangs them on these thick gold 'Sugar-Daddy' chains, haha. Not my cup of tea, but...

*Ill flick a pic of my new fella with a few of his cousins when he arrives JP!

Take care all! Tama :)

For some reason I thought this guy was quite a bit bigger (your version that is) - I've seen a photo of the original hanging around an old chief's neck and it was quite large. Your looks fine to me - there's no point making a replica of an old piece look too new or shiny!

T3,

Yeah, I like him just like that. Very sweet my man. He came out great. Perfect to be more specific......

-Gman

Yes, Perfect as usual! Some day I might like to produce a Jade piece with the ease and perfection that you do(Paipo Too). You make it look Soo Eazy and I can promise, It's Not. I'm not sure who drools the most, Me or GMAN, Probably me, because I have been looking at this for an hour with the faucet turned full blast. I'm going to be dehydrated pretty soon if I don't watch something else. What else do you have going to the show?
I think my favorite is the Spear chucker Hei-Tiki for the show.

Nah, just a wee fella Paip'. Just over 1 1/2" or 40mm. I was given a size 'range' to work to, & this was the biggest acceptable, phew

Dont know about perfect Gman! Im not so happy with the facial details myself. The original has very light suface incision but years of ingrained filth seems to give it a perfect 'antiqued' look in the depths of the lines. I didnt want to change it too much by going too deep (& didnt have years to ingrain my own filth :lol: ), but it was a trade-off to get the detail to stand out.

Benz, the show is a sponsored 'invite only' affair & we were advised of how many pieces would be required from each artist. The jewellers were only allowed/allotted 3 pieces each, so what youve seen is it. This exhibition is a showcase of 'West Coast' Art in general & will include painters/potters/weavers etc...

Ive deliberately priced the 'spear chucker' pretty high & wont be crying if it comes home. Id be quite happy to hang on to that particular piece...

T3 :)

more great stuff :)

Yeah...! Great stuff! It looks kinda fragile though - the thin neck there... is it?

Giving the toolz a rest are we?

On 2006-11-04 16:43, Benzart wrote:
Giving the toolz a rest are we?

:lol: I wish it were as simple and as voluntary Benz...
Nope, Ive been fulfilling my Daddy-Duties for the last 2 days while Mrs(almost)Tama is on a training weekend... the Madness has just ended as she has come home and let me crawl off to workshop/tiki-room/computer, haha

Thanks Hewey!
TikiGap: Plenty of strength through the neck area, (Im assuming you are referring to the tiki/matau?) I put a bit of forethought in & if you check out the back view you'll see I didnt quite delineate the arm/shoulders as fully as I normally would. Doesnt look quite right to my sensibilities but was done deliberately to leave a little extra 'meat' for strength. Good question though!

**Its only 2.30pm here but I dont plan to carve this afternoon.

Must... recover... from... rug-rat... attack... first...oooowwww! :lol:

Back tommorrow hopefully :wink: Tama

Tama the tattered, No Problem, I Know you certainly have your hands full and with Kidz, theres Never a dull, restful moment. So you're excused, have a bit of R&R from the kiddie frights'n bites.

On 2006-11-04 17:36, Tamapoutini wrote:

... Plenty of strength through the neck area, (Im assuming you are referring to the tiki/matau?) I put a bit of forethought in & if you check out the back view you'll see I didnt quite delineate the arm/shoulders as fully as I normally would. Doesnt look quite right to my sensibilities but was done deliberately to leave a little extra 'meat' for strength.

Thanks for the detailed answer - I do see a slight thickness back there now that you point it out.
Your work is really something! This is a great thread!

Cheers Tikigap, glad you are enjoying this thread. I live pretty rurally & its nice to have you all in the shed with me!

Thanks for the reprieve Benz!
As it happened I did do some carving the other afternoon, but managed to take a break from regular production. Started a few facial details on this:

Got wood? :lol:

And yesterday saw me talking to an old pal: 8 1/2 inches long! (not wood :wink:)

This fella was made a few years ago (Paipo should recognise him) but went through a little cosmetic surgery yesterday, changing the mouth, eyes, brow, toes & 'kneecaps'...

Not the prettiest Ive ever made, but certainly the biggest. He's beeen hanging in my workshop for far too long so I thought a revamp & a price cut might sell him for me (currently for sale on a non-eBay auction site)

Another full tiki day ahead. Catch you all a bit later. TTT :)

Holy Moly, that there's some Huge piece of Jade, and you've been sitting on it for how long? I would have to put extra screws in my neck if I wore that Bad Boy. I really love the coloring in that piece, does the Jade have a name or type? Sweet!
Looks like your Big woodie is coming along nicely too. Now you are the one making us woodsy look bad with how well you're doing with it, and its Your FIRST Wood??? You're a natural carver, looks like the media you're working with makes no difference to you once you figure the tools out.
Nice work.

Aloha braddah Andy and TCer's,

Been out and about for bit, small kine workin' too much. Missed out on a bit, and just caught up on the thread.

*Thanks for the welcome Tama, you know I had to jump in sometime and give props! :wink:

*Thanks for the shout-out Benz, just thrilled to ba able to hangout with you crazy Kanakas.

*Hey Paip, been a long time fan of your work too, good to see you on here Rhys!

Braddah Andy you neva cease to amaze me, I am in love with Tiaha Tiki and I am familiar with that ancient matau/hei tiki and you did a superb commission job for your uncle, your ohana should be proud. Beautiful choice of inanga, feels like the original, and you know how I feel about size, I think its a brilliant daily wearable size.

Been following your listings for quite some time now on the other "non-eBay" site and have always been envious of your fellow kiwis who are allowed to bid on them. Are the listings in NZ dollars? I love your use of some of that "dark kawa kawa" on those his and her toki's, absolutely museum quality! I have also been a huge fan of the matau wielding hei tiki, ever since earlier threads, absolutely priceless, you will let me know if he doesn't sell:)

Sending you all the mana I can muster for the competition, until we wala'ao again,

Aloha, K'boy

What's your address on that other "Non E-bay site where your stuff can sometimes be found? Where is that big bad boy going to be listed.
Kane'ohe Boy, you can hang around us "Crazy Kanakas" All you desire, We could even learn a few tings from you. I've been trying for 2 years to get NZ Art to be a way of life and with Tama and Paipo we are really getting closer. When I ame here BK was the only one doing much Maori to my recall and now everyone is doing it..HappyHappyHappy.
I just got a dose of NZ shipping for a 26$ book, "I would be Happy to pay only21$ s&H". Ok but that's the last time. Maybe.

[ Edited by: Benzart 2006-11-07 20:31 ]

[ Edited by: Benzart 2006-11-07 20:29 ]

Hi Guys n Gals (mainly guys, bummer...)

Not much from me. Sorry Ive slowed down on the Goodies but as my man Paipo has mentioned, this is 'the season' for us. Orders flying; cross-eyed & sore-necked from sitting at the bench & computer. *Just as well, Chri$tma$ is coming after all...

Benz: 'Got Rock..?' :lol:
The BIG Fella isnt really for wearing, more of a display piece. Although, back in the Old Days, the Maori would have thought nothing of wearing a Hei-tiki of this size. Well, not nothing; Im sure they would have been well impressed, but there are surviving examples bigger than this!

As for the woodie. Im not getting very close up am I? -No macro shots just yet! I know a dogs-dinner when I see one, haha

Re: 'Non-eBay'... Damn, backed into a corner, cover blown, what to do..? :lol:
*The reason I hesitate is due to the fact that a lot of non-tiki & heaven forbid 'production 2nds' find their end listed cheaply on... this particular site.
(vaguely embarassing after my flashy Rock-star entrance... :blush: )
But if you really want to see a more mundane side of my otherwise high-octane exsistance (& you happen to be keeping up with this thread), PM me & I will give you the site details -Starting with you Benz, check your messages... And yeah, NZPost prices are extortionate aint they? Wait till you start sending Gemstones/Jewellery...

K'Boy: Aloha! Thanks for following, hope you're getting a chance to look around; there's talent around here that makes me jealous! No joke.

Re: the nameless 'other' auction site listings. Yes, prices are in NZ$. There is a lot of cheap/nasty pounamu on there that really bugs me, but slowly better work is creeping in. Giving me a run for my money these days actually!
The site recently became Australian owned & now allows members from there.

**The 'His n Hers' toki are also from the same block of super-dark Kawakawa that your wee Tiki came from!! Something must have drawn you...
There is also a very good chance that the Tiki with Matau wont sell, in which case Ill contact you. Im pretty proud of that one myself!!

So as I was saying, not much from me. Very busy but mainly non-tiki and non-interesting at the moment.
Moments away from starting something for KTD (be in touch soon)...

And spent a couple of hours on Kon-Tama yesterday. He's fair 'rabid' to be finished... tried to bite me! :lol:

*Lots of rock-grinding going on around TC, eh? Ahh, warms me cockles! heehee Tama :)

Woah, Tama, That Kon-Tama, is Frothing/Foaming at the mouth, a Sure sign that he has his sights set on a finger or 2. Watch that guy, he's Hungry.
There may be cheaper priced stuff but it goes with Much lesser quality. Your stuff is simply the best there!

Oh Yeah, Forgot about the woodie. Right on about the Macro shots, they really shoot you down in a hurry. When doing my smaller stuff and I think I'm pretty close to done? The macro brings me down to reality quickly.
But keep going, you are doing everything right and that should become an Awesome Hei-Tiki well worthy of any master wood carver.
If I had that monster piece, I'd wear it out all the time. couldn't hurt me any more than I already am, hell!

Hi guys, time for an update of my own I guess.

Had another couple of days watching the future carvers (children), so havent had an enormous amount of progress. Got a bit of a story though...

As mentioned earlier, I went to an exhibition opening a few days ago. I was handed a piece of paper at the show with the phone number of someone who 'had a package for me'...? Yeah, I wondered...

I rang the number from the gallery just before we left & arranged to pick it up on the way home. Got to the guys place & had a great chat as to how he tracked me down (the package had gone to a 'Firth' Street instead of Fifth Street and was about 20miles offcourse in another suburb). Between this bloke and another (in Australia??) much detective work finally delivered my latest Hei-tiki... Cheers JohnnyP!!!

I really love the amazing fine grain on this, Im assuming it is Maple like the other? reminds me a lot of some tapa-making wood I have seen, before it was soaked & beaten senseless... Mulbery? Very pretty anyway.

He's making friends already!
They are all worn on occasion, not all at once tho' (can you imagine? -NZ's answer to 'Mr. T' :lol:) Just noticed, the only other handcarved one is the wee tourist piece at bottom right.

I will post in the collections forum one day, there are many more...

Finished another traditional Hei-tiki a few days ago but I wont bore you with that...

Working on a project for KTD, but you'll have to wait for that...

Started this guy yesterday; you'll have to make do with that... 'Hei-tiki/Toki'

Gotta fly - Just had to appease the Benzmonsters' voracious appetite for Tiki... Ill be back with more I promise, just leave the villagers in peace :lol:

Tama

Tama, I Really love this last one. He looks like he's sitting atop a large adz and working it like a JackHammer. He must be like bay Park Buzzy. I want one like that!, hell I want ALL your stuff, well, Most All.

On 2006-11-12 20:29, Benzart wrote:
Tama, I Really love this last one. He looks like he's sitting atop a large adz and working it like a JackHammer. He must be like bay Park Buzzy.

Tama sez: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yes, he is sitting atop a large adze...

I realised he was, er, 'attached' but I like the way you describe it!

As for being like Buzzy, um, I cant comment other than; Go Buzzy!!

On 2006-11-12 20:29, Benzart wrote:
HE must be like bay Park Buzzy.

Ben, You're too kind!

I think what Benzart was trying to communicate was that HE too, is very good looking, or as I prefer, handsome, just like Bay Park Buzzy is...

You'll understand if you ever have the opportunity to gaze upon me in person.

Ravishingly Handsome Buzzy Out

HeyHey, pretty boy Park Buzzy, I was referring more to the Buzzing around you do. Constantly on the go and forever in full high gear. I wasn't thinking about your sweet looks, sorry there.

On 2006-11-12 20:21, Tamapoutini wrote:

I really love the amazing fine grain on this, Im assuming it is Maple like the other? reminds me a lot of some tapa-making wood I have seen, before it was soaked & beaten senseless... Mulbery? Very pretty anyway.

It is maple just like the one I posted. The wood came from drawer on an old piece of furniture. And is very hard, had to use power tools on it.

Started this guy yesterday; you'll have to make do with that... 'Hei-tiki/Toki'

This one is a very interesting style. Any history with it? Besides it being Buzzy.

JP

This one is a very interesting style. Any history with it? Besides it being Buzzy.

JP

Hi John.

A: Not a traditional design at all, but a 'fusion' I have used many times... The smaller toki/adzeblade (more correctly termed whao) was often traditionally worn as an amulet & for safe keeping when not in use. These days it has become probably THE most popular/common design for pounamu pendants (in no small part due to its relatively simple shape/ease of production) & is regarded as a symbol for strength/leadership (belonging more to the toki poutangata/cheiftans blade)

I like to add the token-totem of our friend Tiki for added symbolism, the strength of People in general.

There is also an historical significance, in that when the first European travellers/settlers started arriving in NZ, there sprung up an immediate 'tourist trade' in he-tiki. With the coming of these new people, there also came STEEL, which made the use of stone implements obsolete... Many pounamu adzeheads became refashioned into Hei-tiki (often low quality knock-offs when compared to the 'pre-contact' examples...), and it was due to this that the 'popular' Maori tiki design is often adze-shaped.
I like to deliberately place a tiki as 'emerging' from/connecting to, the toki form as an acknowledgement of the part it has played in refining/defining the Maori Hei-tiki.

*Sound like a sales pitch? :lol: Would you like a bag for that?

Tama :)

No thanks, Just a black ribbon
Send it to
Benzart
633 SW Gailbreath Ave
Port Saint Lucie, FL 34953

Eureka!!! The Ancients bestowed their blessing last night...

Following a discussion with Paipo a few days ago I have been doing a little experimenting & given my approach to carving a bit of a shake-up.

Our discussion was about you Benz; specifically we were commenting on how you manage to achieve such amazing results with only minimal drawing on whatever piece you are working on. In comparison, I know we are both very fussy about getting our designs 'just so' before commencing a carving. This is a very time consuming route & one that has always left me envious of the lucky few who can really 'see' into a form without the necessity of drawing/redrawing/redrawing, etc...

So throwing caution into the wind, I set about carving a new tiki, picked up my big fat 'vivid' pen and drew the roughest of sketches before starting... (damn, wish I'd thought to take pics from the start, but it really was an exercise in breaking out of such careful planning :lol: )

I just took to it with the tools & didnt stop until about this point...

...when it bacame time to add some detail. So far I was flying! Saved about half my roughout time & was feeling GOOD! Instead of carefully 'delineating' each element as usual, it was all about CARVING. Just letting go, seeing what needed doing & just feeling my way, via the tools.

*Hope youre watching Duddy, this was a major Eureka-moment like I was telling you about a while back. They apparently keep on coming even after 5 years of carving every day!

(what?? carving facial detail with NO guidelines?? unheard of..!)

Managed to put a bit of extra depth into it (at the expence of the back which was left pretty flat -Im going to have another go but start with a good thick chunk of stone. See if I can get that big belly to stand out...)

Woke up this morning to find I had sort of slipped back into my normal way of thinking(?), which is probably a better mindset for the nitty-gritty detail. But I do believe that I went through a major breakthrough in my studies last night & my roughouts may never be the same!

*All of this is pretty subtle stuff & you may not even notice anything different about this particular piece..? I know what Im talking about anyway... :lol:

A fair way to go yet & Ill probably have to put him on hold for a few days & get on with some other stuff...

(KTD: Slight delay as I need to cut some stone, but once Im rolling, Ill stick with this one. Thanks for your patience)

Happy carving all! T3