New stuff added!!

Here is the finished Benzart-styled Moai. The wood is so pretty, with bands of different color - that I just put a clear coat of Poly on it. I will post some closeups when I get time. This guys has already staked out a claim at the bar. Enjoy.

Excellent one AS, he Really finished up Nice. Something about that wood too, that makes it very special.
Super job.

Aloha, very very nice carve. Striking resemblance of another renown and prominent carver.

Mahalo

McTiki

Very cool, AS. I like the slick, natural finish too.

Sweeeeet! I didn't catch what kinda wood that was? That grain is fantastic.

very nice A-Station....looks like a little Ben rubbed off on you! The teacher must be
very proud.

Yes the teacher IS Proud, However it must'a been the Student rubbing off on the teacher as he had that basic form and those ears BEFORE I started mine. Excellent.

Thanks for the comps on the Moai. It is a fantastic addition to my my. He is carved from a piece of Florida Mahagony. Most of the carving is on the Sap wood part of the wood and I was pleasantly surprised with the way the grain came out. Ben I copied you from start to finish - the figure I had roughed was based on you Moia as well.

Here is the latest. I started this guy while at Benzart's and have worked steadilly on him to finish him up. Just needs to be sanded and oiled. Carved out of Black Walnut, he is only 7.5" tall. More to come.

Boy did he turn out NICE!.

Oh my. (I think I just messed myself!) Hook Blade? I'm diggin the walnut Aloha. How many hours so far?

He's beautiful!

Mahalo

McTiki

Will be able to come and hang out with the rest of his Ohana?? fB

Thanks guys. I cut out the rough shape using Ben's bandsaw. Then rough shaped him with the Weecher. Clean up with palm chisels and hook blade. Finish shaping done with an Xacto. Got the whole toolbox working. I don't know how much time I have in him, because its always a little here and a little there - guess 6 hours. I LOVE the black walnut!!!

McT - if you messed yourself over this guy - you may want to invest in some plastic pants. I have a new one working right now that looks OK.

"ok"? Sheesh! Your hard on yourself.

McTiki

Your moai is amazing. I love the veins of the wood and the finishing you made on is natural and natural is always better to me.
the new mini is very good too.

Benjamin

great job AS, beautiful!!

Amy

Happy New Year!!

The holidays have kept me too busy to spend any significant time carving - so I will post some pics of projects that are close to being finished. I had some time today but spent most of the day hungover watching college football. The dark "moai" still needs some painted highlights, hopefully I will be finishing him by the end of the week. I really like the look of hime and can't wait to have him done. Second is requested Cannibal. I've been working on him on and off for a while but just haven't had any time to finish him up. He is not quite traditional, but I don't really care. Enjoy.

Nice carves AS! What kinda woodz you got there? I really like the Cannibal piece. Always quality stuff from your shop. Right on!

-Gman

Cupla nice things to start the new year AlohaS...that time you spend with the B-Man is
paying big dividends. Your Cannibal is very cool. Happy New Year.

The Cannible rocks A.S.

Kick ass.

Love the style you've got going on there.

A nice style is coming to life.
I love the cannibal.
Bravo

Benjamin.

I like the cannibal as well. You have a very nice style.

Is that a custum caring stand / fixture that is holding the other one?

JP

Thanks for all the comps. As far as a style - I just carve what the wood tells me. The Cannibal is really looking good. I did some sanding to clean up the form and get ready for the details.

Gman, the wood for the Moai is Sabal Palm (excellent for simple cuts but detail is a bitch). What you can't see is that one of the eyes was partially rotten, so I soaked the area with super glue, carve, soak, and sand. Worked great and you can hardly tell after putting on the stain. The Cannibal is a piece of Mahogany that I got from Benz' stash. Beautiful, red, heartwood - fantastic for carving (although I had a few mishaps that reqired some glue - can't even see the cracks)! I'm still learning how to use the power chisel, so some of the cuts are a little deeper than I first wanted.

JP - The stand is a 10 minute project made with scrap wood that came out great. My Workmate was scratching and denting the carvings so I needed something to protect the wood while pounding on it. No measuring, just eyeballing. With a chop saw I cut a 1x4 in four pieces and a 2x2 into 4 pieces as wide as the 1x4. Took the 2 shorter 1x4 pieces and cut "V" into each. A little wood glue and a few screws later - walla! Works great! Somehow I got lucky and the whole thing can be clamped in with the Workmates wedges. Also when carving it is wide enough to place my tools so they won't roll away. I put some drawer liners (spongy rubber mat) or old carpet on the "V" to cushion the wood. It not a masterpiece, but has taken some serious hammering and held up. Sometimes the most simply projects come out the best.

Here is a piece that I did at my day job. A T-shirt that will passed out a Fishing Tourney.

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2007-01-02 18:04 ]

B eautiful !

I realy like the skull on top of the cannibals head. Skulls and Tikis always look good together.
Can't wait to see it finished.

http://www.eibass.com

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2007-01-06 13:07 ]

Looking really good...especially the cannibal. Heaps of depth and animation in the form. I can't wait to see the detailing on it :wink:

Here is the only thing I have gotten a chance to work on since the Holidays. "All Seeing Moia" - I got to show him off at the S.FL.Tiki Jam on Saturday and then deliver him to his new home on Sunday. Thanks to Loki and Stumpgrinder for throwing a great shindig, it was really nice to see all the FL ohana. The tiki jam gave me a chance to start a nice 7' log that will be posted as i get father along. I have other stuff that is about to be finished so stay tuned. Enjoy.

Great job. That wee touch of colour is just beautiful!!!

Tama :)

Excellent stuff here AS. It's Nice seeing your "All Seeing Moai" finally done. He Really looks great and the pictures don't show that he is Really Alice and Seeing. It was great to see you again at Loki's Tiki8 Jam and the other pieces you are working on are Excellent too. The mahogany Cannibal Really does have Lots of great, tight detail.
:) :) :)

AS, love the Moai! The style reminds me of the Barney West moai that used to stand guard outside the Chicago Vic's.

But you've brought a great original theme to it! He's got a real peaceful resting look to him. Always watching though. :wink:

I can see him at the back of a dark tiki bar in the corner... or in the corner of a lush garden.... watching.

Thanks guys. I started this guy right after Thanksgiving - lost interest - then decided to finish him up with the limited time I had after the New Year.

I really like the way he came out. The addition of color is one thing I wrestled with - but I'm REALLY happy with how it came out. he is standing guard over my nieghbors patio and will thoroughly enjoyed. Next up is to finish the Cannibal and a few other pieces I have laying around.

After visiting Disney last month my wife requested a tiki that was more "Disney-like". After some carefull prodding, I found out what she really wanted was something that was happy and non-threatening, a tiki that would welcome people not scare them away. I never really thought my tikis were that scary but she does (eye of the beholder and all that jazz). I started this guy at the SFL Tiki Jam, but he has changed alot since that day - there was more drinkin than carving goin on that day. Anyway, he has to be completed before the 16th in order to welcome all of my family that is coming into town for a reunion - it shouldn't be a problem since he just needs to be sanded, burned, sanded again, stained and sealed - whew! In between now and then I have a 4-day cruise to Mexico to celebrate Valentines Day and my Anniversary!!! Hectic - but it doesn't suck.

AS, He Really looks great! You have done a Ton of work since the T-Jam. Really looking great, I Love the Pineapple, the eyes, the grin and the hands. Hurry up and finish him!

Nice stuff AS! Two of those would make great pillars for a tiki bar entrance... it has a real decorative feel to it. I'm sure the wahine is pleased.

It is nice to see green grass. I forgot what that looked like. Today it is -5 degrees. Overnight it was -16. We've got 6 inches of snow on the ground.
Our only hope looks to be the forecast for next week where we might get to 30 degrees.

Enjoy Mexico!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2007-02-05 11:04 ]

Very nice "disney-tiki". Beautiful.

Benjamin.

Thanks for the comps. He is 7' tall and carved from a Sabal Palm.

LS - he will be stationed right next to my front door. I hear what your talking about the cold - this weekend my daughter and I jumped in the pool and could only stay in for about 15 minutes, the water was 73 degrees - BRRR!! I'm looking forward to the trip to Mexico so I can defrost - hehe!

Here are some illustrations I've been working on. The first is aT-shirt design for the cruise - Aztec themed sea serpant. The second is a pin-up that is still a WIP for fun. Both created in Illustrator.

Hey Aloha! That Tiki rocks! The pin-up looks like my 3rd ex wife! (no kidding)lol

Nice stuff as always

Mahalo

McTiki

[this weekend my daughter and I jumped in the pool and could only stay in for about 15 minutes, the water was 73 degrees - BRRR!! I'm looking forward to the trip to Mexico so I can defrost - hehe!]

I did the annual polar plunge here on saturday, water was a balmy 45 degrees, still pretty warm compared to those great lakes TCers though. Seriously great art work. Is she available to bartend parties??

Well its been a busy few months and I have finally had some time to spend working with my tikis. Here is a "Cannibal" that I started long ago and have just now finished. He is slightly over 12" tall and carved from a beautiful piece of mahogany. Unstained with acrylic color highlights - I'm sill experimenting with the color and the different woods let me know what you think. I used a spray lacquer on him for the first time and love the results.

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2007-02-26 08:33 ]

Very cool Aloha...I love it from top to bottom. Very nice concept and expertly
executed. One of the finer "cannibals" I've seen!

AMAZING.

Bravo

I love it! Perfectly attired for late summer in NZ :)

WOW- kick-ass headhunter--I likes it alot! I like your graphics style as well--especially da Wahine!

A.S.

That's sweet stuff. Love the slippas! I don't know why, but they work!

If it takes you a month or so to post great works like this, so be it! :wink:

There's some excellent stuff going on. I too love the flip flops on Cannibal, a wicked mix of old and new, the pin up ain't bad either, wish she looked like my ex wife, as it happens the Cannibal is a better likeness. Was Cannibal done with knives of chisels.
Best Regards
Flynny

[ Edited by: flynny 2007-02-26 23:12 ]

AS, That is One Sweet Cannibal, Definitely among the Best I have ever seen. My guess is that you will have a LOT of requests for one of these guys, Really, Really Well done Sir!

Thanks for all the comps. He's not your traditional type of carving - but thats the way I am. I get my ideas from the old tikis but after that no reference is used. The sandals were a late addition that everyone seems to love. Could become a theme, because I hate carving feet!

Flynny - The size of these type pieces allows me to used a wide variety of tools. It starts with a bandsaw, then I use a Weecher autochisel and Dremel for the rough cuts, and then I finish with knives and palm chisels. Its nice to have variety of tools - keeping them sharp is the real challenge.

I have more to show but my camera battery just died, sorry no pics till tomorrow. As a tease let me say that Black Walnut is really nice!!

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2007-02-27 07:40 ]

"He's not your traditional type of carving - but that's the way I am"

No doubt! And I wouldn't want to see it any other way. Very sweet piece AS. That mahog is wikkid. The carving, coloring, and overall presentation are great. Very kewl!

-G

Your style is great, I love the execution and accent painting on him. I'm jealous.