Flynny's Stuff - Strange lookin Moai 02/5

Great progress Flynny! sniff, looks like you dont really need me anymore... :cry: :wink:

Rugged looking coastline you've got there - it appears all the motorcycles/BMWs/stereos etc have been snapped up; not even a Curly-Wurly or a packet of pork scratchings left..?? :lol:

Tama

Errr Don't think so OB1, this guys on the first rung of the ladder, so don't you go anywhere, there's plenty I need to know.
Thanks for the comment
Regards
Flynny
a.k.a. Luke Stonescraper

Hi All
Carved Mano pebble, not a great deal of work more an excercise for me in using the handpiece steadily.
The mouth was a fault opened out slightly, nose slightly modified, gills and fin carved with a Jade cabochon for an eye.



Thanks for looking, comments are always welcome
Regards
Flynny

Definetely beautiful work.

Flynny this Moi is looking great. I like the color variation of the stone .

You've done a great job at bringing out the rocks natural beauty.

please keep us posted.

Ditto that AT. Flynny, your Moai is a Very Noble looking character. The Nose is very regal looking and really beautiful as is the mouth. Overall you have given him great humanistic features which I Especially love to se. Excellent work, can't wait to see how he turns out.
The Shark head is rather cool too. The green eyes really make it.

Just thought I'd share this one with you. This is the toggle for the Mammoth Ivory Swap piece , a tiny little fella only 1.25 inches high, Hope to get the piece finished this weekend.

Thanks for looking
Best Regards to all you swappers
Flynny

[ Edited by: flynny 2007-03-30 06:57 ]

Wow! This most certainly takes out the prize for 'coolest toggle'; Im impressed! Two great carvings for the swap-price of one.

Tama :)

Incredible detail on that toggle Flynny! Nice beach pictures, makes me wanna travel, though cold it looks really sacred the way rainforest beaches in Washington state look.

peace and tiki,
ST

Hi Guys

Here's a pic of the alternative swap piece, a Jade Birdman, still not quite finished, a piece of the superb greenstuff from our friends downunder, plain and patterned Paua shell eye

Thanks for looking, comments, as usual, always welcome

Best Regards
Flynny

Beautiful work Flynny.

Mrs Hoptiki

like the double inlay eye. Not sure if I've seen that but certainly worked here.

Thanks for the comments guys
Flynny

Hi Guys n Gals
Well the time came to have a go at one of my favourite styles the "Hei Tiki". As we all know, we are spolit by the work some superb stone carvers, it ain't finished yey by a long shot, so for all the advice and assistance I dedicate this one to you.
I did a little favour for the rock collector who lives next door, one of the pieces he gave me was a piece of Transvaal or African Jade, only a small piece, but I was blown away by the colours and patterns. Here's the rough piece, take no notice of the rough scribblings, it's just to give me an idea of style (note the flaw on the back)

front

I really take my hat off to you guys who do this for a living, so here goes:-

So far this piece has given me no end of grief, It went at the flaw whilst trimming, but I don't mind that as it will give it an aged look???? honest.
I still can't master carving detail with water obscuring the piece (ran too close on the mouth and to top it all my insets were quite tight and in trying to remove one eye, I flicked it across the workshop with the needle, it seems this one was slightly oval and I'm going to have to remake the eye. But I love the colours. I'm quite pleased with the progress.
Advice, critique (someone to nip over from down south to help finish??)

Thanks for looking guys n gals
Flynny
a.k.a. Luke the stone scaper

Hey! Tiki!

Now this takes me back a couple of years. Tricky suckers arent they..? From my own experience the first couple of hundred are the worst, but quickly improve after that... :lol:

That stone has gorgous colour. Ive heard of Transvaal 'jade' before but dont think its actually jadeite or nephrite. Perhaps an olivine or serpentine..?

I wouldnt worry too much about the flaked surface where a piece broke out. Give it a light sand to take any sharpness/roughness off, but I agree that it adds 'authenticity'; not so much in regards to an 'old' pendant but shows an aspect of the stone that is lost to shaping & polishing.

If you can bear to rework it, take a look at pics of other/older pieces for guidance -believe me I know how subtle these guys are! Id lessen the gap between the leg-holes, ie; horizontally elongate them. The neolithic method of manufacture has EVERYTHING to do with the way the Maori Hei-tiki looked & it really helps to have a good understanding of those methods too. Ditto, the method of how the eye sockets were cut/drilled caused them to have a central 'peg'/iris.

All in all, not a bad 1st effort. Ka pai, well done.

Only one hundred and ninety-nine to go young Jadi... Wax on: Wax off. Wax on: Wax off... :lol:

T3-PO :wink:

Not sure about this one. I'm trying to rough out a few pieces for finishing later due to my frozen shoulder which is giving me serious grief.
I like the overall shape but definately unsure about the large pink Coral cab, what do you guys think, leave as is, or, Paua shell / Gold Lip Shell, maybe even reduce the top of the head height and leave plain ???????

Best Regards
Flynny

I really like the moai - the colour on that cab complements the jade very nicely.
Now on to the hei-tiki, which had somehow escaped my attention (probably cause I was away for few days). Tama has covered the bases so I'll try not to repeat his sage advice, but instead chip in a few observations I can offer from my much more limited experience.....

A quick google tells me Transvaal jade is grossularite (grossular garnet) which is a notch or so above jade in hardness but doesn't share its structural quality. Not as forgiving to work with and maybe a bit harder on your tools too? It's always a good idea to do the first version of a design (particularly a tricky one) in a friendly or familiar medium.
Try and get your ink lines a bit cleaner and finer if you can....big thick lines leave too much room for movement of the various elements. I use a fine-tip permanent OHP pen. If you don't get the drawing down 100% on the stone, scrub it off and redraw the piece again. Get your design fine-tuned on paper and cut a template if you have to (I often do). You also have a few straight edges creeping in...fine for a moai, but not so good on a Maori piece, which is nearly always very curvilinear in nature.
The proportions and size of the holes are what make or break a hei-tiki - the entire body revolves around the holes. Likewise, the head revolves around the placement of the eyes. The proportion and balance are fairly consistent and even most contemporary interpretations don't stray too far from the originals. I will reiterate what Tama said about studying the old pieces and trying to imagine the working process of creating holes and grooves. The important thing to remember is the hei-tiki was the pinnacle of Maori neolithic art and there aren't really any shortcuts. You've made a good start with this guy - the basics are all there - but I'd suggest earmarking a nice slab of clean nephrite and starting a new one. Slow and steady wins the race!