Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

Is there any room left for people in your lounge? :lol: Looking great Conga, keep on carving!

Finky...always room for people in the Congatiki Lounge. Not much for aloha-wear
but at least a lot of peeps.
Thanks to all for looking and for the comps. Gotta get back to work so they look
better soon.

Conga, you live way to close to Milwaukee to be serving Bud Light at a party. :wink: Everyone has fun at the Congatiki Lounge!

Yer right there Finkdaddy but I wash my hands of the whole thing. I am exclusively
a tequila and rum guy, so beer drinkers are on their own at the Congatiki Lounge.

Your work always is great, Conga.

On 2007-05-04 10:07, congatiki wrote:

Finky...always room for people in the Congatiki Lounge. Not much for aloha-wear
but at least a lot of peeps.
Thanks to all for looking and for the comps. Gotta get back to work so they look
better soon.

Rockin man! looks like a great party! Gotta show them folks the 'hilo hattie's' website :wink:

Oooh! I missed an important detail here - the rum/tequila one. That's correct! Light beer drinkers - bring your favorite!

[ Edited by: tikigap 2007-05-05 22:12 ]

On 2007-04-30 19:19, Benzart wrote:
If someone does not carve, they could Never understand what knowledge can be gained just from Looking at a carving, good or bad, finished or Unfinished.

It bugs me when people pass judgement on the carving forum but don't actually participate in/contribute to it.
Besides, from where I'm sitting it says:

Creating Tiki — Tiki and tropical crafts of all sorts. Show off your work, ask questions, give and get tips.
(italics mine)

I show off my work in the hopes that other people will show off theirs and keep stoking my creative fires.
The rise in the quantity and quality of stone and bone carving over the last 6 months is a pretty good indication that the "ask questions, give and get tips" part is working fine too.

Keep on posting your stuff conga, it's some of my favourite work on TC - and that goes for the rest of you too, newbie or master.
:tiki:

Many thanks Basement, Paipo and Tikigap.
You make some nice points Paipo. I agree that the progress shots are very important
in seeing the possibilities with whatever we are working in, wood, bone or stone. They
give us a chance to follow the creation with the creator, like Finkdaddy's latest effort.
The anticipation of a little update is a large part of the journey. Thank you and all
fellow carvers for the little nudges along the way.
So, we journey on in the Northwoods.
I didn't have a real plan when I started the big guy here, just to let it evolve. We've
gone from something that started as a sorta Moai with Benzart style turned down lips,
and now I am seeing shades of the Bob Lutz and Charles Rosencrans carvings on pages 250-251
in "The Book"

and then we have this mask...yes he will get a right eye...soon

You all come back now, y'here!

I'm Back!! Lookin' Good Conga, can't wait to see where you take these guys.
Btw, some of the peeps at your tiki Bar didn't look old enuf to be drinking the hard stuff, I Hope you carded everyone?

Great work as usual. It must be kind of fun having two going at the same time. Work a little on this one, get distracted, work a little on that one, get distracted, work a little on the first one, and so on.

I caught the rum reference in your party shot. At least the weather finaly broke and you can use the lounge.

JP

Hi Ben and Johnny.
Actually I have no idea where the big guy is headed...the result may not be great art but it will
be great fun. The mask is starting to take on the look of a Roman centurion, which might not be
all bad either. My very first carving experience was around 20 years ago when I tried to carve
a small Jesus face, and no matter what I did it looked just like Hulk Hogan. I put my tools away
for 17 years and quit watching wrestling. Anyway I'm just digging in and hoping that the end
result will be decent.
And Ben, don't worry, I'm too cheap to let the little kids drink the rum or tequila.

Nice day for wood-work around here, hope ye all had a good mothers day...or at least
a good mother.
The latest chizz is starting to take on a bit of a weird "conga style" look...not much of an
update but i'm starting to feel okay about this guy

I am enjoying a little deeper digging in the torso and i have something a little different
up my sleeve for the arms...based on a couple of Rapa Nui images I found...thanks for
visiting.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2007-05-13 20:28 ]

I'd feel alright about this guy as well. Infact you can send him here.

JP

Conga, nice stuff going on there! Love the body!

I got so hyper yesterday in the 90 degree weather that I carved, sanded and stained a 4 footer and a two footer. 6 hours. :o

It feels so good to work outside.

We better see you down here in July for Exotica! No excuses!

Keep up the good work!

Sweeet, CongaT! I love that big, looming style you're so good at. He's very intimiating.

Many thanks Johnny P, LakeSurfer and Surf'n'Turf.
This one is finally turning the corner from a chunk of wood to a living
spiritual chunk of wood....to me he (it) seems very stern but also very
proud...has the look of a King over-looking his subjects with an attitude
that says "you better not f&%# up."
Oh well....it could just be my imagination.
thanks again....
lake...doesn't look good for Chicago in July...we have a really messed up
schedule that month and I really wanna do Coontiki II. And if I don't get off
my butt and register soon I will be too late for that as well.
When I get to Brew-city I'll try to look you up!

Doing some hook knife detail on the big wood...nothing to show at this point...but I did
turn the corner toward finishing the mask...

Next time we see this guy he will be done.
The big bowling pin tiki is getting some detail attention to the chest and belly...We'll show that
off in another week or so.
Thanks for checking in.

This guy looks like an ancient contemplating all the wisdom he has collected over the years. I like the expression on his face.

JP

Good to see You getting hooked. conga, your stuff is really looking fine, I'm Loving the elbow grease you are spending on the sanding, these 2 guys are gonna be baby-bottom smooth I can tell, . Excellent stuff.

Conga my friend, you have the vision. I am constantly amazed by your work and the constant evolution of your carvings. Thanks for sharing. What is in store for the big guy?

-G

Mahalo Johnny, Ben and GMan, you guys keep me going when that "inner voice" says "give
up carving and try macrame."
Here are a few shots of the mask...one inner voice was suggesting a light finish and
the other was pushing for dark.....the winner is


At 27 inches I guess this would be considered a "Conga Pendant" but one needs a weightlifter-neck
to lug it around.
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend of carving...three days off for Conga...YIPEE.

The beautiful thing about carving without a plan is the ability to change horses in
mid-stream. It's been a great weekend for carving and my big guy has gone through a
face-off.
As usual...I'm not really sure what is happening here

Enjoying all your "update" posts this weekend, keep em coming!

Some really fun stuff Conga! Killer work! Maybe that guy should be the pendant for that monster tiki your going to carve
:)

I enjoying seeing you jump around with your designs...it's always fresh. Congratulations on being able to play this weekend....for me it's yard work from Hell weekend.

Hey Conga,

The face off looks like it was a wild ride! He looks great. I did one of those face rearrangements recently and it was stressful to say the least. All the power to you mate. Keep diggin', he's in there somewhere!!

-G

Thanks for popping in Babalu and GMan...what a great weekend...all kinds of time for
carving and playing drums! Appreciate your comments Baba...I know a lot of my chizzlin'
is somewhat off-beat...but I try to stay focused on Tiki...I really do!
After a little conversation with my buddy Gman I thought I would try to wack out something
little...so here's a full 13 inches of Conga. This is somewhat inspired by a Mang Lee
figure in "Night Of The Tiki."

He's my new "good luck" Tiki.

Excellent Conga. I'm glad you jumped on one. He's a beauty! How did you like it?

I've got one rolling today as well....

-G

Looks great Conga. My only suggestion would be to go deeper with your detail. I am a big fan of te smaller stuff and would really enjoy seeing your unique creations smaller. Keep them coming!!

thanks GMan and A-Station. It was fun doing a little one that I could wrap up in
a day...but I'm taking your advice Aloha and re-facing him to a more appropriate
"conga-style." Also the finish came out a little too reddish so I am doing all
kinda stuff to make it look like it was pulled out of a 200 year old pirate chest.
Nice'n' dirty and gritty.

Conga, Your good Luck tiki turned out Great, I Really Love him. What inspired the Smallness. WAY Cool.

Didja run outta big logs? How did you manage to get the legs so symmetrical?

Many thanks Ben and Johnny...
Ben I was actually inspired by seeing all the cool stuff that GMan is doing, and
just decided to give it a try. I love the quick-gratification of whipping through
the basic cuts in short order and seeing things develop rapidly. I am
really happy with the figure (body) but I am still reworking the face to give it more
character.
Johnny I do have a lot of big wood still in my garage, but my source also dropped over
several full rounds that are only 12-18 inches high. I thought it was time to use a
bit of that stuff and chopped it into usable chunks for small carvings.
I plan on taking a couple of the more exotic Conga pieces and doing some small versions
of them.
I am also re-working the finish on this, which looks red in the photos but is actually
dark brown.

Same little guy, new face! Much happier, more Conga-like.

Hi
This is inspired by something, or everything, I dunno.


Hope you are all having fun! See ya in a couple weeks with this guy finished.

Inspired by everything, There are a lot of different elements coming together in that one.

• JP

[ Edited by: JohnnyP 2007-06-03 15:40 ]

Still digging I see? You must be getting close to finding him? He looks wild. This guy is teasing you. Dig here, chip me there....no, more. He's a fickle bugger.

Thanks for sharing Conga.

-G

Thanks for stopping by Johnny and GMan.
It's taken a loooong time to develop a "kinship" with this piece of wood, and I must admit
that I was puzzled for most of that time. This is completely different from what I originally
intended but it is showing the influence of countless hours of carving research, it's a little
bit of a lot of stuff. I am happy to say that I am done with the removal of large bits of
wood, just a lot of detail work to be done now, but I am getting happy enough that I am
re-energized. Funny I used that term, if all else fails I will call him the "Energizer Bunny
Tiki."
If I have a cocktail or two and squint I can see a little Andres Bumatay in the eyes,
a bit of Milan Guanko in the mouth and body, and even a little Witco from the side.
You two guys are among the biggest supporters of my off-beat exotic chizzlin...and I
appreciate it.

Conga, you are really getting your finishes sweet and clean and really smooth. You must be going through a lot of sandpaper and patience. His "Energizer Bunny" moniker must have some cool stories. I see lots of Different detail for you and that's great.
Where you gonna be in a couple weeks?

Conga! Those dudes are cool... ARe you gonna keep 'em for your bar? (I wanna see them when you invite me up there!)

Very nice style for sure, and the finish is right on.

This guy just wanted to say hi to Ben and TikiGap and everyone else.
Thanks for visiting. Another week or so...then he'll get some purty purty stain.

Lookin Great Conga. Looks like he is trying to decide which ride to take to work today. He is leaning toward the Caddy I think. Love when the v-liner finds its way into your hands, it really dresses op the old man. Excellent Stuff, Whats next?

Wow Conga! This guy has a ton of personality. He's maybe my favorite so far. :D

Is that great or what!? Conga that face is nutz! I bet the muggies could do one heck of cool mug out of this guy.

Many thanks Ben, Finkdaddy and GMan. I have to admit that I am really getting
attached to this guy. There was a time I thought I had blown it but I kept digging
and things just started to pop out. Initially I liked the body but knew something
had to be done with the head. Now that the head is coming to life I have to go back
and dedicate more time to the body.
I think I'm sniffing out one of my finer pieces....thanks for your support and commits.

On 2007-06-12 10:46, congatiki wrote:
.... There was a time I thought I had blown it .....

Naaaahhhh. He just knew what had to be done and kept pressing you to do it. It looks good, as Gman said, it would look good as a mug. Benzart said it looks really smooth. All of your pieces look smooth as glass, no matter what stage in the carveing you are. What's the secret?

thanks Johnny....you wanna know my "secret?" Well, it's pretty simple. Gonna
let the cat out of the bag for you. After each stage of rough chiseling, once
I have the basic wood removed, I hit the accessible surfaces with an angle grinder.
If I can't get into spots with the grinder I will use a rotary or detail sander,
and then old fashioned hand sanding.
Then I turn the lights down real low in the lounge.....lite a couple of candles....
and check out where the shadows fall.
Then I either move ahead with another area...or in the case of this one...
remove more wood and start over again.
This one is getting a lot of attention...see ya soon.

Well hello, thanks for stopping by.
No Hukilau for this guy...no yard work on fathers day...lotsa time for chisels...grinder
and sandpaper


This chunk of basswood refuses to let me go, I have known him for over two months and I still have
a lot of work to do.

Conga,

He is looking so sweet. Everywhere I look there is something to catch my eye. I like the way his legs are staged. Lots of movement there. He just keeps getting better and better. It looks like you spent a lot longer than 2 months on him. Fantastic!

-G