The Embellished Tiki

After searching for an existing thread in which to post the images in the second post to this thread (and being unable to find one which seemed entirely appropriate), I have begun this new thread “The Embellished Tiki.” My intention is to provide a forum and place to post images of tiki that have been altered, embellished or adorned in a way that might add to (and not diminish) the artistic intent of the individual who originally created the tiki.

Well . . . that seemed to work OK. So . . . with the stated objective (above) in mind I offer the following images.

First - an image of the original tiki which I recently purchased. I was told that it was carved in Hawaii sometime during the 1940’s and is made of Koa wood.

Second - an image of the proposed embellishment (appendage) which is a small fire agate carved in the Southwest (USA) - beans not shown.

Finally - two images of the embellished tiki with added appendage (and two small beans).

I call it "Tiki with Tiki." I like it.

Where did you GET the name Timid tiki?? This is hilarious and totally cool. It will be interesting to see who chimes in with more embellishments. Good one timid!

:o :o :o whatthe..? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Firstly thats an incredible carving! Secondly, your er, addition does fit in - stylistically speaking. You got the angle and curve of the fire-stick right, ahem.

Not quite so risque, but I like to have a bit of fun with my buddies too:

these guys have both benefitted from eye-jobs (you may recognise the Moais peepers; star rubies! and the M.Kavakavas are jade and silver)

and in an effort to 'improve' some not-so-good tourist Tangs I created the TackyTangTower:

sometimes less is more, sometimes you just need more.. :lol:

Interesting and current idea - I see Tiki Lee's is grappling with altering some old Witco panels..

T3 :)

Are the "beans" actually beans? Kind of appropriate if they are... :lol:
I'm sure you've shocked a few purists with your wanton desecration of such a sacred relic, but I must admit your modifications don't look out of place on that carving. The simian features and suggestive pose...he was asking for it!
I actually have a nice natural black pearl earmarked for a very similar purpose - it may well make an appearance one day...

edit: I thought this one would catch Tama's eye...he has some very "interesting" non-tiki carvings in his collection of curiosities :wink:

[ Edited by: Paipo 2007-08-08 04:05 ]

Thanks - Ben, Paipo, Tama

The "beans" are indeed beans - home grown black beans to be precise.

Given time they will shrink and become wrinkled.

This is a natural process.

. . . still Timid!

On 2007-08-08 10:33, timidtiki wrote:
. . . still Timid!

Uh huh. Sure. Great embelishment.

Hi NotSoTimidTiki. I was speechless, then JohnnyP said it for me.

[ Edited by: Robin 2007-08-09 14:41 ]

Two not-so-tiki tiki - each with an accoutrement.

Two pics of carved wood figures - one is a Bali carved skull cane, and the other is a tiki wall hanging (this tiki told a lie, lost his tongue, and grew a nose).

The accoutrement? A Linde star ruby for the eye in the cane/skull and a small red glass marble eye in the wall hanging.

timid, cool stuff, I Love that star ruby. Got your package today, Great stuff, HappyHappyHappy

Thanks for bringing this back to the surface Ben, Id totally missed it.

Timid: Long time no chat, I hope all is well.

Great addition to the Pinochi-nose. Creepy even; really brings it to life. Amazing how just one little detail can make such an impact. Two would probably ruin the effect.. Dont let J.Sparrow see you with his cane either - arrrrrgh! :wink:

Tama

Greetings, my friends – My name is “Tiro Makutu Pokorua” or “Hollow Stare” for you who do not speak the ancient tongue of the Maori. I came to be in the land of the Kiwi destined to live a life of leisure lounging in a temperate sun or a soft spring rain. Then my maker said “transportation for thee!” and sent me to live in the Colonies . . .

I was sipping one down on Barbary Coast when I woke in a ship on the sea. A Pirate Ship, to my dismay, when I looked at the changes they made in me.

First my eye – a comely red of the Linde (star ruby) kind . . . set in a plug flush on the back of my head (so they can take it out whenever it pleases) . . . but only one (those pirates are cheap) . . . the rest remains buried in the treasure chest. So I needed a patch for the other eye as ye have already seen in the Pirate thread.

But I’ve had my revenge, I’m the Cap’n now of this pirate ship and I have a new name from the Yankee scum who can’t speak the tongue of the Ancient One . . . “Goes Here” I am called by all on this land, on my ship, and the sea for I go where I want and see what I see.

Now an offer for ye who a pirate would be and a share of the treasure would like to see . . . tell all my new name, how it came to be, then post it here for all to see . . . the first who is right wins a share of the treasure . . . I’ll post it right here, pmsl msg for an address, and post it right smartly when I know when to send it.

(Official Notice and Note: All the usual disclaimers, the Judge’s decision is final, and Paipo is not eligible as he already knows the answer. And, sadly, my new master says he likes me better without my fancy new garb and I can wear it only once a year on the official Aussie Pirate Day.)

Hint (October 2, 2007) - For some reason, I thought this was easy . . . but to make it somewhat clearer, the new (pirate) name is "Goes Here." Now you just have to figure how that name came to be! . . . another hint next week if there are no takers by then.

Final Hint (October 9, 2007) - The answer lies in Paipo's thread.

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2007-09-21 08:55 ]

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2007-10-02 15:31 ]

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2007-10-09 08:27 ]

On 2007-09-21 08:26, timidtiki wrote:

But I’ve had my revenge, I’m the Cap’n now of this pirate ship and I have a new name from the Yankee scum who can’t speak the tongue of the Ancient One . . . “Goes Here” I am called by all on this land, on my ship, and the sea for I go where I want and see what I see.

Now an offer for ye who a pirate would be and a share of the treasure would like to see . . . tell all my new name, how it came to be, then post it here for all to see . . . the first who is right wins a share of the treasure . . . I’ll post it right here, pmsl msg for an address, and post it right smartly when I know when to send it.

Final Hint (October 9, 2007) - The answer lies in Paipo's thread.

Now Im onto something here I know - but still aint sure quite what..?

??????? "Cool name/#41" ** ??????? No help from Paipo I swear!

Tama :)

And the winner is . . . TAMA!

TAMA's share of the pirate treasure - fire agate titillation:

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2007-11-30 08:53 ]

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2007-11-30 08:56 ]

I began this thread as a place where one might like to post images of "embellished tiki" . . . that is, images of tiki that have had something added to them (i. e., embellished) in an attempt to add to or say something in addition to the original tiki image.

With this in mind, I have decided to expand the scope of the thread to include things that have been improved by the addition of a tiki or tiki like image.

That said . . . coming soon: The Hawaiian Cowboy, The Amish Pirate, and my very own Tiki Bathroom Project. Stay tuned . . .

Not embellished and not tiki but most of the other posts of my work are in this thread.

So . . . this is a sculptural piece created from a fire agate in the shape of a sperm whale (plus a star ruby and blue fossil mammoth ivory bark).

I call it Enewetak Sunset in memory of the role of Enewetak in the history or the whaling fisheries and in the US nuclear tests after WWII.

First the sperm whale fire agate (note the jaw line and an eye with the proper placement):

Next - ENEWETAK SUNSET:

Nice Sunset timid, great idea and very symbolic.

SKULL TABLE LAMP - Another non-TIKI project made from a Squid Sqorpion Squll bowl purchased from the Tiki Farm (MakeDaMug). A Squid Sqorpion Squll table lamp - easy and it turned out nice. Cost was the bowl plus $17 for the lamp and shade at Walmart. Total about $40. A nice gift for a grandson (plus two for my tiki shrine).

Nice job Timid. Starting with good materials helps eh?; the glaze on that skull is deee-licious! Can we see a piccy of your 'shrine'..?

T :)

"Pirate Hat" sans eye patch. Sorry, I haven't been able to get a good black "Amish" hat yet. Still looking . . .

Thanks to Bullet for the hat-ornament idea. A better image of Paipo's carving appears in an earlier post to this thread.

Where have I seen that hat before? - is that the one worn by Harrison Ford in 'Indiana Jones: the Treasure of Tane'..?

Very cool, although it might spoil your chances of being invited in for a cup of Amish tea..

TTT :wink: :lol:

Canuck Raven and Kiwi Bird the morning after the party (at Tama's?) -

Another simple (and dusty) Tama-embellishment: 'The Eyeball Eater':

*pop! eughh..

T :wink:

A pebble embellished . . . "Hidden Dragon, Crouching Rabbit"

Some new embellishments -

First, two pics of a my new cane (showing the handle only) . . . natural shape, unknown wood, star ruby eye added to produce the ELEPHANT CANE:

Next a jade mask by Sharon Painter-Arps with added star ruby (reddish/purple color) eyes added:

That is all.

Cool Stuff timid, Love that Twisted Elephant, he's a gnarly lookin dude. That purple color of those Star Rubies look really nice on that jade mask, really nice.

Shades of VanTiki . . . Squid Sqorpion Squll at World's End:

Creepy but cool; a 'low-brow' installation piece..? - Id love to see that with dry-ice 'smoke' billowing around the occy legs and over the skull. Again, very Indiana Jones.. Is there something youre not telling us..? :lol:

TamaThe(Timid)Teaser :wink:

I LOVE that octopus! Where'd you find him?

I'm enjoying seeing pics of your work. Very cool.

Very cool, your work lets the observers imagination run rampant.
You have a great imagination also to turn out these great pieces.

Sorry JanetMermaid - I haven't been here is awahile and didn't notice your question regarding the octopus in the skull bowl. It is a Pirates of the Caribbean item that I purchased at a local Disney Discout Store . . . about $6, I think.

Another revered piece of pounamu carved by a New Zealand artist and embellished by an irreverent Yank:

I call it "PacMan with Paua" . . . the paua being the tooth and the plastic bug-eyes just for Paipo's pleasure.

I think a very small shark tooth would be better, but I haven't found one . . . yet.

SHAMAN'S TALKING (WALKING) STICK:

I'm not sure I understand the use of a "talking stick" in the cultural traditions of different tribal groups, but I extracted the following statement from another web site: "Talking Sticks are used all over the world but is most famous within the Native American cultures. When sitting in a group to discuss issues or to share wisdom, each person is offered the Talking Stick. This is the symbol that you are being honored to speak and be heard without interruption. When the speaker is complete, and passes the Stick to the left, he says " AH Ho Mi Taquessa" and the group replies with "Ah Ho". This means that we honor your words to be the truth and you have been heard."

The Talking (Walking) Stick pictured below is a Native North American (Alaskan) carving made from fossil whale bone and appeared to me to have a somewhat "tiki" connection in that the stick viewed from above has the image of a face with a protruding tongue. The walking stick portion of this object is not complete but will be made of wood.

The images:

Shaman's Talking Stick (front)

Shaman's Talking Stick (top - with tongue)

Shaman's Talking (Walking) Stick (in hand for scale)

Does anyone have any insight on the "talking stick" tradition among the Maori?

On 2008-05-28 11:28, timidtiki wrote:

Does anyone have any insight on the "talking stick" tradition among the Maori?

Gee, youve exposed me here. Ive not spent a great deal of time on the Marae but can tell you that the carved walking cane often seen in the hand of older gents while speaking is known as a Tokotoko, but these are personal and generally not passed around (and usually as funtional as they are 'authoritive'). Used to good effect too - its easy to understand how they help with speaking when witnessed as the stick seems to amplify or add emphisis to the speakers words when florished. It can point, it can bang the floor, it can be intimidating, it can be referred to as the People itself.
I have heard of proper talking-sticks/'Rakau-Korero' that are passed around in the same way as the native American examples but cant say Ive ever seen one & am not sure in what context/situation they were used in Maori life.
The carved images adorning the rakau also help 'ground' the speaker to his roots, constantly reminding him of/for whom he speaks.. serious wood!

Hope ths helps

--

Yours has a happy expression. A Peace-Talking stick..? We could use a few more of those in the world..

Peace

Aye , I have .
Tho only in informal discussion .
Its really great with kids , far better than shushing them all the time , less stressful :lol:
Have used an actual stick , a pencil , a ball , a guitar , anything really , and it keeps order .
Better that a chairman's gavel eh

Thanks all . . . for the feedback and extra information on "talking sticks."

I tried to google the Maori term provided by Tama for talking stick - 'Rakau-Korero' - and got an interesting result: about a dozen hits, almost all of which were written in the Maori language. (Actually that is my guess as I cannot read Maori and Google didn't provide a translation.)

And, thanks for the suggestion of a "talking stick" or the equivalent for teachers. I'll pass that on to my children . . . three of whom are teachers.

. . . ahhh . . . that is better . . .

"PacMan with Paua" now has a little more "bite" as shown in this pic:

Here, I've removed my original paua shell tooth and replaced it with a section of tooth from a tiger shark. An unaltered (except for having been removed from the shark) tiger shark tooth is shown just to the right of what I'm now calling "Snaggle Tooth Pounamu PacMan."

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2008-06-08 13:21 ]

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2008-07-25 10:25 ]

Same old bug eyed flower jade fish with tail (peacock feather) added -

Perhaps it looks a bit like the tropical fish with an "eye" image on the tail to confuse the predators.

Remember this little guy (more pics earlier in this thread):

Well . . . how about a new guessing game? Discover his special secret (it is in the pics) and win a free prize (with free shipping to the winner). Post you guess when you have one in this thread. Hints will be posted as time passes . . .

On 2008-06-17 16:53, timidtiki wrote:

Well . . . how about a new guessing game? Discover his special secret (it is in the pics)

I guess its the happy Tik-face on his belly when viewed front on..? (tried cropping the photo to back up my claim but cant seem to change it from a gif to a jpeg file?)

note nipple eyes & smiling belly:

?

Mo, ai don't know...the secret of Easter Island?

I think Paipo has it. How did you see that if that is it?

HINT . . . HINT . . . HINT . . .

Good try Tama and Piapo, but no-no-no . . . you are not there yet.

Perhaps a little geneology might help:

1. Born in Hawaii
2. Rejected and moved to the mainland
3. Lived for a short period in Northern Europe
4. Back to the good old USA

Now concentrate on the first (pre-embellishment) pic.

What is my secret?

Well funny as it may be, it seems to me the Original was a female with the female goodies where there are now beanz, she must really be pissed!

myspace

[ Edited by: Benzart 2008-06-18 08:41 ]

BenZart is the winner!!!!

Ben - Your a genius with a quick eye for detail, or did my hints make it too obvious?

He/she is, indeed, the world's first trans-gender tiki: born as a female in Hawaii, then a short stint in Norway after talking to Christine, and back to the USA.

Your prize will be posted next week . . . I think I still have your address.

COOL, YIPPEE, HOORAY!!! wOW, i nEVER WIN ANYTHING.
What did it for me was you saying the answer is in the picture and to look at the original. The only thing that had changed was the addition so Thats where I looked and Darn if I didn't see something. Cool Again, Thanks Timid.
Of course the NZ boys are Sleeping, giving us the head start, COOL Again!

Congrats Ben, you win the punani-prize! (our over-honed eyes were looking too deeply Paip)

Timid, I guessed the smiley-tummy because I know you have a gift for 'seeing' things.. :wink:

Transgender tiki, hmm...let me get my sketchbook!