BenZart...MaoriChief, Glass pendant Update Today

You are an inspirtation. You've taken the maoi and made it your own. I think one day they will carve a 40 foot stone one on Easter Island with your style in tribute.

hey ben,

that sure is a lovely looking green long-eared fellow you got there, great work once again!

Thanks JohnP, Nice thought but I wouldn't want them to ruin their artwork. NOTHING Beats the Real Moai, I just feel fortunate that they allow me to mess with their stuff so bad. I am truly glad you get some inspiration from my work, Thanks.

Harro, Thanks for the comps and kind words, Much Appreciated.

Smokin' Tikis is the proud new owner of this Moai which is # 8J

Final shots of the new Jade Moai. Timid Tiki, I did the hollow toggle for you!

The toggle is excellent. A very slick way to hide the knot.
JP

Superb, I LOVE it.
The toggle is very ingenious, I LOVE it.

Benjamin.

That toggle is perfect. Good looking, and comfortable to wear I'm sure. Another fine piece of work Ben.

Ahhh yes, I see. Hollow for the knot. Very nice. Beautiful stuff Ben, thanks for the pics and the explaination.

-G

Super nice! I wanna know what material you're using there for the cord. Is it hemp? Did you weave it?
Oh, and how arrrr ya?!

Thanks JP, It was Not my design although I Thought it was for awhile. It is Very Comfortable.

Ben, Thank You too.

And Robin, thanks. the Toggle definitely gets all the attention. :)

Thank You GMAN, it wasn't Real easy but not too hard either just uses up the drills.

Thanks Surfintiki, I'm Fine these days. The cord material is Artificial Deer Sinew from ebay. I will try to find the link and post it. Oh yes, it's just a simple 3 string hand braid. . Thanks again.

ALoooHA BenZ!

Ancient Moko is hanging safely amoung my treasures...although he will swing freely for a special appearance at Tiki Oasis for all to enjoy!
1001 Mahaloz :D

That jade Moai is looking so great, the transparency pic is gorgeous!

Best wishes!!

3 string hand braid? What is that? Is that something I can do myself?
I see the string on ebay...piece of cake. But the braids and knots is all new to me. Thanks for the help...as usual!

I love this one Ben, your amazing your Jade pieces just seem to get better and better....

Amy

Excellent work Ben!

I find it amazing that even though Moai are always carved in a particular, distinctly "moai" way, you can carve them in your own style and yet they remain instantly recognisable as Moai!

Tama achieves just the same results with his Hei-Tiki.

Great stuff!

Jonesey, Thanks big time for the Beautiful Picture, It's really nice, Glad you like him!

Clarita, Thanks to you too for the kind words.

Surfintiki, Yes you Can do it yourself. There is a Book called "Bone Carving" and they walk you right through it. After you get the book, paipo will gladly explain what you don't understand. (Thanks Paipo?) I'll post a link when I can find it.

Thanks Amy, You're just saying that to get on my Good side I'll bet! :lol: Thanks

Tipua, Thanks, I appreciate your kind words too.

It seems like I haven't worked in awhile and I can't remember why. Anyway I am finishing up this Jadeite piece. All the little lines are Nerve wracking and painfully slow to do but I just received a few new Hongia burs that Really help.

This is easily my favourite of this design you've done. The mottled and subdued tones of the jadeite really suit it. Hooray for new burrs! I'd be lost without my hongias.

On 2007-08-15 15:23, Benzart wrote:
Anyway I am finishing up this Jadeite piece. All the little lines are Nerve wracking and painfully slow to do but I just received a few new Hongia burs that Really help.

Nerve-wracking/painfully slow, but well worth it Ben - Love the chin Moko on this guy!!

Tama :)

On 2007-08-15 15:23, Benzart wrote:

Thanks Amy, You're just saying that to get on my Good side I'll bet! :lol: Thanks

It seems like I haven't worked in awhile and I can't remember why. Anyway I am finishing up this Jadeite piece. All the little lines are Nerve wracking and painfully slow to do but I just received a few new Hongia burs that Really help.

Hi Ben! Am I that transparent??? :lol:

I love this piece, the greens are beautiful! I really really like it!

Amy

Thanks Paipo, I appreciate that. There Is something about this guy that looks better and different and I'm sure the mottled color is part of it. It Could be the Magic of the Hongia tools, they DO Cut better than Anything else. Thanks.

Tama, Thank You too. After an hour of finger cramps I was beginning to Wonder if it Was worth it but I guess after the cramps are gone I'll look at it with kinder eyes. You know this your and Paipo's fault because if you guyz had not sent me those stone and jade teasers I'd be happily covered in saw dust and not wet sludge splatters. So Thanks (and thats a GOOD Thanks)

QueenK, I'm glad you like this guy and no you were not being that transparent, I was just foolin' with you.

Hopefully I can finish this guy up tomorrow.

Killer. Im mean... What cant you do uncle Ben? I loved the pics on your myspace. As a matter of fact, Im going to have to go back over & over again just to see all the details...

Amazed.

malama pono bruddah ben!

Well theres a Lot of stuff I can't do so I don't do that stuff, I only show pic's of the stuff I Can do, thanks Kaha, Thanks for coming 'round, good to see you browsing these pages again. HappyHappy

I agree with Paipo the mottled tones give your carving style a great look. Keep them comin!

Thanks Aloha, Glad you like him. I need to do something for you one of these days, say what, when and where and all that stuff,
Thanks

It is top drawer Ben...really top drawer. This design really does look great with this stone, and the carving...well you know I love the MoKo you do and your efforts are sure worth it to me! Glad those new burs are working well for you. Take good care of those hands!

Thanks Robin, I just guess I have been pretty lucky the last few pieces have had the carvings work well with the media, Glad you like this guy. I have a bunch of Hongia burs but did not have enough of the ones I need for the Moko in jade. I really did not think I would be able To do the moko in jade but with the right tools, it works pretty well though difficult.
You have storms brewing off your west coast home???? Check the weather, I'm sure you are fine but check anyway.

A very nice piece, Ben. I'm with Paipo and AS.
Simply beautiful.

Benjamin.

Thanks Ben, I'm pretty partial to this one too for some reason he keeps tugging at my heart strings and I don't know why but I Really like his mottled color full of gold flecks.
Here he is all finished up.





Enjoy

OK, ya mastered that, now back to the wood. You know ya miss it.

On 2006-11-04 17:00, Benzart wrote:
Come on all you tiki artists out there, where are your tikis, is everyone on vacation? did everyone run outta logs, is it Raining at your house, did you break your chisels or your Camera? I Know you guys are out there carving tikis and stuff, we need to see it. Do I hafta get on my hands and kneez and Beg?(well I am Not doing that?) If you can't post pix then just Tell us about them.

---

[ Edited by: Benzart 2006-11-04 19:51 ]

I Said all THAT?

He's beautiful, Ben. I like the gold flecks too. So tell me, and I wanna know exactly...how many little dots did you add to the moko? Well?

I say bugger the heat and start a big tekoteko - or maybe a maori figure carved mask style. You know I love that - AND, we haven't seen one of those from you for like a year or better. OK, maybe wait until November when it's cooler. I'll come over next month and we'll play with some wood. Do you have a joiner?

-G

Thanks GMAN, 93 dots exactly, one for each degree of heat. C'Mon Over and No I Don't have a Jointer, Wish I did. Don't even have a table saw that cuts more than 4" deep but I'll get by. Thanks for the kind words. Yes it Is time for a big Maori piece of some kind or another After I finish a Bony Lono or I guess it's a Bono-Lono.

Benz, that's just amazing what you can do. VERY nice! love the detail.

He's really nice Ben...I understand why he pulls at your heart. That stone really came alive eh?

Thanks Tiki Duddy, Appreciate the comps.

Robin thanks to you too. Yes he really changed when the final polish came on and the details began to really show through. The gold specks were a nice surprise too. I knew they were there but not how much they took over the piece.

He will have a happy home with Queen Kamehameha soon and I'm sure he will be plenty loved out there in the Desert.

Another beautiful and unique piece ben! Normally I would say that a 'busy' stone like that would be better suited for larger/cleaner shapes and with minimal surface decoration - but you've proved me wrong before I even have to show my ignorance :lol: Superb moko!

Tama :)

On 2007-08-17 15:45, Benzart wrote:
Thanks Ben, I'm pretty partial to this one too for some reason he keeps tugging at my heart strings and I don't know why but I Really like his mottled color full of gold flecks.
Here he is all finished up.





Enjoy

Ben He's B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l ! I can't wait to see him in person, your amazing and it shows!

Amy

WOW, Every little detail is very fine.
93 dots? Amazing and simply beautiful.

Benjamin.

Beautiful piece, Ben.

Just beautiful Ben. Is Jadite what we used to call "soapstone"?

BTW I sold my first pendant today before I got a chance to take a picture of it: what my fiancee is calling a "Monkeypod Hankaroa". I'll PM you some pics of the other Monkeypod, Koa and Litrodora pendants. I brought some exotic hardwoods back from the islands this winter so I'll also have to start on the Kamani and Kiawe. Talk about some hard wood... The Litrodora sent me for stitches when the blade skipped the groove and slashed across the back of my fingers. (I was only supposed to be sanding so no glove. The Doc said I was lucky I keep my blade sharp!

Mahalo again for being a patient mentor at the Oky Oky.

Thanks Amy, I'm Sure you will be Holding him in just a few days. He went out this morning Priority Mail. Thanks. Here is the last pic with cord and toggle:

Benella, Thanks and Yeah 93 dots, I just guessed at first but then counted them,,93

Pappy, Thanks, I Appreciate your comps.

Thanks Hodad, The jadeite is Not soapstone for sure, it is MUCH Harder, I guess it is a full jade, just Jadeite and Not Nephrite, There are lots of different types of jade and I'm not the one to explain it but will ask someone who IS.
I have Great memories of that Oki Oki and would love to do it again sometime.

Tama, Thanks for the comps and for not giving me a hard time for MY Ignorance about not knowing a Busy stone needed wide open spaces, or Less detail than I put into this guy. Thanks.
Hodad and others have asked "What is the difference between Nephrite and Jadeite? I figured between you and Paipo you could solve the question for us? Thanks again.

Over the last week I have been secretly working on a piece for Sherry's Birthday which is tomorrow.I didn't want her stumbling into it so I kept it hidden. Well, Here he is, Enjoy.

Thanks :)

Sherry is a lucky woman Ben. Your Lono is another beautiful example of the work you do. What a nice surprise!

Sherry will be very happy when she'll discover this masterpiece,
happy birthday for Sherry.

Benjamin.

Lono-licious and pono-tricious!!

Sherry will be happy happy happy....

Thank you Benz! I can't wait!

Amy

Thanks Robin, Sherry was Very happy to finally get her Own Benzart, Glad you liked it.

Benella, I will tell her you said that Thanks.

Sneakeytiki, Thanks for the New words!

Amy thanks, I'm sure she will be HappyHappyHappy and so will you!

Well I Tore myself away from the rock pile yesterday and it wasn't pretty. The jade did not want to be left without a fight and the jade made it awfully difficult to go back to the wood pile. Had I known there would have been this turmoil in the beginning I would have started a Long time Ago. It's OK, I can do this I just can't stay on one side too long without splitting some time up Equally. I started on a 15 inch Moai for Danlovestiki which I band sawed out a few months agoHere is how it looked today.

drool! cool! this one will be living less than a half hour away. i'll be visiting when he arrives.

Ah, crap. Ben's gonna finish this one before I finish the one from Coon Tiki. I can't find 600 grit sandpaper so I can't sharpen my chisel! Honest.

Lookin' good, Ben.