Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

Beautiful work Conga. That's way out there, but not all that far. I know right where he belongs. Excellent stuff.

-G

Mahalo Seeksurf, Johnny, GMan and everyone for your nice comments on
this guy. It was a lot of fun and there are some stylistic things
I would have done differently so i might knock off another one. Final
shot of this guy with seven light coats of tung oil. Consider it an
early Christmas card from "up north."

That is sweet Conga!!! Happy Holidays!!!

Duuuuude - like GMAN said, beautiful work! That's really unique. I love the tung oil finish. Seven coats!? Wow.

He is looks great! nice stain job. Sweet bird I love it.
I think you have a lot of detail work in this one.

Don't you think he is to big to be a X-mass tree ornament?

thanks again everyone.
Have been doing a little chizzlin.
I know I know...not really tiki. A penguin for my niece.
Happy Holidays.


I am doing this one with an arbortech power chisel that I just picked up.
Love it!

[ Edited by: congatiki 2007-12-16 06:49 ]

Conga, You is the man brother! It's always fun to visit this thread and tap into the mind of Conga a little...Tiki Penguin - Can't wait!

Great work as usual Conga! I love the detail you put on the last one; very classy. Tiki penguin, hey? Only from the mind of Congatiki, I can't wait!

A little Chilly Willy action, aye? Right on!

Nice! this guy will blend in well even though he
is in the wrong hemisphere.

Cool penguin.

If you equate the world of Tiki to where James Cook explored then this bird will fit right in. Besides, when in Antarctica do as the Antarctics do. This time of year, Wisconsin is pretty much the same thing. Your niece will be happy.

Thanks guys, I am truly humbled by your patronage. I have also had a couple
cocktails too many and am very sentimental in a Christmas sorta way. Best
wishes for the holidays and keep carving!
The quickie Penguin for the niece is done, but doing another bird really
inspired me.


Ole' Conga will be back shortly with more freaky shit.

Nice congatiki, he looks cold in the dark picture.

Well, The Penguin was a "hit" with my niece, and it was time to get back to
shaping some wood. This is what's going on here

Based on a mythological figure from the Sepik River, part fish,part pig

But is it Tiki?

[ Edited by: 2007-12-25 14:08 ]

Conga... the birds are wonderful! I think in their own way they fall into the tiki catagory. You may not see it but the way you carve tikis transfers over to the way you carve these other figures. They definately have a primitive South Pacific feel to them. There were plenty of animals carved on the islands in addition to gods.

Conga = Unmistakeable style!

On 2007-12-26 00:30, Lake Surfer wrote:

Conga = Unmistakeable style!

Absolutely an unmistakeable style.

I think the fish is tiki, it is based off of authentic Oceanic art and would look right on the walls of an old established tiki bar, look on the walls in the background of the pictures of Sven's books or Tiki Road Trip, and you will see fish or bird inspired carvings. Even the Trader Vic's in Chicago had fish carvings displayed.

Cool! The penguin was nice, but the new piece is cool! I think it's tiki! Nice work as usual Conga...

Sure is,, it's a Hogfish and it is Ripe and ready for the Big Christmas Luau, how much More tiki can we get? (When's the LUAU?)
Top notch Penguin too Mr "Off The Wall Conga", Excellent stuff as Usual. Going on Any trip with you Really has to be an Adventure, Hunting penguins, Fishing for HogFish, Trapping Bear, What next??
:lol: :lol:

Thanks Lake, Johnny, Gap, and Ben, I appreciate your feedback on this
recent twist in direction. I was afraid I would have to start posting my
stuff on "Wacky Wildlife Central."
I wasn't sure what to even call the latest one. The fish/pig figure is called
"Bukduma" on a site that I found for PNG reference, but I love "Hogfish."
I've been asked to do a couple more birds and a hogfish, which are nice to do
during the cold winter when I only get weekend hours to carve big stuff
outdoors.
Then, like Ben suggests, I have to do an expedition to find other inspiration.
Perhaps a Wisconsin badger with the head of a turkey? Funny guy.

I'm loving this hogfish! Great stuff!
They just keep coming congatiki maybe you
should be working for Santa?

Thanks Seeksurf. I tried to get a job with Santa but he sez I'm too slow!
Me 'n' my buddy Hogfish are playing around with the hook knife a little

and then this other guy has started hanging around


I'm not really sure what his problem is, but he doesn't smile.

Hey Conga, Watch out for that new guy, he looks like he might be a SPY. He Looks really Cool though, just be careful. Talking about being careful, I'm glad to see you working with that Hook Blade, you can really See that fine detail, Just be Careful.

Those new pieces are killer! Hog-fish rules and the same for the modern/Melanesian looking bird head piece! I want to see a shot of that red yellow and blue paint pattern you have on the wall in the last picture!

The Bird Spy is looking really cool, Love the snout! you are
pumping them out faster than I.

Thanks for the kindly tip Ben, I won't turn my back to the pointed little
bugger. Thanks also Seeksurf and Sneaky, appreciate your compliments.
Sneaky, the wall art was done by my daughter when we painted the room,
I'll post another pic soon.
For now, just Hogfish and Snowbirds around here



Mahalo for all the comments on the wildlife, I am really getting into doing
these, and I'll try to keep "just enough" tiki in all of 'em.

Hey conga,
very nice, I also found out, what you are meaning by "budunka". I understand, that it comes from the PNG mythology. Do you remember a "surfing boar"? I guess, that is not tiki-art, but your surely is.
I like the finish, you gave to the hogfish.

Tiki Birds, Tiki fish, Tiki turkey, IF You say it's tiki then by Golly It's Tiki!
You know there Really IS a Hogfish and it is in the Snapper Family and a Highly prized eating fish. nThe strange fish Loves Lobster and is probably why it tastes so good. They have a Mouth that Opens and extends Way out, just right for plucking those Lobster from the rocky crevices. Here is what they look like

Here seen with the mouth opened but not quite extended out all the way.

And Here is the Hawaiian variety that make the Luau rounds

I think you need to come down to Florida and get some sand in your shoes and thaw out a bit and carve some good old Palm wood, C'Mon Down!

It does look like a hogfish.

It also looks like a carving of the legendary fish that ate somebody's ancestor, so they created a effigy of it to protect them while they fish. Kinda like the the muskie up there :)

Well.....actually, Ben, the hogfish is a wrasse not a snapper.

Have I spent my whole life studying fish?

You can bet your wrasse!

G$

Thanks Tok Tok, and just for the record, I like your surfing hog too!
And Ben, Johnny and GMan, thanks for visiting and for your insight on
the aquatic scene. Even if there is a real Hogfish, from whatever fish
family he is, I'm gonna keep calling mine Hogfish too.
And speaking of Hogfish Two


I am trying to make this one a little fancier than the first one.
Also working on a rather big "Fishermans God" panel but just in the
really early stages, so something "tiki" is actually in the works up here.
Thanks for popping in.

A LITTLE Fancier?? I Guess SO, Look at that Crisp, Tight detail goin in there with So much more depth and Volume. He's gonna Bully the other one unless you set hiom straight in the beginning. Excellent stuff again Conga! Stay Warm, Don't try to be Cool!

Thanks Ben, always appreciate an appearance from the master! Sit down and
enjoy a cocktail.
Well, fishing season is over up here and it's time to move on to bigger
and hopefully better things.
Hogfish II


It's been pretty nice up here in the northwoods and the snow is actually
going away. Hmmmm. maybe time to get my hands on a BIG log.

Great work, I love that canine tooth and all the detail you
put into him. Nice creative work as usual.

Are you using the tung oil again?
I ordered some polymerized tung oil
over the X-mass break. I looked it up
after seeing one of your posts.

Bravo Conga... another winner!

We've lost all 24 inches of our snow thanks to tornados and rain and 60 degree record breaking temperatures.

But alas, it is short lived for 4 inches of snow is on it's way. We'll be sending you a bit too so you better keep it indoors until at least May. :wink:

Loving the small projects and the quick tunraround! Looking forward to the next CongaCarve!

It is unbelievable how fast you are getting along with all this nice carvings. Another one finished. Great challenge.

Looking good Conga!

On 2008-01-09 17:16, congatiki wrote:
Hmmmm. maybe time to get my hands on a BIG log.

I think so. Big Conga madness coming.

The fish came out very nice!

Thanks guys, It's fun to do some smaller things and the penguin, manaia,
and hogfish have generated some nice feedback from local "non tiki" peeps
who think they're cool, but I am anxious to get some big chunks of basswood
to return to a larger scale. I am currently working on my last (for the
time being) cedar panel, it's the traditional cook island fishermans god
on top (about 2 feet) and will either be another manaia on the bottom
(same size) or something else. Things are pretty well roughed out but
nothing that would be of much interest at this point.
Thanks for thinking of ole' conga, more stuff soon.

G is interested.... so where are the pics? Eh?

Inquiring minds want to know, right GMan. (I would insert smiley face
if I knew how).
Okay, this is pretty rough, and only partially conceived...but here goes

Like I say, I'm still working out the bottom of the panel, and the
face needs a lot of work. This one will look old.

So it's pretty cold up here today, -17, but not too cold to do a little
outside work. Hey, if it's not too cold for the Packers and Giants, it
can't be too cold for a tiki carver. Did a little outside work on the
Fisherman's God/Manaia, but had to do it in short little spells, the
fingers get cold you know.

Lotsa really cool stuff being posted lately, you all provide plenny of
inspiration.

You're a tougher man than me Conga....it was in the high 60's here and I didn't work outside very long :lol:

This new piece lost a lotta wood since we saw him last. You must keep your chisels supa-sharp! Nice work, thanks for letting us see him.

-G

Yo Conga, LOVE watching your Works Progress. It's Difficult trying to see inside that warped little mind thing between your ears, but then it's that way for us All. However Yours seems to be the Most interesting and thats why your pieces seem to have all the Charm we only Wish ours could have. Keep pumping them out, fergit'bout them cold fingers. Cold fingers become Bold fingers and we Know Bold fingers make good movies?? :lol:

On 2008-01-20 19:27, Benzart wrote:
.... fergit'bout them cold fingers. Cold fingers become Bold fingers ......

Ben says that after swatting away another mosquito. Get too Bold out in the Cold and them fingers will just break off.

So whats the update on the fishing mania? The stacked figure is a pretty nice concept and different direction.

I think Conga will have to thaw a bit before we hear from him... if it was -5 here the last 4 nights I know it was colder up by him. Yesterday we warmed to a high of 9 degrees.
Winter has been tough on us Midwesterners.

Good chops Conga... look forward to the next update, but I think you should set up shop indoors until at least... June. :wink:

Hi Guys!
GMan...tougher than you? Come on, you chase down toothy pigs, rassle
Crocs, risk yer life in the dunes, and I'm tougher than you? It's
just a little cold and you can dress for it. Heck I went cross country
skiing last weekend, two and a half hours at 13 below.
Ben...Warped mind? Charm? I love the combination of "warped charm" and
I think I'll use it when I get good enough to market my hacking. I
think you exhibit a bit of warped charm too.
and Johnny and Lake, thanks for checking in. I have continued to work on
the Cook Manaia panel, while I keep going back to look at the recent
Lakesurfer stuff.
Here's the panel posing with my new road bike

and I'm still being observed by this fella

And let me just add that all of you impress the shit out of me.

Those are both looking slick Conga!!!