New stuff added!!

You could round that nose and make it a Snowboarding Ku? Could be a huge seller at Big Bear... :D Oh yea, we're in FL, I forgot.

Great stuff! I don't mind that checking, gives the tiki some added character.

On 2009-08-27 18:15, surfintiki wrote:
MAN, that is some SERIOUS front rocker on that board!

I was just thinking the same thing. Reminds me of an old 6"8 Kechele I used to ride back in the 90's when everyone was riding a "potato chip" & trying to be Kelly Slater.

Aloha, those are freakin' awesome.

Nice flow going on!

Great lookin Carves goin on Tom! Got some more surf Thursday (waist 2 chest) and Friday in CocoBeach about Chest high and fun.Hope all is well keep the sweet carvings flowin, Aloha Mooney

bump to a great carver

Well its been a while since I've posted anything finished. Lots of stuff in the works - thats the way I roll. Fill up a bucket and decide which ones to finish. Well a few projects that I've just finished are as follows;

A couple of Cypress tikis. Simple carves that were done quickly with little attention to finishing details (sanding...they really didn't need it). Carved in Cyprus leftovers from the Mai Kai remodel (yes - I still have access to lots of that wood) and stained with Mahogany color. They are actually darker than they appear - I shot the image so the grain really pops. These guys have a lot of character.

Next is a project for a TC member. We swapped art a WHILE back and this is my contribution. Carved in Walnut - Ku is 8.5", while the top measures in at 17". Carved bone fin for the surfboard (there are many things "wrong" with the board but I will admit - I surf but am no shaper). The board also has some lines carved in it that are very difficult to photograph. I'll let you figure out who the piece is for.

On Sunday wplugger and I went up to visit Benzart. It is truly a joy to go up and see all the stuff in his shop. Some that he has done (tusks are crazy good) and some that he didn't! he helped me finish the Ku and gave me some advice on another. He also gave me one his tusks - no - not the carved ones. Well, I brought it home and got motivated to start another project. I dove into the tusk with a fury and it is almost done - pics soon.

Here's the piece of Tusk I got from Benz. Can't seem to get a good shot of this. It still needs to be cleaned up and finished.

I love the expression on your tusk tiki! All your designs are very expressive, but you've really worked well with the shape of the tusk on this one. Great job.

Love this guy Tom, The details you did are Way Excellent and he looks like he's giving someone the Ol'Stink Eye for sure.
How did you like working with that tusk?

mango - I've always had a knack for carving on strange angles and shapes. I knew what I was going to do as soon as I saw the tusk.

Benz - I liked the tusk. Its a bit harder than the cow bone, which I always thought was too soft (alot of opportunity to scratch or over cut). The only limitation is the shape. My biggest hurdle was carving with limited burs. I have a basic set that I have used for wood. The rotary tool was a struggle as well - all I have is the basic hand tool for the flexshaft. Some of the detail I wanted was difficult because I would burn my fingers on the rotating lock nut. Need more tools - the wife's gonna love that!

Yeah, very cool tusk. You made quick work of that!

Aloha Tom! Wow what an SMOKIN carve you've got going on that Tusk!!! I Love the flow from top to bottom!!Great job! I think the Board looks very Cool! very old school looking another Sweet carve!!Ryan is gonna be so Stoked! I just have to keep him from trying to play with it or see if the Tkik guy can surf it down the stairs!! Mahalo my friend and let ya know if we get any surf here,today thigh high and glass.Aloha and keep up the most Excellent carves,Aloha, Mooney

Very nice tusk carved! I like so much the expression of this guy.
Soon Benz will convert the whole world and the cost of the tusk rise above... :lol:

Also very neat carve with the surfing Ku!

J.

I never posted the final pictures of the Tusk. Carved Boar's Tusk with Palua eye. He actually winks/sparkles in the light (especially low light). Working the shell inlay was fairly easy due to some advise from Benz. I tried a few different things with this guy - one was the patina. Let me know if you like the finish.

Yeah, very nice. The tusk looked kind of yellow before. Maybe it was the light in the pic. Looks great. I do like black. I thought of something similar on the turtle I just did but didn't know what to use. I played with some stain but found that it rubbed off without doing anything.

I like the black and white contrast. Did you know want to finish him shiny? I think that would have looked really cool too. The depth you got on this (like Benz pieces) is incredible.

Same material, but different style in the carving and especially on the finishing... Very well done! I like it. What sort of patina use you?

J.

Excellent finish on the tusk Aloha, I Really love the contrasting detail colors. How did you like the tusk? Ivory is a bit different than bone?

BigT - The first photo was done quickly with crappy light. I'll describe my patina below.

Laojia - The patina was a combination of several attempts. I did not want to stain the entire piece because the white of the ivory is so beautiful. I tried using paint but it would come off when I buffed it. So I did some investigation and found something about "red lacquer" used on ivory. No detailed info so I tried using my own concoction. Acrylic paint mixed in lacquer. It brushes on smoothly and wipes off easily while still wet. You have to move quickly because the lacquer dries very fast. Once dry I buffed the entire piece till smooth.

Benz - I like the ivory better than bone because it is a little harder and allowed me to make some mistakes without being too obvious. It was a little uncomfortable doing the fine detail with my rotary handpeice. It wasn't made for what I was trying to do. I can see some of the awkward spots but no one else will. While carving the mouth I ran into some inconsistent spots that caused me to over-carve. I also don't have a great selection of bits for the fine detail. All in all, not bad for my second bone carve. My flexshaft blew out - so I'm waiting on some parts till I can dive into the bone and shell again.

alohastation!! beautiful stuff you carve!! on that figured...walnut bein a woody accrding to benz and all... got any left? and whats the dimension on that stock!? i cld always use more square stock!!! lol! realy walnut is my fav! let me Know thnx for your time!!! cheers!

[ Edited by: BIG tiki scott 2009-10-16 20:42 ]

24 days - I've been slacking on posting updates!

Here's something. On our weekly trip to the Library this Saturday, my daughter screams from the back seat - STOP DADDY! Thinking that something either got run over or something went flying out the window, I stopped. She's in the back seat very excited and pointing to pile of cut vegetation. It was 4 Coconut palms that had been cut down and chopped up. I was so proud!! Always on the hunt for more wood it appears she has picked up a little knowledge. She even knew what species they were. She wanted a picture with her trophies...

I dont know how I missed this thread. Your carvings are excellent.

That is a great story, thanks for sharing.

Cant wait to see what you do with em'

Aloha Tom and Glad your back!! Been wonderin? no more surf calls? caught it last week on thrsday at 4-6ft offshore glass. Hey, Nice Score by your daughter!!!!! I'm carvin some coconut as well. Have fun and can't wait to see what you come up with it's always very cool!! Aloha, Mooney

Well, Cool, Bless her heart, you take Care of that girl!

hello alohastation!! nice score!! and great story! hope mine help me out when they gett a little older! cheerz!!

Tom! She ROCKS! Way to score!

Shirtman - welcome aboard. You have a difficult task to top your first tiki!
Mooney - I try to get wet as often as possible. I have a special delivery for you - coming soon. I took your advice and dove right into carving that coconut. Its like carving an apple! I'll have some pics soon.

I'm getting some stuff ready for a show at the Bear and Bird Gallery (www.bearandbird.com) here in FTL. Its a show that focuses on small items that can fit the tightest budgets. The past week I have been finishing up several items for the show. Whatever doesn't make it in the show will be offered up in the Marketplace - just in time for the Huladays.

Not the best photos - but a good representation...

Carved in Walnut - 2.25"

Carved in Walnut - 3"

Carved in Walnut - 3"

Carved in Mahogany - 4.5"

I've been goofing around with some scraps of bone too...

Even more coming soon!!

Nice work AlohaStation, 'specially like the mahogany one. Can't
tell for sure from the pic but it looks like a cannibal fork...right?
Great ideas.

Nice whale with an attitude. I like that!

Conga - its too small for a fork, but I had the same thought. Hmmmmmmmmm....

BigT - Thanks for confirming that I need more practice with the bone. Its supposed to be a mahi-mahi (a.k.a. dorado, dolphin).

Good stuff.

I have some stuff that will be shown at the Bear & Bird Gallery here in Fort Lauderdale. It is for their "Small Stuff 3" show that will be running from Nov 22 till Jan 9. Not necessarily a "tiki" show but still some great artwork for the cost-conscience collector. I have several items in the show along with some pieces for sale in Amanda's Collection. The Bear & Bird gallery is located in Tate's Comics, this year's Eisner Award winner for the Best Comic Shop in the Country!!
http://www.tatescomics.com/bearandbird

Also, to pump more shameless self-promotion, I have started a thread that I encourage all artists to join.
Hula-days Artisan Mini-Mall http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=34597&forum=12&0
This is a thread for all tiki artists to post a sell their wares. Please join me!!

Me like the Mahogany - 4.5" how you can make that come out like that
from a thin piece of wood WOW!

Seeks - I wonder sometimes too? Spent last weekend surfing 4-5' glass. Even though I was pretty beat I had a creative burst! Started with the coconut my daughter found the week before. Even though the wood was extremely wet I had to sink some chisels into it. First i cut a log in half to aid in the drying - the sawdust was a wet, mushy mess. Carving it while it was so wet was like carving an apple. Here it is, still drying and just starting to crack. Hopefully the cracks will give it character.

I also picked up the matching scrap piece of mahogany and made another pendant...

nice stuff A/S.
That new big guy is gonna be sweet !

On 2009-11-18 10:35, AlohaStation wrote:

Love this guy! How big is he & does he need a home in Burbank?

Sorry - still bursting! Step back if you don't want to get any on you.

This will be part of the Small Stuff show at the Bear and Bird Gallery. I revisited an old Walnut piece and mounted it on a Oak board. I like the way this came out. it looks a bit auckward in the picture but is much better in person. Carving is 6" on a 12" board.

Luv this last one, Tom. R U gonna post pix of your display at the art show?

Thanks Freddie. I won't be able to pictures of the show till it opens this weekend. In the meantime I can post an image of my display at the Bear and Bird. Thanks Amanda!!

I really like the angry Mahi and recognized it right away. :)

Great looking bunch of pendants Tom, you HAVE been Busy there I see. Love the "Wet" tiki and the following Mahogany pendant.
COOL Stuff!

It was a creative super burst!

Thanks for the props. I'm still bursting, just not taking any pictures! Started on the second half of the wet log. Some thing a bit more traditional. Iam looking froward to having several days this weekend to carve! The weather is perfect!!

Small Stuff 3 opened at the Bear and Bird gallery on Sunday and I made way over for the opening brunch. A lot of really good stuff that was a wide range of subjects and mediums. Check out the online show and try guessing what I did:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearandbird/sets/72157622860671486/

On 2009-11-13 07:30, AlohaStation wrote:
Conga - its too small for a fork, but I had the same thought. Hmmmmmmmmm....

BigT - Thanks for confirming that I need more practice with the bone. Its supposed to be a mahi-mahi (a.k.a. dorado, dolphin).

LOL! Oops. Well, you got the attitude part right. :) Actually, I should have noticed - whales don't have fins on their back..... :roll:

On 2009-11-24 08:33, AlohaStation wrote:
Small Stuff 3 opened at the Bear and Bird gallery on Sunday and I made way over for the opening brunch. A lot of really good stuff that was a wide range of subjects and mediums. Check out the online show and try guessing what I did:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearandbird/sets/72157622860671486/

Bah, that was too easy! :lol:

I have many pieces that have been laying around that I start and move on. Many of them are Moais - an easy carve that doesn't take too much time. Many of these just needed a alittle attention to finish them up. Here are two..

Cypress - 15"

Palm - 25"

The third was part of my recent "burst". Carved in Cypress - 12".

Thanks for the catch! fixed

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2009-12-06 16:11 ]

Moais muy machos! Tom is the top one really palm? Looks like more woodgrain than I've seen in palm wood before. Not calling you a liar, just curious :D