Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

Thanks Cy...and thanks to everyone who pops in at Congas Corner of TC.
Well...it appears we are working on an actual Tiki up here in northern Wisconsin

And it looks like it could be a Lono with a headdress to the moon


As you can see...still a lot of work to be done. The headdress will get the very best
effort that I can put forth. Right now I'm seeking inspiration...in the form of
tequila. Wish me good luck!

[ Edited by: congatiki 2012-04-17 17:03 ]

Sweet looking Lono! Very nice in deed.

Some unreal carving going up in your backyard of Wisconsin! Liking that Mile High Headress even before the inspiration.

On 2012-04-17 16:56, congatiki wrote:
The headdress will get the very best
effort that I can put forth.

Here we go!!!Conga's got his game face on...and tequila never hurts. :D

OH My....that's quite a nice piece.

Mahalo

McTiki

yeah man!

I like it!

That's a 'full-sized' headdress .... no doubt about it! Looking forward to seeing the progress ....!

I can tell you're inspired on this one Conga!

Nice start already... looking good!

"to the moon Alice"

Wait a minute - your not doing some crazy off the wall design that crept out of the darkest corner of your brain? I just don't know if I'm OK with this. Not to mention the implecations of curbing your creative juices.

Mahalo everyone...don't put so much pressure on me...I'll be afraid to
screw things up :)
The "darkest corner of my brain" is a pretty scary place AlohaStation...if I go
there for inspiration I could be in some BIG trouble. A few pretty
crazy ideas have crossed the "lighter" part of my mind...but we're
still in deep contemplation.
Thanks again to all.

Still a long way to go with the Lono, but things are starting to take shape.
A little sunday morning update from the Northwoods...



Thanks for taking a look!

A 4 poster!
"to the moon Alice"

Looks like nice carving weather in the north woods. Making good progress.

that is looking great!

Looks nice! that headdress is kinda gnarly!

Nice! those Lono head dresses are a ton of work. Looking great!

This is a great thread! loads of variety, the birdman, voodoo child, some atmospheric pictures too...
g

Thanks for looking everyone. As you all know, Lono headdresses can be
an awful lot of hard work (especially removing the wood you don't need).
They also present a design challenge...hope I'm up to the task!

Welcome to TC Atomic Mess, we always need new carvers around here and I
like your early postings. Thanks for wading through the thread....I
appreciate the comments.

Great Lono!!!!! Conga, your carving skills never cease to amaze me. What you just said about the headdress is the EXACT reason why I have never carved one of these, yours looks fantastic!!!!

Thanks Polynesiac, agree with you that it's often better to gravitate
toward the things that aren't so labor intensive.
A week or so of repeated sanding and refining and I don't really have much
to show for it...but things are coming around





I have no historical basis for this but i like to think of the headdress
as being part of the tiki, sort of like antlers, instead of something worn
like a hat. That could be my niche, a cross between tikis and whitetail deer:-)

Yep, That be a Lono all right and with a mile high headdress. Where ever you dug it up KEEP Diggin, theres great stuff in there!

whatever your historic basis is, it sure seems to be kicking helmet hair in the toupee. That looks well on the way to being incredible!

I'd like to see you do a 12-pointer next. :D

Hi Benz...Keylo...and Amate...thanks for the push...I need it.
Not so sure about the 12 pointer Amate, that wouldn't even get much attention up here in the northwoods. Here the hunters dream of the "thirty point buck."
if you're brave enough check it out on You Tube...."Da Yoopers."
Tiki Music from the Michigan upper peninsula.

Conga? Doing a classic? Awesome!

Of course I was refering to a 12-point tiki. If your going with 30 points, better do a Kane. Lots of spikes on those hats. :)

that's looking great!

Hello everyone, getting some real nice carving action around this place
lately, compliments to all.

Just plodding along with this fella, very early in the finishing process.
I am sorta liking the "rough and tumble" look that seems to be developing,
like the carving has been kicked around the neighborhood for a couple
hundred years.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2012-05-17 03:49 ]

Conga, conga, conga
Wow
U freekin rock

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2012-05-16 21:48 ]

Looks good.
Headdress to the moon, check.
Is he eating peanut butter?
Is that why his tong is stuck to the
roof of his mouth?

cool, go with that roughed up look.

I am sorta liking the "rough and tumble" look that seems to be developing,
like the carving has been kicked around the neighborhood for a couple
hundred years.

Agreed!!! Great looking carving - he looks either like he was carved from a piece of driftwood or WAS a driftwood carving for years!! Loving this one Conga!!!

Wow, it seems like it takes me forever to get a carving finished.
Thanks for the remarks hang10, polynesiac, Atomic Mess and Will,
I'm continuing to work this guy to the best finish possible, with a nod
to the "roughed up" idea. So far I have a couple of coats of a dark stain
that I sanded down, topped off with a lighter oak stain, which I may
continue to sand.
And Will, yea the sticky tongue is either peanut butter or maple syrup :)

Not quite finished but here are a few fun progress pics...Thanks for all
the motivation to keep going on these time consuming projects.

Holidays are great, aren't they?
Time for a couple of shadow tests...

Sweet

Time consuming is an understatement!!!
Looks awesome.

That turned out really well, great pics Conga!

On 2012-05-27 20:32, congatiki wrote:
Holidays are great, aren't they?

Yeah, holidays are swell. But I'm usually too busy "holidaying" to get any carving in. This guy is KILLER by the way!

Sweet!

Very nicely done!

On 2012-05-27 20:32, congatiki wrote:
Holidays are great, aren't they?
Time for a couple of shadow tests...

There's a time to carve and then there's Miller time. I find the best shadow testing happens during the later. :)
Lookin' good!

And then there's "carving with Miller Time"....a wonderful pairing of
two great things...like tikis and exotica.....tikis and rockabilly....you
know :)
Thanks guys...appreciate the kind remarks. I think I am getting
obsessive/compulsive with my sanding. I thought this fella was just
about finished and I decided to re-sand the entire body.
In one sense I want it to look old and primitive, in another sense
I strive for perfection. Please help me.

Man does that sounds ever sound familiar. Coming from the same page!

They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds. (Winston Churchill)

leave it imperfect, that's your personality coming through, if you over finish it it'll have no soul. my two cents ;]

Thanks Amate and Atomic Mess, "imperfection" certainly fits my personality, so you are right in that regard A-Mess:-)
I'm gonna make sure that I don't work the soul out of the carving--I agree with you on that!

On 2012-05-31 10:57, Atomic Mess wrote:
They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds. (Winston Churchill)

leave it imperfect, that's your personality coming through, if you over finish it it'll have no soul. my two cents ;]

Awesome two cents! I'll take some of that.. nothing in nature has perfect lines - I'm reminded every time I look in the mirror :o I tend to be my own worst critic and this takes a load of my mind.

Conga I've been through your thread several times and I dig your work! This is nice piece congrats.

I have beat myself up over the lack of the symetry I sometimes (ok.....everything I have created) I have instead focussed more on the soul of the piece. I'm. Diggin the Congas work! Full of genuine personality that is unique to you. Excellent!

Mahalo

Symetry is over rated!

McTiki

Hi everyone, one of our family members is taking the big step of moving to
California, so a few friends gathered in the backyard to wish him well.


I'm sure he'll find a nice home out west, but we're going to miss gazing at him.

Now I gotta get to work and finish some stuff!