Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

That lil guy is odd & cool.
What could he be holding?

Thanks Will...he's going to be holding a toy that most of us grew up with. Concentrate and ask again.

Let’s see…a toy most of us grew up with. My guess is a pocketknife. All of my early work was created with one. The folks in the small town I grew up in often referred to my carvings as “sharpened sticks”. Too unsophisticated to appreciate fine art I suppose.

Good guess Amate, but not quite what I was thinking.

Outlook not so good, my sources say no.

If I said 8 ball
" would it be probable" ?

Signs point to yes

the dog has possibilities too...

It is decidedly so, The Magic 8 Ball. I cannot predict now
but I'm hoping to make it work.

As for why I decided on a Magic 8 Ball....the reply is hazy.

hello friends, more tiki madness from the northwoods.

Welcome the Moai 8 Ball

Looks like the wood carver side
Is winning out over the Tiki carver side.
May the force be with you.
&, Keep us posted.
Outstanding finish.

I like him....very folk artsy. I still say he looks like the kind of guy that might carry a knife :)
Ok, let's continue the discussion on paint from another thread. What do you use? it looks great!

Thanks Will and Amate, appreciate your remarks, especially since this is only marginally 'tiki.'

I am going back to a more tribal and 50s modern look on my next piece, but I have also been drawn to other
styles, flat plane carving, folk art. This was originally going to be a simple moai in tropical touristy
garb, and the 8 ball just came out of nowhere. I have improved the "8" by the way.

I used a dark walnut stain and then finished him off with acrylic paint. I didn't want the paint to look
perfect, I wanted the dark finish to show through the paint. I used a brush that had been used...and not
cleaned...still a little stiff, if you know what I mean. The paint was then sort of "scraped" onto the stain.
That's the best way to describe it.

The all-knowing moai!

Going tribal-tiki with the next one....promise.

Domesticated Moai! Nice!

yeah, bring on the tribal side of Conga!

Brief departure ..... Skill enhancements

Mahalo

McTiki

Hello friends....thought I better do a little bump after dropping to page 2...Conga is back.
As you can see spring is just around the corner up here, but I have been working on a tiki project


And I have also been chizzlin' and paintin' on a tribute to one of my favorite Wisconsin traditions,
the friday night fish fry


So that is it for now, other than a nice icicle to convince all of you that you should move to a
more northern location

Lots of nice work being shown on TC, keep it up. Peace out!

New tiki looks good but cold
Awesome sign
I Tripple dog dare you to lick the ice sickle

Jon

Glad to c your posts again

I'm gonna say it before Will does - carve deeper! Punch a few holes under the arms and spread those legs till you can see some light between them!

Nice try on the "double dare" Hang10, but I'm not gonna fall for it.
I learned my lesson on the school merry-go-round 55 years ago. I think a
piece of my tongue is still there.

Deeper cuts are coming AlohaStation, but this is a pretty strange piece of
basswood. Very chippy and I had to pull out the grinder to do some
prelimary smoothing...just to see if it would warrant any further effort.
My real reason for posting it at this point was to give me an excuse
to post a non-tiki item. I will hear your voice in my dreams until I
finish this one..."deeper....deeper...deeper....."

Deeper....deeper....

Having fun with this one, the face is evolving, and I have partially repaired a
large crack running down the right side of the face. I glue wood wedges into the
crack and then carve it back down to the surface, as you can see, still one small
part of the crack that needs attention. Cracks don't usually bother me, but this one
was in a bad place. A wise carve named Ben once told me "don't use filler, use wood."

I plan on this carving taking a long time, I'm being very patient.

Looking good Conga!
A very inspiring carve...

Nice to have Basswood as a local species.
I have been experimenting on the small cracks using wood glue mixed with sawdust. Holding up alright so far.
Stay on that log man!

Oh, Basswood, you should be able to finish that one tomorrow! Yews Deeper and don't forget all those tiny corners and little lumps hiding in the corners, Finer detail,,, DEEPER,,

Happy Easter to all and thanks to Heath, Amate and Benz for your kind remarks. Still digging
deeper and working on the "little lumps" hiding out in the corners. I like him to this point and
feel that he has a lot of potential. Just starting to have fun...

[ Edited by: congatiki 2013-03-31 15:28 ]

Looking good
I love the olecranon bursitis

Jon

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2013-03-31 15:45 ]

Man'
I feel for that guy.
He looks really cold.
Somebody rap a jacket around him.

I had to look that one up Hang10, it's the one ailment that I DO NOT get from
carving. I'm not sure where Bursitis fits in with Tiki...but I like the look.

Yea...still pretty cold up here Will so he IS chilly. We are expecting real spring
weather around the 4th of July. Then it turns cold.

Just a little progress....



I know....deeper....deeper.

Hes gonna be epic Conga!

McTiki

Looking good Gary! Gotta keep moving so the joints don't freeze up! It's been a brutal Winter... And it's still not over yet...

Keep carving!

Love it.

"AAARRRHH!!!" ... Love the facial expression!

Awesome!!

Ah, summertime in Wisconsin, carving tikis, carving fish, brats on the grill

Two projects nearing the finish line at the same time, it's a good feeling.
Thanks for peeking in!

love that warrior tiki! Glad that you were able to finally dig out of all that snow!

That fish is awesome - did you carve that from a single piece of wood, or did you carve the fish separate and attach to the base?

Love the colors - is this a species you catch?

Tiki,fish & brats.
Life is good.

Cool stuff! That fish looks good enough to throw it on the grill. :)

Lots o fun going on up there
Looks good

Jon

Hello friends, Polynesiac, Will, Amate and Jon, appreciate the kind remarks.

Poly--the fish is supposed to be a northern pike, one of the more common species up
here in the northwoods. I don't do much fishing anymore but I snagged more than my share
of northern in my youth. The fish is carved from a single basswood slab...around 5 inches
thick. The fins are now attached and I'm just waiting for a pair of eyes from a
taxidermy supplier.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Sweet carves! Nice paint on the pike. The eyes are gonna really bring it to life!

Happy Independence Day everyone, lotta nice carving going on here lately. I have been working on a fish,
a bass with a 'tiki attitude."

I gotta kick this "northwoods" thing before I start carving bears.

edited because of photo upload glitch...something fishy.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2013-07-02 20:35 ]

I like the Pike, looks pretty much like the ones we get here.

Top knot is cool as well.

Hello fellow carvers, nice to see some of you doing fish. Not exactly "tiki" but I've been knocking out a few fish
too, they're fun...



and an eagle

And now for something Tiki, a few of my pieces are featured in a local gallery that features artists from the
community. I think it's sorta cool so I am posting a few pics


I live in a pretty small town up here in northern Wisconsin, but there are many talented and recognized artists.
It's nice to be a part of the whole thing, the gallery is located in a nice museum so it gets a fair amount of
traffic. I'm nearly famous :)

I was wondering if you ever got the eyes put in that pike and now we get to see the finished product. Between you and Jeff, I'm really going to have to step up my game on the fish.

Nice photos and congrats on the gallery.

sweet!

Way to go conga!

Your gallery display is impressive conga, lots of different, cool carvings!

Thanks Amate, Jeff, Heath and Cy! Been absent for a little while as I dug into fish and
birds, but I still have "tiki" on the brain and have been watching all of your posts on
TC. Once I knock off the eagle I'm gonna pull another tiki out of something.

Keep up the good work!

Tiki, on, in, and under your brain! YAY!

Kool
Congrads

Hey there, Conga! Wheres this at?? Can u message me so I may be able to get some of my lil' Lake Superior Tikis in there? Thanx, Big-Man.