Carvings from Frog Island Tikis

Cy- I thought I saw u on YOUtube singing that song

mmmmm....shroooms.....lol...

It is hard to carve with hands of ice but here is what is new. I started on a sign for TikiSkip to be delivered by Hukilau in June.


This is the approved sketch

I cut and glued a chunk of bass wood.
He sent me the main focus of the sign, this beautiful float.

This is what it looks like today.



Also working this chunk of hemlock.


"Fishsticks" is a recently completed piece for the Sea Creatures of the South Pacific swap here on TC

[ Edited by: cy 2013-01-20 17:22 ]

Somebody seems to be on fire!

Very nice execution to the plan!

Mahalo for sharing CY!

McTiki

CY- dude, you are knocking the TikiSkip sign out of the freekin park...

Jon

WOW!!
That is AWESOME!!
Can't wait to see it all done.
GREAT job!

Skipper- u lucky dog...

That's a lot to come from frozen fingers.
I feel wimpy now tossing in the chisels
below 70.
Very impressive stuff.

Thanks McTiki, it's a lot like doing one of your panels. H10 I.m pleased you like and very happy you also like tikiskip! Will I always wear gloves but even with them I had to go indoors and warm my digits for a few before going back out. I get jealous when I see you Florida dudes carving away wearing shorts and tanks.

I'm cyin' over that awsome cygn, Cy! :lol: I know basswood is light but it looks like it weighs a ton!

Very good MDM, I got a good chuckle with the cyisms. I really took a bunch of wood out of the sign with the notion of lightening as much as possible 'cause I need to ship when complete. My neighbor here at the t shirt shop ships car parts all over the world and gets a great rate from the postal service and UPS so I will have him help me out on that.

So Cy it is -20 here today.
Don't carve in the cold dude, If you finish later no big deal.

It kinda sucks living in this frozen tundra.
We get like half a life here, being as we
hibernate for three or more months.

Ya, ya, I used to ski was fun, but now it makes my bones ache.
I'm too old for this winter crap.

PS those fish on your swap item would look very cool done up
like a Witco in a frame.
Very Mid Cench Modern.

•:•:••:•:••:•:••:•:••:•:••:"If you do fine work you will never die":••:•:••:•:••:•:••:•:••:•:•
TIKISKIP

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

Thanks tikiskip but I carve year round and though I bitch and moan about it I would still be out there cause I enjoy doing it. Your project has moved indoors where I have a nice heated room to use. I'm not the biggest of Witco fans but you are right those fish would look good framed with a fabric background of some kind. Maybe I need to get the torch out and start burning them to see what happens.

dude, I watch your thread like a hawk, because there is always something fresh and different to be found here...

your latest stuff is off the richter bro....

you gonna be a the Hukilau?

Thanks a lot Jeff, it's cool that you and others accept my rather unorthodox style and your comments pump me up and keep me going! Packing up the van and driving to Hukilau would take me away from my t shirt printing business for too long but maybe some year I will make it just to attend and see my Florida carving buds.

WOW.......really cool stuff Cy !!

Here is a quick update.

I worked on the tiki dude holding the float this weekend.


I am cutting the back of the headdress out as well as the eyes and will add a light behind it. Hope Tikiskip likes the idea.]


Also got "Nelson" done as far as carving. Next is paint.

[ Edited by: cy 2013-01-27 19:51 ]

Cy, awesome work on that sign so far! I've been carving large pieces of basswood lately, do you cut your own or get them from a mill? I've never seen cuts that thick, the thickest I've gotten is 1 1/2". Though it gets chippy sometimes, it's a real pleasure working worth the grain, and it carves like butter.

Cymaster is killin it...

Just brilliant!

So much detail! I'm diggin the CYgn, and the Nelson piece!

Mahalo!

McTiki

Skip's gotta like that.
Could be your best yet.

It's gonna be a MASTERPIECE!!!

Very nice work. I like the design of the sign and the lights. Very crisp carving.

"I am cutting the back of the headdress out as well as the eyes and will add a light behind it. Hope Tikiskip likes the idea"

Like it? I love it!!
This sign is AWESOME!
I thought that you were just going to carve out tikiskip on some
wood and be done.
But this is so much more than that.
Your work is really great!
I can't wait to see more.
Thanks Cy.

I'm surprised and stoked by the attention John's sign is getting, thanks! Lake surfer we have a lumber store here in Portland called Crosscut that is like a giant candy store for carvers. Any kind of wood you can imagine is stacked there and I went in looking for the thickest, baddest piece of bass wood I could find. What is available is hit and miss but I staggered out with this 4" thick 12ft. beauty.

After seeing your gorgeous carvings at the Hale Pele this week I will be picking up some poplar next visit. Gracias H10 and thanks for the Nelson comment McTiki, I will have more time in that little bastard than I will in the sign. Thanks Will, I like to ad-lib as I go along and with today off I should be able to add the backlight and carve through the eyes and headdress, which was modeled after a cool rattan light that tikiskip made. Thanks MDM and good to see you back Tucson! Glad you like tikiskip as there is no going back now!

Those two fellas at the top of Nelson remind me of Aztec hachas...maybe the hooked noses. All very nice work.
by the way, are those guys blowing whistles or smoking cigarettes? Sorry man, I can't resist being a smart @ss! :)

Yes amate they are! :) I broke on through today.

[ Edited by: cy 2013-01-28 17:06 ]

That's it
I've changed my name to skip
So send that sucker to Vegas...

:)

Love it Cy.
Hey check out some saw porn.
Here are my chain saws, Love the little Echo.
The Jonsereds is a beast, that son of a gun got
so fired up it caught fire.
Ya gotta go with the pro saws as they have way more power.
Have not done any carving yet, too busy makin lights to get on that.
Worked for a tree company after High school.
Here's a carvin toon for ya.
Love the chain saw solo.
Did get to work on your light today as it was 60!
Keep up the good work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52p9jc-gOo

¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸TIKISKIP,Lights,ECT¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

My God tikiskip, that is one scary looking mo-chine. I could not play the video with my outdated computer, but will check it out with a friends. Glad you like the sign. I have saved the hand till last because I want it removable in case you need to replace the float some day
and got some great ideas and suggestions from AlohaStation so that portion is next.

Chain saw solo, THAT ROCKS!!!!
Cy your carving rocks too

Great work as usual Cy. I really like the backlit effects you're getting.

I recently carved some basswood, I didn't get on with it at all but it's definitely working for you.

Thanks MDM. Atomic I know how you feel as bass wood can be chippy, pulpy- rotten in places, and I can never keep it from looking "fuzzy" but it is lightweight, holds detail a lot better than the cedar I usually use and accepts any kind of paint you want to throw on it. My next project is a big piece of arborvitae which I have no clue about but should be fun.

Arborvitae? Don't you carve that with an Oxygen/Acetylene torch? :lol:

Very good MDM, when I said "should be fun" I had already clogged my chain saw and grinder with a gummy pitch but I will try a few thru-cuts and see what happens.


I finished "Nelson" with acrylic and clear poly.

Also painted "Lauderdale" with a red dye and clear coat.



And did some detailing and added the hand for tikiskips sign.

Holy crap
U bean busy

I can't wait to see the frog island carving station

Looking forward to the (soon to be) visit...

Jon

The paint put Nelson over the top...just beautiful!!! I love the red dye highlighting the natural color on Lauderdale. I was going to say "contrast" but I believe "compliment" would be more fitting.

Your finish work is mind blowing. You must have elaborate tools or patience like no other. Or both!

Excellent stuff!

Mahalo

McTiki

The sign is looking awesome! Is this the Arbor Vitae?

Looks a lot like eucalyptus (which is also harder than a rock. If you like carving rocks I'll bring you a chunk of eucalyptus to Tiki Caliente :D )

PS - if you start getting a lot of orders from Puertocitos Mexico for tikis it's because I wore your Frog Island Tiki shirt and did some advertising down there. Oh wait, they have no internet or phone service to place orders from. Also no power or running water and a population of about 50 people :lol:

H10, looking forward to the visit also, amate was hoping someone would like the color added to Nelson, thanks McTiki , here's a shot of my elaborate tool set-All straight, easy to sharpen chisels and a few invaluable knives, and I probably possess more tenacity than patience.

Yes Maddog, that's a part of a honkin' piece of arborvitae tractored over by my neighbor and I would love a chunk of eucalyptus if you would haul it to Palm Springs for me! I will alert my pals on the coast to be on the look- out for a tiki order stuffed inside a tequila bottle.

[ Edited by: cy 2013-02-04 19:42 ]

Looks great Cy!
"Lauderdale" is really cool.
But you are holding out on us as your blog site has more
stuff you just posted.
The one on your blog site I'll call it moss head is very cool.
Do you do something to get them to start growing stuff on them?
Makes em look like Indy Jones just found them.
Or should I say Sven just found them.
Go to the blog site folks, nice stuff there as well.

Oh I see you call moss head "KK"

Cy,
What do you have for breakfast.
You're on fire.
I'm gonna have to step up my finish work to match yours.

Like I told you skip, I should hire you for my PR guy. Even though it seems I've been updating here a lot lately, I always update the blog once a week. The moss is a natural effect of 40 inches of annual rainfall and living in the woods but I'm fairly certain I saw a recipe on MadDog Mike's thread to make moss grow. Thanks very much Willcarve but I still have a ways to go to match your finishing skills!

Just WOW! Wendy

Good stuff. GROG like. Very fun.

dude, you're killin' me with that sign....

with the little lamp and everything....brilliant!

Thanks Wendy, see you soon, I'm a big fan of GROG, so your nice comment makes me a happy boy and muchas gracias Jeff!