Jewel Encrusted Tiki

Hello Tiki Centralites,

I thought I would write a little story about the jewel encrusted tiki. After reading several topics and seeing the art work on tiki central I realized how many good carvers there really are. This lit a fire under my ass to try to do tikis that are unique.

One day while carving in my Santa Cruz Wilderness retreat, my father in law had a suggestion/idea. "Why don't you stick a gem in it" he said. The power of suggestion is a powerful thing. In the past, I often thought about doing this, but never got around to it. After a few brushes of the chainsaw and some elbo grease, a new tiki was born. (See Below)

One of my friends bought this one. He was so stoked that he gave me an extra $50.00. This one was sealed with super deck which I used to use. Now I like to use a varnish/polyeurathane combo. The jemstone inlaid in this tiki is a genuine Swiss Blue Topaz. Not wanting to cheapen my artwork, I decided not to go with synthetic stones. If someone wants a fifty 6 carrot diamonds inlaid, great However, due to monetary constraints, I have only used semi-prescious stones.

I think blue color of the stone creates a nice contrast with the red and yellow background. I have to go, my little guy just woke up.

Talk to you later,
Will

Man, you always put it nicely, "a few brushes with a chain saw"
I've never seen anybody do such nice work with a chain saw. All even and smooth. I know you sand 'em like no tomorrow, but still its amazing, great work.
The blue topaz is a great touch. A little eastern tiki.

Nice way to get "Stoned".Great work

Great idea, Will. Nice touch. It's always cool to experiment and push the boundaries a bit. Just tell your friend to keep it inside so no one is tempted to lift it...

Aaron

PS - Check your PM's!

Nice job!!! I think the topaz looks excellent with the Tiki!!! Keep up the great work and thanks for posting pic's!!!
Later,
Spermy

Thanks to all of you. It has been great to be able to post articles on tiki central and communicate with you guys. I have many more tikis to show you guys, but I am just trying to space it out. However, I have a question, it seems like we are supposed to add on to exsisting topics instead of creating new ones. (Is this True)

Benzart, I got to see one of you fine works in person at Chongolios house, it is beauty.

AA,
Don't worry, the person who purchased this tiki can be quite aggro. Even though he is a nice guy, I wouldn't want to be on his bad side. He would probably hunt down and kill someone for stealing his prized posession. I am still going to show you the dolly I use to move big logs. I just need to get it together enough to collect some pictures. This morning I spotted some 4 foot wide redwood rounds on the beach. Unfortunately, I think they might be unaccessible.

Mr Dale & Sperm Whale,
Thanks for the plugs. I am totally stoked to inlay gems into my tikis now. There are a few more floating around that need their pictures posted.

Mahalo,
Will

That is one sweet Tiki. Without the jewel it is nicely balanced and proportioned design wise. The 2 tone effect with the wood gives it an extra dimension.

Then the jewel adds a bit of brightwork (I hate the word bling - dont know why, I just do).

Too too sweat, well done