My first Tiki carving

So after years of Tiki worship, I have finally taken the plunge and started carving. Up to this point I have drawn tikis and even made a couple "stone" god-heads from scrap bricks in my backyard. But this is the first wood one, from a scrap piece of oak we saved from a now-defunct wine barrel.

I think the fact a buddy of mine is turning 40 spurred me to get my ass in gear and complete one. I'm planning on painting the head detail and inlaying a stone (he's an IT guy at a Zen monastery, so I wanted to honor that in the design). I will post more process pics if anyone's interested. Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks!

[ Edited by: renco 2009-09-01 11:23 ]

From a barrel of wine! Original thing!

Welcome on board Renco!

J.

Hey, neat idea. Now that's original!

So...your first tiki is carved out of oak, the next ones should be easier. Pretty soon you'll be mixing gas and oil for the chainsaw carving of the logs stacked in the backyard. Good luck on your new endeavor

Welcome nice start.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I need to either stain or burn the finished product; any suggestions on natural-looking stains?

Good first tiki renco, Unusual for sure as I don't think I've seen a barrel stave carved into tiki yet, Cool idea. As for stains, the tikis are usually stained in the darker colors but I mostly prefer the natural look of the wood if it is a nice one as oak, just a poly or varnish type finish brings out the natural beauty in the wood. YES, Post MORE Photos, the more the merrier! And Welcome to TC!

Ok here are a couple final shots. I'm calling him 'Nivek' after my friend's name spelled backwards.

I used a non-toxic Oak stain found at my local Eco Home Improvement store (yeah, I live in Northern California). One coat and no noxious fumes. The inlay is painted with Higgins India Ink, and his Third Eye is a marble left over from my wedding. Recycle and reuse!

Nice Job,, Love the finish with the oak stain And the inlays too even. YES!