Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

You're on top of the game! That PNG inspired tiki REALLY came out looking like it was carved in the interior and brought out by explorers. Your aging technique worked out great too. If I were you, I think I would spend a lot of time staring at this piece with a big fat grin on my face.

Very Cool PNG Carving!!! I really like your bar too!!!

That is one astounding piece, Conga! I'm so glad we got to drink together... and carve. You're amazing - keep it up!

Aaron

Conga,

Sorry to chime in late - I was hanging with some Mayan carvers down in Mexico......

First of all, this carving HAS to be your best yet. It is exquisite! Second, the process you used to put some age on it worked wonderfully. This is a magnificent piece of work all around. Thank you for taking the time to share all the progress pictures with us as well as including discussions of many of your techniques for achieving the final product. He is a piece to be very proud of. Very proud indeed! He looks so great in your house - I hope to see more pics of him soon.

-Gman

"The saw is family"

[ Edited by: GMAN 2006-06-10 07:48 ]

:o Holy shit, Conga, that is amazing!! That looks so fine in your bar, a perfect fit. BTW, you're bar is looking amazing too! The finish on that piece is completely tops. Thanks for sharing your techniques. :D

That's haaawt!

wow....thanks to all...Dave/McTiki/Gapper/tiki5-0/8 foot/kirby/pdrake/polynesiac/spermy/aaron/Gman/
Finky and BK....it's incredibly gratifying to get such great response on this one...from all of
you and the others who kept me going....the bark is coming off the other half-log tomorrow
morning (I would do it tonight but I'm heading out to catch Elvis Costello) and then its back
to work....lemme see....what wild dreams will the basswood produce this time?

You deserve it Conga! Very nice work! It really is inspiring.

Super creative piece. All unique too. Nice job.
I'd like to drink a few at the bar and just ponder all that's there!

thanks GAP and SurfinTiki...whenever either of you...or anyone else...get to northern wisconsin
you are all invited to visit the Congatiki lounge to look at all the "stuff"...
well....it could be the long winters up here...or it could be something else...but I sure have
a hard time carving a "normal tiki"...this is the latest "nightmare vision" coming to life...
another 8 footer...a companion piece to the big PNG i just finished


If I might paraphrase Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers..."we got a lotta lotta hard
work to do....up at the northwoods carving center."
See ya soon with more!

Wow! I thought after your last one you would rest for a few days and...BAM! I guess I should check back in less time than 7 weeks on this one. Great start. Impressed by people who take on projects in this scale. Keep it up, love the distinctness of your personal style and vision(distinctness?-If that's a word-I'm sure you understand the intent)
Buzzy

EEK! Conga, are you taking your meds? I was trying to envision what you were carving when you told me, but I didn't see this. Man, this is crazy! You're either a visionary or totally insane! Hopefully you are both! I love it!!!

-Gman

Conga, I can't believe how great that last piece turned out and here you go again with another just as ambitious. I'm happy to see you really digging in and making the progress you are making. Keep posting those great pix.

Dude, that's CREEPY! I LOVE IT!!! I wanna have YOUR dreams!

Conga,

I've been back here a few more times...looking. This guy is so great. He almost has that lanky alien look. I can't wait to watch this guy progress. This is gonna be fun.

Okay, Conga...I hereby bestow the honor... YOU DA MAN! Among the best, most creative stuff going right now..

allright, conga! another unique, creative tiki! i'm lovin' it!

I am honored to receive such compliments...thank you all. Still in the process of removing
a lot of stuff that doesn't need to be there....so I'll hold off on progress pics for a while.
GMan...I kinda see an alien too...but I think the hook knife will bring him back into the
PNG style that I seem to be mired in.
Ben and BK....you can't imagine how much I think of you guys when the going gets rough...you
inspire all of us to be better.

Awesome start on the new PNG...I see less of an alien and more of a birdman, like an interesting cross between maya and Hida. VERY cool design. I'm digging your through cuts as well, they add a ton of character to the piece. I'm looking forward to the progress pics.

PS - nice work sqeezin' in a Jonathan Richman quote!

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POLYNESIAC - putting the 'F' back in ART

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2006-06-18 23:38 ]

Sweetness. Where do you come up with these designs? They rock, and they are old school lookin. Original.

Mahalo

I can no longer carve, knowing that Conga continues to crank this stuff out! I am not worthy.
Goodbye cruel world....

thanks to all...really appreciate it.
Polynesiac...mahalo for the comps on the cut-throughs...they are a great deal of work since I
only use chisels for rough cutting...but it's all part of the process and I think the openings
seems to "draw you into" the carving.....no great secret on the ideas McTki...study study study...
I spend a great deal of time looking at PNG stuff in books and on the "web"....then I dream a
little...and then this happens....Kapu....keep carving...you're just fine! If I remember correctly
you were the one who "came in from the cold" at Coontiki and shared the worst bed in the world with
me....I always get a chuckle about that.
Anyhoo.....a few updates on the skinny birdman....I did a little burn so I could see better while
doing the detail cuts....the over-burn won't be an issue when I add the stain....
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thanks for looking...

BIRD-MAN!!!!!!!

AWESOME!!!!

Not much more to say. Thanks for the great updates and progress shots.

GO Conga, GO. Don't stop now. You are on an Amazing run and need to keep it going. What is the next one gonna be, I mean besides Fantastic??

NICE conga - this guy is going to fit right in with the rest of wild carvings. That's a cool idea to burn the wood to see the detail better as you carve it.

pretty smart guy, that conga!

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POLYNESIAC - putting the 'F' back in ART

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2006-06-27 13:52 ]

Cool! Can't wait to see with stain action.

MANY MANY THANKS TO ALL....I WAS REALLY HESITANT TO POST THESE 'BURNT' PICS BECAUSE
THE CARVING WILL LOOK SO MUCH BETTER WITH THE STAIN AND CHALK IN THE DETAIL CUTS...I
REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS ON MY WACKY SH*T. SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE...I THINK
IT WAS PATTY DUKE WHEN SHE WON THE OSCAR A HUNDRED YEARS AGO....'YOU LIKE ME...YOU REALLY
LIKE ME." MORE UPDATES SOON...LOTTA WORK TO DO.

I thought it was Sally Field(?) Either way, YES! WE LIKE YOU! And your latest bird-man tiki is TOOO COOOL!

Wow, Conga! I can't believe you cranked this one out so soon after your last. Your work really is amazing, looking very vintage and yet very original. I can't wait to see the two pieces together.

thanks Silverline and Finkdaddy....I think the two latest carvings will look cool
together...I will attempt to do identical finish on the second.
Yea....yer the man Silverline...it was Sally Field....thanks for the correction.

Looks great! What's your inspiration for this piece?

JP

love that real poly-pop mai kai garden look.

thanks Johnny and ChiselSlinger....You both nailed it for my inspirational sources....a
combination of the Mai Kai garden tiki (and the Johnny P version from last year)...a
carving from pg 22 of Tiki Magazine number 1 (Bamboo Ben article on Eli Hedley)...and
the "skinny people" carvings that my wife brought back from her Africa travels. I also
review tons of PNG carvings from various websites before I start digging in...many many
beak figures.

Heading up to Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula to spend a few days on an island....
no shops no tourists....be back working on the fourth!

Thanks.

Congatiki - love the bird creature.

I've got a vague memory of some kind of skinny bird lurking over the salad bar at Trader Dick's in Reno. Not sure though. My dining companion requested I stop wondering around gawking at stuff like some hayseed on their first trip to the big city.

Your work evokes an exotic air of mystery.

Ah...thank you KC...."an exotic air of mystery"....I think that is the feeling that I
strive for...perhaps a vintage tiki bar in a strange place that no one ever left....
no one ever photographed....no one ever escaped. Yea...that's the ticket. That tiki bar
in our dreams where all of our tiki fantasies came true.

here's a little holiday update....birdman is on a strict diet to lose a few more pounds
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[ Edited by: congatiki 2006-07-04 12:36 ]

just a little "update" bump...thanks for looking

Lookin great Conga, though I think he looks a little busy with himself there, is he OK? :) :wink:

Thanks Ben...he was getting a little friendly with himself so I had to punish him by cutting off some
of his hands...I think that will teach him a lesson. Nice weekend...plenny good time for carving...
lotta damn sanding to do yet....and I broke two hook blades yesterday....Smokey Mountain Woodcarvers
to the rescue!
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mo better pics next weekend afta the new blades come.
Thanks...keep carving....lotta nuts around here.

I LIKED his old hands, but he's still cool. You have really done a nice job with this.
You can get the hook blades from Warren Cutlery by the gross for 84$ which is Almost 2 for a buck. They also come in 3 thicknesses. I bought the thinnest and most flexible which is Too flimsy, so if you get them go med or thickest. Much better than !.50$ each.

What a punishment, poor birdman. Although it is looking really good especially with the detail on the hands and feet.

JP

Conga,

I can't believe that wood is not cracking or coming apart. Freaking awesome carve! I can only imagine how hard that is to do. I love it. Don't stop!

-Gman

Very impressive, Mr. Conga! Thin limbs and birdman face make him look very exotic.

Thanks men...
Ben....appreciate the tip on buying bulk...that makes a lot more sense...but I knew the good folks
at Smoky Mountain would get some to me quickly...and...I'm the only guy that didn't get a shirt at
Coontiki so I bought one.
Johnny and Finky...appreciate the comps...this one will get a lot of detail (armbands/wristbands/
belly decorations) to make it look like a cousin to my last 8 footer...
and GMan...I am pretty nervous about this one...I wasn't sure what to do with the two strips next
to the legs...and thought about eliminating them...but then the whole 8 footer would be supported
by ankles that are less than 2x2...spooky stuff. The decorations on the "strips" are also supposed
to tie the two carvings together...could be done next weekend if the final sanding goes well.

Not sure what to do next...probably some more exotic weird shit...seems to fit my personality.

I love exotic weird shit!

On 2006-07-12 12:23, Aaron's Akua wrote:
I love exotic weird shit!

Mee Too!!! That birdman looks freakin great!!!!

We want more Birdman!!!

-Gman

Thanks for the comps Aaron/Spermy/GMan...
hold on GMan...getting close now...more pics tomorrow....lot more detail...lot more
sanding....a couple of lizards....WHAT...a couple of lizards? Now I know the July
heat is melting brains up here in the northwoods....95 today...100 tomorrow...left work
early today so I could get busy with my tall skinny buddy.....