tikis by marcus thorn

nice one tiki beat...love the classic look....

Nicely done Marcus! Nicely done.

this one turned out great marcus!

good onya for dropping into Wayne's - hope there is enough cool folk on the gold coast to keep an offbeat store like that afloat! (note for everyone else in Australia: Out of the Ordinary Homewares and Design Space at Nobby's Beach Gold Coast - my brothers shop - for all your retro/one-off/classic offbeat furniture/art/homewares etc etc!!!)

i really like the "old" look and the use of the torching - do you do this just with a butane torch from the hardware? is there sanding to be done after torching, or is it the last thing before staining/finishing?
would love to drop by one day!
cheers!

harro, we should both drop by & see Marcus some day.

Your work is great :drink:

I Likee I Likee, Likee. Excellent. like PolyN said. Very traditional with clean lines. Seems no one does tikis like this anymore. Do Some More...

Wow very nice i like it toooOOoO !!!
the shifter monster is really cool did you sell it ?

See you.

Alex.

Wow Marcus, that came out looking great. I like the eyes, hands, chest, and chin/mouth. You have a great way of seeing/interpreting tiki that others don't. Your perceptions are clearly shown in your carvings. Great stuff!

-Gman

Very nice, Marcus. I love the classic look and antiqueing.

Oh my I have a little tear in my eye - thanks for your kind kind words Congatiki, McTiki, Benzart (OK carving as fast as I can!) Gman, Aarons Akua,
Al's Tikis - the original wood shifter is still in my possession(probably keep him a little longer - I like him -but I am slowly filling the orders for the resin guys $60Aus dollars)
Harro and Gibgib - drop by anytime - but give me a little notice so I can sharpen some extra chisels for my elves..hehehehe
Harro - I sand after burning with the butane torch - nice plug for the shop..should get the place buzzing.
I am working on another tiki leaning against a malibu board - am chipping away and need to get him done real quick - going on a surfin safari with Von Weirdo at the end of the month.

Man, all these bloody Queenslanders start popping up everywhere and showing me up. Now ya planning to get together and create even more! Well, NSW still got the state of origin, the AFL, the NRL premieship! Haha (sorry, Aussie footy scores)

Your brothers shop sounds cool Harro. When I get the chance to get up there Ill call on yas if I can. And if you guys ever come down south, do the same to me (still bummed I missed out on meeting Marcus when he came to Sydney).

Awesome carving man. Cant wait to see this new carving, sounds real nice.

sounds good marcus - keep the progress pics coming if possible - by the way, how's yr website goin??

have fun chasing the waves with darryl - not heading to bali i hope?

hewey you got us there, while i can't defend qld's recent poor showings in the footy, all i can say is that its well and truly summer up here now - 31deg today, 35 later this week!.. somehow we missed spring..?!!

Man I just got wind of a tiki party in Sydney on Saturday night. Maybe us new south welshman gonna get some more tiki mojo happenin.

Beautiful work, Marcus! i'm picking my jaw up off the floor!

Hey Hewey how did the gig go in Sydney on the weekend? Did you catch up with Ben from the Tiki Two?

Multiple events conspired against me making it. Why does everything happen at once?

Can someone hand me my Drool rag. That is a killer tiki marcus!!!!!!! I love your stuff ! aloha mooney

I'm Back!! - Surfin Safari trip to Sydney for the Vintage Surf Auction was a great break from the carving and also hopefully will drum up a bit of business for next year with some surf companies down under. I have posted some pics of my latest tiki. He is a bust of Ku backing onto a surf board (all in one piece) this was commissioned for a young lady who is a keen surfer. Enjoy!

Great work, marcus. Great to see your new stuff. This guy's coming to life beautifully... Post him when he's at full term!

Marcus - our Bruthah from Down Undah. Diggin' your work as always! Your appreciation for vintage style resonates big time with me. Keep it up!

Aaron

looks like another wonderful tiki coming to life Tikibeat...
very vintage look....can't wait to see where this one
goes!

Marcus,

That looks first rate. I agree, vintage stuff indeed! I love your style!

-Gman

You come down to Sydney and dont call? Ill catch ya sometime dude :)

Cool tiki, cant wait to see him finished

yeah, yo got that vintage stlye goin' on. this one is going to be tops, marcus.

great start, can't wait to see more!

Tight carving. The lastest is definately my favorite. Great work on the pelican too. I just started one so I can appreciate the effort involved.

Nice work Marcus!

I'll keep my eye on this one for obvious reasons... :wink:

What kinda wood are you chipping there?

aloha marcus!
that carving is really cool my friend. I cant wait to see it finished keep slinging, Aloha ,your friend mooney

beautiful stuff, Marcus! excellent carving so far!

More progress on the board and tiki - thanks everyone for your feedback so far - I do like the traditional old style tikis (and cars and furniture) so love it when the customers orders them. The timber is red wood gum it is my favourite wood is readily available to me as it is Australian.
Hewey you missed a kickin Luau! We had fireworks this year and the band was great!! Sorry I didnt get a chance to catch up with anyone when I was in Sydney - maybe next time.

Yo, that's one authentic look'in tiki! Somebody's gonna be way happy when its done. I sure would be.

MArcus I Really love your traditional tikis. I guess when it comes down to it you just can't beat the old masters at what they do best. You can sure join'em though and your tikis are right outta their books.
Excellent!

dang Marcus, that is wicked!

No one else noticed the mistake... Did ya slip and accidently cut off his body? Actually, ah, that must be it:

Always watch when Marcus advertises 50% off his tikis!

The party sounds cool, gonna try and make it next year.

Cool tiki too, love the style.

Killer stuff, Marcus!

Holy Smokes!! That is one bad ass lookin Tiki Marcus. A killer rendition of the ancient polynesian style. Always a favorite in my book.

Chongolio

Marcus...another great tiki. Your stuff is very inspiring. I find myself poring over your progress pics for instructions on carving parts. I love the traditional look!

Love the finish so far. I was debating on how to finish my surfboard carving . Wasnt sure about going dark on the board or light. Cant wait to see it done.

Here is the finished carving (dont want to throw the word tiki around too loosely these days given recent threads of contraversy - dont want to say too much on that subject - I really enjoy carving in a traditional style to keep it going but also like carving non tiki carvings - if I get asked to do a pelican or non traditional tiki I am happy to give them something unique I love to express myself through wood be it tiki or not - having said that I myself prefer the old school stuff and love to listen to martin denny and the other great artists of days gone by - goes with my hut and tropical surroundings and if you can find some spare time to flick through the books/ or watch a dvd about the history of tikis then do it - very interesting stuff out there).
I had to wait a little while before I could post pics of this little guy because the benefactor was checking this site and her boyfriend wanted to surprise her with this one for her birthday (Happy Birthday Holly) It was a great pleasure to carve this for you guys - great couple and seeing your face when you found out that he was yours was such a thrill - keeps me inspired to keep carving when you see delight like that.

BOY, Holly's boyfriend is One lucky guy for getting such a nice tiki.
Your traditional carvings are really excellent. I Love how you trimmed the surfboard and placed the flower and "Tiki Beat" on it with Raised lettering, Not easy to do without pre-planning. I thought the comment by one of our TC'rs was funny about this carving being for the "1/2 off sale", I guess you already sold the other half??
Thanks for posting.

That is one helluva good ku. The finish is a nailer...looks very old. Duke Kahanomoku-would-be-proud level. Just curious-are there exotic wood restrictions or shortages in Australia? I had asked several people a couple of years ago about raw mahogany or ironwood (I've never carved either)and got no can do replies...

haven't dropped by here in a while - but nice to see you still churning out the fine pieces marcus... this one's a beauty. hard to believe it is all one piece of wood! the 'old' look is achieved remarkably well, and the different stains on the board to achive the lines looks awesome! keep em coming!

Marcus, your staining and finishing skills blow me away. Really.

I love the multiple coloured stains on the board, and the raised lettering and hibiscus flower really sets it off. Hell, id be happy with just the board, but threse also (half) a cool tiki up front. Very sweet dude.

Sweet ! Love the carve and the surfboard details. The stain is astonishing sir.

Mahalo

I thought I saw the pic that sparked your Idea. But frankly yours turned out much better that the one that I saw. Great stuff and thanks for carving and sharing.

Marcus,

Wow man, how did you get the "stringer" lines in the board? I had a giant old school O'Neil longboard like that. What a great touch! The whole piece looks like it should be in a museum. Absolutely choice. A fab piece all around!

-Gman

Wooooo, that's a good one! Cover model perfect. That is exactly what I want to carve for myself. Nice work.

Marcus, once again an awesome piece! Can you tell about your finishing job on the board? I l love the multi colored stain, and the raised lettering/hibiscus is incredible! I've been wondering about a place to include that flower...

Aloha Marcus!!!!!!
aweasome carving my friend!!!!! I love all the different textures to the KU. mahalo for sharing I know it inspires me . Aloha your friend Mooney