Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

wow conga he sure is turning out wonderful. it's the little things - like hand sanding and polishing that make certain pieces stand out. can't wait to see what you have in store for his finish.

bd

Hey thanks Big Daddy, don't want to keep you waiting, we have a little
update from a fun Sunday.





Basically spent the day on minor tweaks and stain, pretty
happy so far. Now I get to have a little fun with paint, just
a little bit.

absolutely sweet piece!!! congratulations conga. sure he's gonna stand guard and watch over the family for many years (if he's allowed to). hope you have a special place for him cuz if it was me, well... nobody would be getting him. great job.

bd

Way kool stuff Conga,really dig the headress on this guy!
Cheers Watango

Way to go Conga! I could pick that Lono out of 1,000 pieces and know you created it. Kick ass!

-G

Appreciate the comments BigDaddy, Watango and GMan, happy you stopped in :)
I think this is a keeper for me Big Daddy, working on a corner display that
I think will look pretty cool, but first we gotta get him oiled up.

GMan, what's happening my southern buddy, how goes the work on your
boatman?

WOW :o :o

Super cool - how the heck did you get all those color variations?? I see some come from the wood itself.... The crack along the front finished up nicely too. Looks great!

Thanks for the comps BigT, I think I just got a little lucky on the
color variations, at least there were no special tricks on my part.

This is my final little update till I get him slobbered up in a few
coats of tung oil...fun in birdland!

See ya soon with a finished Lono...thanks for peeking in.

Sweeeet. This is a most excellent example of congastyle.

Conga, Why did you go and do that, YOU'RE Killin' me Man, it's Just too Awwesome and I don't think I can take it. Pure Genius on my part for tellin' you to get out the Paint brush!
Oh Wait, I Didn't say that, YOU'Re the Genius here.

Great piece, Conga.... Cant wait to see where this guy will be displayed in your yard...

Hey Conga, By the looks of this guy, you're spending a lot more time on carving than cruisin' on the bike! Glad to see you do this style. It's turning out great. What's next???
8FT

Bravo! You knew that Lono given its own personality in your own style!

What a great piece, so interesting with this great design and color and the expression, great job.

I like the bird addition! That. IS. Cool. :)

The hits keep coming, Conga!

Nice wrap on this one... and the bird is a beautiful touch.

Just the hint of color that adds so much to the overall feel.

Carve quick, before you know it the leaves will be falling! :o

Sad to think it was just yesterday that Spring was starting.

Wow, Conga! Just plain WOW.

Holy Cow...better catch up with my paperwork :)
Johnny P, Benz, Freddie from Northern Wisconsin, 8 Foot from Cooktiki,
Laojia, Hilltiki, Big T, Lakesurfer and Tikisbytyler, many many thanks for
your kind compliments.

You are right 8 Foot, the motorcycle has been pretty quiet this summer, I
have a lot more miles on my peddle roadbike than I do the cruiser.

Benz, does this guy look at least a little bit familiar? I once had a famous
tiki carver working on a big Lono for me, but I thought it would be fun to
do one for myself :)

Lake, have a great time at Oasis, let me know if you need someone to carry your
money satchels.

The Lono is finished...he looks pretty sexy with four coats of tung oil. Waiting
for a nice sunset to show the final pics. Sooooooon.

All done 'cept for creating a little display corner for him...



Many thanks for the comments and encouragement.
Now...what to do next?

[ Edited by: congatiki 2009-08-05 05:49 ]

Conga, Thanks, You DO have him "Wrapped Up" to send to Me Right?? How COOL!

I'm Sure this guy will Dominate the room wherever he is standing. You have really put a Lot of heart and soul into this guy. Take the rest of the day off, you've Earned it, but NO More than that! BACK TO WORK!
:o :) :D

On 2009-08-05 06:30, Benzart wrote:
Conga, Thanks, You DO have him "Wrapped Up" to send to Me Right??

Beat me to the punchline!

Hey where's Mindi? I've been sitting by the mailbox for a year and a half...

Great job Conga. Another treasure is born. I'll be watching to see what you decide on creating next. It is gonna keep getting tougher for you to match all the insanity in this thread. Bring it on man.....

-G$

Hey....
Appreciate everything...gotta do one more pic when he gets to his final
display spot. He really looks better in person (?)...the sunlight made the
oil finish look more shiny than it really is.

Benzart and Hodad....this one would be pretty hard to wrap-up and ship,
the top is pretty thin and fragile...I will probably have to keep this one:-)

You still remember Mindimbit, Hank? The little bugger really wants to
visit California, you wanna put him up? He likes to shop-tiki and I think your
shop is about the best ever.

Hey Gman. I'm not sure what to do next, I have a really nice long log that
would work great chopped up into several smaller pieces. Sorta thinking of
knocking out a few "tiki modern" style things, but who knows. Stay tuned.

On 2009-08-06 09:27, congatiki wrote:
You still remember Mindimbit, Hank? The little bugger really wants to visit California, you wanna put him up? He likes to shop-tiki and I think your shop is about the best ever.

Hell yes! I think he Mindi would look fab in the new gallery. Think you can roll him up in some bubble wrap and jam him in a mailbox? Next Stop California!!!

Yes I think I can do that, it would make Mindy happy. Mindy has
been pretty bored since coming back from my daughters college apartment,
and he needs a change of pace. We'll discuss his rent when he gets there.

Very cool Conga! I love, love, love the headdress!

Nice! a lot of personality, a like the colour very much and the little birdie detail makes me smile I can't help it :)

I made you smile? Thanks Clarita, that made my day :)
Finky, many thanks. For some reason I had been putting off the
Lono style, probably afraid of the headdress! I'm glad you like it.

Gonna start chipping into a new chunk today, no plan at this point.
See ya later.

I have started and scrapped several Lono. Never could get the headdress right. Yours is just wonderful.

Yes! Sick! Love this guy. Great little bird on the front.

Thanks Bali Dan and Seeksurf, appreciate it.
I've put off a Lono many times, Dan, always afraid of the headdress
too.
Well, I've started working on something else




I'm not really sure where the inspiration comes from,
many things, including some of the characters in LLT's
paintings. Had to take a carving break to get my daughter
situated in the Boulder area, nice to get back to whacking at
wood.

CooL! He looks like a polynesian version of the doctor from Nightmare before christmas! So far so good. And the Lono, excellent work my friend!

Cool, i like the nose so far. Is this basswood too? This one's got a big ol crack also, I see.

Thanks guys...he's pretty funky....I know....I appreciate the kind words.
Yes BigT...another piece of basswood. Funny thing...one of my car customers
dropped off a lot of basswood this summer...this one looked great when I started.
I did about an hour and a half of rough-out...no problems....then I went to
Colorado for a week and the sucker cracked on me. I just dabbed a small amount
of filler into it yesterday while carving the face. Hoping for the best.

oooooooo conga,this is different, but cool! he's a happy dude!

Amy

Cool Stuff Conga, When you fill those cracks, do it with WOOD, Not filler. Cut some Shingle shaped slices and beat them into the crack covered with glue so that when they go in as far as they can they will be glued in. Next day after the glue dries, cut the protrusions off with a knife, chisel or angle sander/grinder and smooth it out with a light grinder until it is part of the piece then leave it until everything blends in perfect, You may need to sand it but the cracks will be filled and filled tight so will look like they were supposed to be that way.

myspace

[ Edited by: Benzart 2009-08-25 19:42 ]

Benz, I have been dealing with cracks in basswood for years now, and you
finally tell me how to fix 'em! Many many thanks my friend. I know its gonna
work better than filler.

Reminds me of a djembe workshop in which I participated in several years ago.
The instructor (Mamady Keita) only offered individual tips if he thought people
were advanced enough to get it. He helped me in the first two sessions when he
thought it might do some good, but when we got to the advanced session he just
ignored me and worked with the better drummers :)

I'm taking it as a compliment that you offered a helping hand.

Gotta post a pic with my wife and her "eagle." Thanks again.

Very nice new style. The most interesting thing here is that the conga style constantly reinvents itself. This one looks like a conga interpretation of a Vanuatu slit gong.

(you make me want to start slinging the saw again)

I think it's funny that you titled your thread "something new". Everything you do is something new! :lol:
Lookin good so far!

Hey thanks Amy (sorry I missed your post) Johnny and Finkdaddy. Since this
is a pretty far-fetched tiki I am starting to have a lot of fun with it...no
boundaries you know :)
Since it can't really be "wrong" I decided to see if I am a carver or a
happy hacker. I wasn't really happy with the eyes so I have been digging for a
more natural looking set of peepers, sort of what you might find on a cigar store
Indian. Having some success...I'll offer a little update soon.
Thanks for taking a peek.

Making minimal...but satisfactory progress on the latest imaginary
character. Followed Ben's advice on filling the crack with wood,
sorta fun and challenging, actually easier than it sounds.
Here's a little update, still pretty rough....

Thanks again Ben for the tip on crack-repair, you da man!

Yo Conga,

This guy is tha shitz. I love the face. Looks like the repair is perfect. Very nice work.

-G

http://www.oceanandislandarts.blogspot.com/

[ Edited by: GMAN 2009-08-29 17:52 ]

Way Excellent job on that repair and the "Indian Eyes" are cool and see All so watch out. I'm Loving your attitude on this guy. Let it All Hang out.

On 2009-08-29 16:40, congatiki wrote:
Making minimal...but satisfactory progress on the latest imaginary
character. Followed Ben's advice on filling the crack with wood,
sorta fun and challenging, actually easier than it sounds.

Wow, great repair job. It seems like you would risk cracking it more since you are driving a wedge right into the crack. Did you have any problems like that? Looking good by the way!

Hello friends...
Gman...glad you like the face! He's either gonna be a unique tiki or a
"man in the moon." Either way...I'm sorta liking him too. Any progress on
your multiple-piece canoe figure?
Benz...you noticing a little attitude? Yes...trying to pull out the stops on
this one. I have to be careful to avoid stealing...a couple of your pieces
keep popping into my head...
Big T...many thanks. I should have posted some progress pics on the repair...
he looked really wierd with several chunks of basswood jutting out of his face.
Looked like he ran into a mirror and it stuck in his face:-)
I still have to do some repair under the chin and on the top of his head...I'll
post a couple of progress pics so you get the idea.

Hey Conga. No, no progress on the bow figure. Sorry. Too bad he didn't get to go on this year's lizard dance. He would have had fun. Maybe he will make it out with us next season. :wink:

Maybe you should come down and take his place on our next trip?

Holy crap you have a Picasso Man going down. Looking good.

Many thanks GMan and Seeksurf, having fun with this guy. Sounds
like a fun invitation GMan, I'll practice perching on the front of
a canoe:-)
Winding down with this fella, just wanna show how I am fixing the
big crack that went from the top of the head down to the chest.
First...cut a chunk from scrap wood and taper it like a shim...
sizing it to the crack

Then slather some glue into the crack and push the shim into it

This shot shows the pieces glued into the chin and chest cracks

Once the glue sets I'll use the hook knife to whittle away the
excess filler wood, and a little sanding will finish the job.

Update...repair finished....progress.....

Long weekend coming up...looking forward to a lot of finishing work...
maybe starting something new. Thanks for visiting, come again.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2009-09-03 16:06 ]