Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

many thanks McTiki, GMan and Ben! Nicer weather has returned to northern Wisconsin following some
really cold and snowy days. Northwoods News Update, my boss dropped off several nice chunks of
basswood

and I spent some time working on the back of serpentiki's head

and I bought a couple of 8 foot half-logs of butternut. Wonderful wood, love the dark look and
I found a natural gaping mouth I decided to use. This is kinda weird (surprise surprise)with a
bit of an angular look to some of the cuts

So that's all for now. Peace and love and thanks for looking!

[ Edited by: congatiki 2006-10-15 07:36 ]

Boy, What a head of hair for a bunch of snakes, Cool. I Love the way your ming speaks.
Watch that mouth hole for bee's. They are sitting in there waiting for when you least expect it and then they will fly out ant sting you on the butt as you are running away, Just like in the cartoons. ( It IS Sunday right? as in Sunday Paper with full color comic's section??)

I Swear the bag is empty.I think Gman foun it and poured out the contents .
Into his own bag.

thanks Ben...appreciate the tip on the bees...no sign of them yet.
Busy day...also working on butternut "PNG Spirit figure"

Nice update conga, everything looks wicked...the hair, the knotty mouth and the new PNG figure...I've been wanting to tackle one of those guys myself for ages. They kinda remind me of the NZ manaia with their big beaks.

Alright! Nice way to place the mouth. The serpent tiki is coming along. The spirit figure is great looking. Looks like you have been very busy this weekend.

JP

Thanks guys, the last two are in the rough stages and i appreciate your comments.
Paipo, I am always drawn to the beak figures,I think they bring a very exotic vibe into the
tiki scene. I love your carving thread and congrats on the new member of the family.
Johnny, was a great weekend over here, still hoping to get another six weeks before the snow
stays. I need at least another couple of weeks to finish the serpentiki. Getting a clean look
on the snake coils is much tougher than I tought it would be.

Conga, Look at you go, Where are you getting the energy?

More nice stuff on the way!

WOW, how do you get your boss to work like that for YOU ?
I would say you must be selling a lot of cars for him but how can you when you are doing so much carving? Conga has secret powers !!!

hello my chizzlin' friends!
The onset of Winter (and some very early snow) have me working like a badger on stuff I can do outdoors.
I know it's pretty foolish to kick-off a new one with a few "starters" already waiting for attention,
but what the heck, I wanted to do a tiki!


He's a five footer and he makes me jealous.

What's wrong with starting several projects? A little ADD can't hurt as long as you keep turning out the great stuff.

JP

Do my eyes deceive me? A "standard" tiki from the Conga? I dunno....

Seriously, he looks great. He looks really "meaty" :D Nice carve!

I'm loving your beaked figure too. Conga rawks!

OK, C'mon, Fess up, who did you pay to carve this guy for you Conga?? Surely it wasn't you, was It? Whoever did it deserves a Lot of praise(and I'm sure the Mrs tiki is smiling Big time too!) he is an Excellent tiki.
Excellent work Conga, we Know it was you, we knew it all along.

Conga, everything you're doing right now is gold! That Marq is lookin' mighty fine. Moais and Marqs have always been my favorite designs.

Winter's comming. Hurry up and finish before those logs freeze!

Conga,

Any progress on your Marq? I would love to see some more pics?

-Gman

"The saw is family"

[ Edited by: GMAN 2006-10-24 16:58 ]

Mahalo Johnny, Ben, Finkdaddy and GMan, appreciate the good words on the Marq. Not much
new to post at this point GMan, I won't keep you waiting too long. At this point I have
returned to Serpentiki while the Marq waits in the wings. The snake coils are almost
satisfactory and I am gathering the hook knife and antiquing supplies to push this one to
completion. I think I am going to be happy with it, been studying a lot of PNG pics and
I will hopefully be able to do them justice. Should be able to show some meaningful progress
pics over the weekend.

Nice work...you have some really nice, buttery basswood up there. Here when I can get it I treat it like special reserve scotch..

I know I would :)

thanks Basement and McTiki...gotta love that basswood. I am lucky to have an unlimited supply of
that stuff virtually in my backyard. Making some headway with Serpentiki. All carving is
done (even the snake details that you can't really see until I get them highlighted) and I have
begun the process of making it look old. Hope all goes well.


I'll get a few "non flash" shots when I am done painting, highlighting and waxing. Thanks
for checking in.
p.s.
The flash makes the dark red look pink...trust me...the color is much more subdued to the
nekkid eye.

[ Edited by: congatiki 2006-10-29 06:43 ]

Conga,,, You Should be VERY Proud of your snake man! He really came outhGreat from the carving and detail to the stain,,Most Excellent work.

Looking awsome Conga! I can't wait to see them finished. I love how the last two photos look like one long one. :wink:

Very nice, can't wait to see some good outdoor shots of the finished item! How about some more shots of your bar, it looks fantastic......

Great Snakes! Very well done. Your space is really gettin' right there! It's loaded with cool stuff.

On 2006-10-29 06:02, congatiki wrote:
gotta love that basswood. I am lucky to have an unlimited supply of
that stuff virtually in my backyard.

Tried that stuff with Benzart this weekend. Now I kinda know why you like it so much. Place is looking great, Conga.

Conga- I like your 'thinking outside of the box' thing you do with your carvings. Your stuff is 'eatin' up' with originality and creativity. I'm always looking forward to seeing what you're gonna throw at us next.

many thanks to all for your nice words!
I am sorta proud of this one Ben, probably mostly cuz it's been two months and counting. Just
highlighting the snake detail and I should be finished.
Thanks Finkdaddy, Paipo and Gap, I will get some other bar pics up to show some of the art
that I have scattered about (including quite a few from current and dormant TCers.)
Really gotta love that Basswood Buzzy. I just found out that butternut is also very easy to
carve, like Kahuna sez, "buttery." And the butternut has a spectacular grain, working on a
couple of pieces right now. Always dig your posts, what energy!
and Surf N Turf, thank you very much! We are on on branches of the same path, but sometimes
it feels pretty lonely out here. Appreciate your comments.

Conga,

Awesome accomplishment! @ 2 months working time, don't let folks tell you they want one too. lol (I have that dilema now) Beautiful carve! Need to see it outside or at least in much more intense light.

Mahalo

McTiki

Actually Conga, I think your Snake mann looks a Lott like youu and that is Veeerry Strannngge, given its Halloween and all that stuff. How can we know you are who you say you are? You could be someone totally different under that mask which just happens to look like you.
Lets see now, HOW Arre we gonna figure this out. AAAARRR, I thinks you gots to walk the plankkk

Benzart is very wise after sharing his skills on the left coast. Are any of us WHO we think we
are? And how would we really know anyway? Are we pulling something out of the wood, or are
we putting ourselves into the wood? Must drink more rum before walking the plank!

Snake tiki is looking fine with the finish on it. Your bar area looks terrific with all those Congatikis embellishing it. If I got to come home to that every day I would surely be smiling!

JP

thanks Johnny....hey...I've seen pics of your backyard...I think you are smiling too!
Making progress...next pics will be without flash and finished

Conga, OR Whoever you are, Most Excellent job with the finish on this snaky looking beast. The colors are nicce and not overdone.

Ohhhhh Wow! Didn't see this coming. Style points = 10,000

100% Sweetness Conga!

Mahalo

McTiki

many thanks Ben and McTiki...a couple final shots of Serpentiki...outdoors...but cloudy day so
still with flash



thanks to all for your encourage and support on another off beat project, whew, this one
took a long time.

And a few extra pics of the Congatiki Lounge

in the above pic, the tiki on the wooden box was created by Chiselslinger and Hoffa,
on the wall, a couple of prints by TCers Esqui and Thor

and of course, The Mensters always need drums

Thanks for visiting, stop up for a Mai Tai sometime!

Thanks for thi Invite, I'll be right up!. Nice tropical joint you have there Conga. However, you gotta get busy, there are still a couple spots for new tikis hiding here and there. I want ALL those holes filled before I get there!
:)

Gary, Thanks for the photos of the lounge!!!!!! It's beautiful! I'd be hangin' out there with ya for sure if we weren't so far apart. You've done a good job puttin' tiki in there and for Wisconsin especially. Well done indeed.

thanks Ben and 8 Foot, you guys have a standing invitation.
Need an opinion (not sugarcoated unless you mean it)...finishing up the Marq...not really sure
that I like the color...thinking (foolish as it may sound) of re-sanding and doing the typical
Conga dark stain. What do you think?

Conga, everything is looking great! I wouldn't change anything on the Marq. I think he looks terrific the way he is. I'm always partial to light stains, and I don't even think yours is very light. I like to see the wood. My vote is: Keep him as is. :)

Nice pictures of the bar area. I've been waiting for those. Serpentiki's finsihing touches came out great.

As far as the Marq- I think he looks fine and wouldn't change it. Is it varnished or poly-urethaned?

JP

thanks Finkdaddy and JohnnyP, it's "special walnut" stain with a light poly coat,
appreciate the comps, gonna leave it just the way it is!
Meanwhile, currently down to one un-finished project, ho hum, another png figure



this is my first attempt with butternut, I love the grain and will probably just use
varnish and let it darken with time. It's also pretty soft, like basswood.

Conga, I think the Marq looks great with the lighter color and I love the white highlites. I would add some dark highlites to bring out more detail and to balance out the white, but he looks great like he iz.
Love your butternut piece. Top figure looks to come out of the Spy vs Spy cartoons. Someone else did a tiki that reminded me of the same guy at OkiOki
Love the butternut!

ah ha..that's it Ben! I like the lighter stain but feel that it needs something, and
some darker stain in certain areas might be what it needs to make the cuts stand out a
bit more. Thanks for the kind words regarding the Spy Vs Spy character. I did one of
those last winter (Ramu-The Spirit Figure)but I sold it. I needed this one to take his
place.

Lookin' real nice, Conga. You've 'bout got that PNG style nailed down I believe. I'll be keeping an eye out on this cat.

thanks for stopping by Surf'n'Turf, I love the PNG-influenced stuff.
I had to get something new started during football yesterday. My intention was not to
post any pics until I was finished, but I can't stay away. Can ya tell what's going
on here, a snowman tiki perhaps?

Conga, You're such a Tease, How can we tell what is when you still have most of it still covered up? I see a Big Honker nose there, so right below that must be the mouth with a big tongue stickin' out and the Round body below that. The spaces on either side of the noze looks like big triangle eyes, so that all makes it a, a,, umah, Hmmm, I really don't know yet.c'mon, aren'tcha done yet?

Great looking stuff, Conga. Your PNG grasp is amazing. I PM'ed you how to even out the finish tone on the Marq.

thanks Ben...and thanks BK...keeping eyes peeled for the pm!
Ben...you are too funny...after reading your post I thought I might do what you suggested with
my latest piece of fancy firewood. In actuality, it's not a front view, it's a side view.

I have always (well maybe not always...since the book only came out in 2000) been haunted by the
Barney West tikis on pg 247 of "the book." The pic with 5 Barneys all lined up...different heads
but generally similar bodies. So...I am hoping to do mirror-image "back to back" carvings of
Barney-influenced tikis...with two different faces. I thought it might be easier to accomplish
identical legs if I started with a ball...hence the snow-ball look on the bottom. The overall
concept is perhaps a bit much for me to chew off...but chew I must.

On second thought..maybe I'll persue what Ben saw. This will take some time.

I don't know how I missed that PNG bird figure. It's great. I have always liked that figure.

I don't know if the photos are still good, but there was a thread by Swanky (I think) when he visited a house full of PNG carvings and there was a big carving of a bird PNG style on the front porch. I'll try to dig up the thread.

Sorry for not responding earlier. The new one looks to be a different style for you.

JP