Conga....Wisconsin stuff!

thanks Johnny...bird-beak appreciates your kind words.
Little update for you folks...on the left is new and improved Marq...thanks for the tips to
Ben and BK...many many thanks...and on the right is one side of the two-sided tiki...still lotsa
work to do

Looks Great as usual Conga, I Really love how smoothe you are getting these bad boyz, it makes the detail Pop all the more!

Conga,
Looking good, You've kicked out those last two in a hurry. They look smooth as a babies bottom. These look more old school tiki than your other classic Conga style.

JP

Conga where have you been? Have you been slacking or what? All this talk of needing more tiki carvings and where are you? C'mon man!

Just kidding of course :lol: I love what you are doing and, man, are you making an epic run at a personal record! How many big carvings have you made in the last few weeks? Five? Six? Holy smoke! Go Conga! The white stuff is coming soon!

-Gman

Man! Conga! WHere do you get the time for all this? Really great pictures of the bar - I might be up your way in March or April... hint hint.

thanks GMan...not working on any personal quest...just enjoy having a few big projects going at
the same time...you know..various stages of completion just to keep the interest level high.
Not worried about snow yet...been doing a lot of the chizzlin' indoors. Only problem I have
now is tennis elbow...initially caused by tennis...but flogging that big hammer sure doesn't
help. I should do something little...but then I would need new glasses...and how does one ever
match the skills of ALL you teenie weenie carvers...and you cut into stones and shit. WOW.

And thanks to you TikiGap...if you get into wisconsin make plans to slide up north. The
Congatiki lounge is about three and a half hours north of Milwaukee...about three north of
Madison...we roll out the red carpet for tc visitors...just ask Ikitnrev. Now that I think of
it...he's the only TC visitor so far...but we do put on the dog!

Hi..Conga has been taken over by a very angry spirit inside this wood

all original plans are kaput and another tiki is attempting to bust out of the side

we're not sure where this will go from here...

Are you drinking again?

Do you mean still, GMan?

Hi pals in tikidom...a few update shots of the multi-tiki




I believe I have made it past the "firewood" stage and am beginning to feel pleased with the
results. Lotta lotta work to do yet...hope somebody likes it!
Thanks for checkin' in with ole' Conga up here in Wisconsin.

Conga,

Wild as ever! Crazy chops from the North Country! You are on a rip for sure! Great stuff. What else is hiding in that log?

Well I Like it. I Love seeing the faces hiding everywhere and you Know I'm partial to the Maori, so just melt me right here.

Conga, that's awsome! How about this weather, eh?

On 2006-11-26 13:11, finkdaddy wrote:
Conga, that's awsome! How about this weather, eh?

If this is what warm weather does to the Congaman, then there is a positive to Global Warming. Excellent so far. A lot of thought went into that.

JP

Many thanks
GMan...not sure what else I will finding in this bugger...it will take so much finishing work that
I suspect something odd will pop out.
Mr. Ben...appreciative as always...I "goofed up" the tats a bit...more irregular than I would like...
if retrofitting fails I guess i may grind off a layer and try again...taking a little more care.
Finkdaddy...wonderful weather huh...I was able to work (funny term for tiki carving) for about six
hours today before we got sprinkles...they tell us winter is just around the corner.
and Johnny...thanks for the props...not sure what the rest of the world thinks...but I am all FOR
this global warming bizz.
Love ya all...see ya soon.

Conga,

You've bean quiet....you covered in snow? If not, I hope you will delight us with some more progress on this guy.

-Gman

Hey Conga, fun time is over, eh? Time to dig out the snow shovels. :cry:

Ah GMan and Finky, you didn't forget about ole' Conga.
I have been working on the quad-tiki GMan, and it will get at least 10 hours this weekend,
lots of free time. Mainly I have been absorbing mana from the inspiring carvers and artists
on TC, and committing myself to dig deep and do my best work. Plus I am doing a lot of
dig-through work which is tedious and time consuming and doesn't offer much in the line of
meaningful update material. Keep the faith, Conga is hard at work.

Yes Finkdaddy, winter seems to be here. We didn't get nearly the snow you guys did in
southern wisconsin but it's cold. I have been relocating drums, recording equipment and
carving tools into the basement. The congatiki lounge, which is attached to my un-attached
garage and is a little costly to heat, is being shuttered for winter. For the next few
months I will be in the basement bar which is a little tiki-fied, but primarily a shrine to
the Packers and 60s rock, I guess I'll be okay.

On 2006-12-02 11:26, congatiki wrote:
Yes Finkdaddy, winter seems to be here. We didn't get nearly the snow you guys did in
southern wisconsin but it's cold.

We got 16" in 6 hours. Ouch!

well friends in Tiki, this is what is going on in the Northwoods. Disregard everything I
said about my intentions for this chunk of basswood. Five update shots on Four-Tiki



as always, keep posting your great work to inspire me and thanks for visiting.

It's looking great keep going!!! What a freaking great idea(multiple tiki's)

Damn Conga, just when I think you have really gone over the deep end....you get even wilder! SICK!

On 2006-12-03 08:13, congatiki wrote:

What an original take on X-eyes. This should be a tiki mug, it would be a terrific one. The Mad Conga Multi Tiki Mug.

JPighammer

On 2006-12-03 16:03, JohnnyP wrote:
This should be a tiki mug, it would be a terrific one. The Mad Conga Multi Tiki Mug.

Yes, I agree!! Conga, you'd better put me on the Mad Conga Multi Tiki Mug list! (seriously, it would be cool) :drink:

Nice to have you visit Conga's Carving Corner...
many thanks Spermwhale, while it may be a nice concept to do a tiki in quad, it will take four times
longer than it should, but what the heck, right?
nice to see you again GMan, especially with you being so busy and all. Sick is the operative word
around the northwoods. Hope I don't get better soon.
Johnny and Finky, a mug? Is that all you guys think about, drinking? It wouldn't be a bad idea,
except I would have to rework the top of the design. I slurp too much using a normal container,
it would be hard to handle this.
I'm feeling like an 8th class citizen with all the work being shown by Ben, all you stone carvers,
Marcus down under, Johnny P (you are NUTS), you cats in Germany, whew, talk about people raising the
bar. Gotta go to work.
Thanks.

No way you are an 8th classer Conga. You are First class all the way. Your newest works here are Through the roof and are Really EXCELLENT. Just keep on Carving, you are doing Something Right. HappyHappyHappy!

Thanks Ben, you keep all of us pushing on!
Still digging up here in the northwoods, this has turned into a pretty long project. This is
one of the "hidden tikis" trying to bust out of the basswood

this is all that remains of my original intent of a "Barney West" tiki

and this guy has a tummy ache

You can't tell from these pics but the "cut thru" between the legs is visible on all
four sides, it has been a difficult carve to get a uniform dig that looks good from all
angles, lotta work to do yet.
Thanks for stopping in, Mai Tai?

Super excellent work Conga. Not only is the detail going thru the roof, but the obvious technical issues you have to overcome are glowing. You are Exceling at a very difficult piece. Did you know it would be this hard?
Big SMILES!

and this guy has a tummy ache

Hey, that looks like me! Has he had his gall bladder looked at lately? :lol:

Looking great Conga. We've had some good carving weather, eh?

Wow, what a great weekend for new posts, things are really hopping around here again. My
meager contribution, finally getting to the feet on the quad-tiki


And Ben, no, I did not think this would be as difficult or time consuming as it has become.
But on the other hand, I didn't anticipate doing a full cut through on the legs when i started
either, and my original plan was for simple back-to-back tikis, so go figger. Perhaps if I
could just follow a simple plan, but I can't follow even my own directions.

Conga - That looks so awesome! The toes are killer!

On 2006-12-17 12:43, congatiki wrote:
... if I
could just follow a simple plan, but I can't follow even my own directions.

But look at the terrific tiki that is popping out now. Good change of plans. Nice toes.

JP

More excellent stuff Conga. Yeah, It seems everyone but Me is carving this weekend. Hopefully I'll be well wnuf to have a go tomorrow. I guess I have had the flu bug pretty good or pretty bad however it goes.
Good stuff Conga.

Beautiful stuff, Conga.

Conga, I Really Love how youdidn't stick to your original plan and improvised deeply on this ppiece. Too often we don't do that and we miss an opportunity to create a truely spectacular piece. By 'Letting Go" of the rigid plan, you definitely created Much more work fo yourself, but LOOK at the RESULT? You would have had a difficult time Planning this 4 way carving and having it come out so well. You have jumped in and attacked each hurdle as it came and it looks like you are on the final stretch. Excellent skills used and learned here. Thanks for sharing it with us.

many many thanks Finkdaddy, Johnny, GMan, Ben and BK, always appreciate the comments from artists I
respect so much.
Ben, thank you again! I had reached the point where I was gonna shortcut this carving and
rush to the finish line when someone revived the post about X amount of dollars per foot and
the general issues of "pricing" tikis. I was struck by a comment by BK...where....in essence...
he talked about a commitment to doing one's "best" work...something to be proud of. That's
something I always notice about you and BK, you never seem to settle for less than your best
effort. That's when I decided that I would not quit on this carving as long as there was
something that could be done better.
If I can keep working with that in mind, I think I will create a piece that will be worth the
effort.
Now I have to get ready for Monday Night Football. Although I reside deep in Packer country I
am really a 40 year Colts fan. The way there defense has been playing I suspect I will have
plenty of opportunity to drown my sorrows in Mai Tais. But I am hopeful that I will be
celebrating with Mai Tais, so the result should be the same.

On 2006-12-18 16:42, congatiki wrote:
Although I reside deep in Packer country I
am really a 40 year Colts fan.

I don't know who you are anymore! :-?

These four guys wanted to say "Merry Christmas."

Just wanted to get these up cuz the flash pictures look so bright and washed out...and in
my tequila soaked mind these look better. Best wishes...I don't think I'll be updating
these buggers till they're done...see ya in a month or so!

[ Edited by: congatiki 2006-12-25 07:34 ]

All smiles up here...almost done!

[ Edited by: congatiki 2007-01-04 20:44 ]

Conga, great update with the stain and all. The details are looking sharp. That's gotta be one of the wierdest and coolest tikis I've seen. Where are you gonna put it? One of the good sides will always be facing the wall. You'll need some kind of lazy suzan rig for that guy. Motorized... On the bar.

man, that's sweet. i wish i could get a log of bass wood. it finishes beautiful.

Conga, I see you have not skimped on the sanding detail. I didn't think you would, but one never knose does one! That said, this will be a tikiX4 to end All Tikis. It will take a long tome to beat this one. However the way you are going, the next one will make this one look like a walk in the park. What can I say but You make me proud!

Many thanks Aaron, PDrake and Mr. Ben!
This is actually just the third coat of sanding sealer that you see in the pics...although I
kinda like it. The four-feller is now turning a bit darker brown...real purdy if I can say so
myself. And PDrake, the basswood is just great stuff, although this mother musta been a little
wet and split all over the place, I thought it was gonna split right in half, which you will
notice in the final pics of the feet and base.
Ben, if the ole' Conga can make YOU proud then that's all I need to accomplish. I sanded my
fingers bare on this guy and it's still not perfect. It just reached the point where I said
"enuff already." Just hafta splash a little paint on one of the tikis and we'll put up the
final schizz on Sunday.
Thanks again.

Conga,

This one really takes the cake. What an amazing project. I am so glad you got him to completion without a major setback. If he looks this great in sealer I can't wait to see the full suite of shots of him with some paint and all the other "shizz." Way to go Conga!

-Gman

WHAT!! thats CRAZY. man does that look good all finished up. i like it.
oooh i cant wait for more

Yea, BigC, the bad ting bout doing deze 4-bangers is you gotta sand 4 times and then paint 4 timez and den sand 4 times and then paint 4 mo times until you are blue in the face and seeing in quadriple, not jes palin ol' double no mo, seein full quarriple, you get cut 4 times, you mash a finger 4 times, your guy splais,,, 4 times you get live worms squirmin in adn out/ You gessed it 4 thats one tu tre fo times, Fo timez the woikfo times the mess foru times the paint,, four times the EVERYTHING!!!! count'em!!!!AH BUT theres gold in them linings WHEN its GOOD,,,,Itz GOOD FOUR Times, Great 4 times,,sensational///yep 4 times.. Do you get the point yet,point yet,point,yet,point,yet????I could'a said this in 14th the time but it wouldn't have been rightrightrightright
OK they're coming to take me away so don't tell them conga was here!

Beautiful work, Conga.

Four times the fun is almost done! You have done a very good job on the layout and execution of this tremendous tiki, Looking forward to the final pictures. How are you going to display this piece, in the center of the room? It needs to be somewhere it can be appreciated from all sides.

JP