A-A's Finished Projects (Kauai Pics Page 9)

Tikis are in order of first to most recent....

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Tiki No. 1 (AAC Block)
Moai

This tiki was made from a block of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC)

For everything you would want to know (and more) about this material, SEE THIS POST.

For examples of tools that work well for AAC carving, SEE THIS POST

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Tiki No.’s 2 and 3 (AAC Block)
Moai and Original Design

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Tiki No. 4 (Palm)
Original Design

For the complete story of how this tiki went from this:

To this:

SEE THIS POST

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Tiki No. 5 (Mexican Fan Palm)
Small Scale Replica of Leroy Schmaltz's Famous Tiki, Book of Tiki - Page 242

The recreation of this famous tiki sent me down several interesting paths... from some local Urban Archaeology (sad ending and all :( ), to the discovery of all of the other wonderful and creative Leroy interpretations by many of our very own TC artists.

To see all of the above, plus step-by-step documentation of how my "Reloy" went from this...

To this...

SEE THIS POST.

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Tikis No. 6 & 7 (Ficus)
"Leroy & Bob"

"Leroy"

If this looks familiar, it’s an exact copy of Reloy. I gave the original away, so I had to make another one for us. The original was palm, & this one’s Ficus. I always thought Ficus was a houseplant, but as a tree, it’s really good carving wood.

Here’s a close up of the grain. This log had some gorgeous spaulting.

"Bob"

And what good is Leroy without Bob?

Bob came from fresh cut log from my friend Jason’s yard. The tree had toppled in a rainstorm, but somehow managed to miss the house. Leroy’s tree was cut down about a year and a half earlier and sat out in the elements. The grain and color are a lot different, though they're both Ficus.

Could there be another carver in the family?

For info on my tools & methodology SEE THIS POST

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Tiki No. 8
Carved Interpretation of Sam Gambino's "Hypnotiki" Painting

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**Tiki No. 9 **
Lono

For the whole process, check my "Stuff I'm Working On" post.

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Tiki No. 10 (White Pine)
"Coon-Tang"

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Tiki-ish Carving No. 11 (Blood Wood)
"Monsterra Leaf"

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Tiki Carving No. 12 (Composite Pine Board)
"A-A's TC Avatar Sign"

Cheers!

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2009-07-13 22:45 ]

great tiki...A-A....you are an inspiration
for me to work harder...and to apply additional layers of poly...this guy
is practically alive with the "sheen"...
it's great to see the stuff that all the
tiki centralites are doing....

After looking at all the great tiki's I went back and reworked some of my first attempts and came in feeling really great but now after seeing these you are defiently sending me back to school. I am totally amazed!

Aaron's. the final on this really looks great, I think we need to name you our official librarian for the way you organize links and stuff like that, Oh, by the way, your last tiki has a tooth that is a Little crooked, could you fix that please and be sure to document the steps.
Seriuosly your step by steps are the best on TC, keep it up,You 'da man

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-11-11 21:20 ]

VERY fine work, AA!

That's some great work, I really dig the Palm.

That's some great work, I really dig the Palm.

Hey man!
hard to believe this is your first foray into palm carving!!! He looks really good - the dual colored stain effect looks great on this guy!

I dig that you used tile to mix it up a bit!

sharpen those chisels, my friend, cuz we can't wait to see the next one!

Thanks for all the support, guys!

Conga, I really like that last carving of yours. You guys that manage to paint, carve & mix it up never cease to inspire me.

Same for you, Peter-D. That's some wild stuff you're cookin' up in the "lab". Hope you get ahold of that AAC...

Ben, it's in my nature. You should see my spreadsheets at work - scary stuff! BTW, the teeth are all crooked, but don't tell anyone...

Congrats on the mug, Sam. It's great to know that Holden is watching this Forum looking for all of the new talent. I'm gonna get one of them mugs for sure!

Thanks McDougall! Thanks McDougall! I'm working on getting some of that mahogany that we talked about.

Polynesiac came by my place to trade some AAC blocks for palm, and that's when I showed him the first outlines for this tiki. It's just great to meet & make friends with some of the other TC artists. Thanks for all the PM's, Jim.

Hell, you guys are all invited to my place for mai-tais! Come on over!

Cheers!

Aaron

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-11-13 23:32 ]

Benzart's rite...you show so much of each step of your work in easy to follow incr..hey..(incremanTiki) that it removes the exotic mystery you would have if you just unvailed a piece.

Very giving of you...many artists don't care to have thier secrets and steps made public. You have not only done that, you facilitate others joining in anyway they can.

Try as I might to not start carving I see these posts of yours like visual tiki-pills, and doze of at night with visons of myself (upper torso only)prortuding from a mound of chips working on some crazy new thing.

You are to tiki carving what Sally Sturthers is to starving Africans, only we like you.

Sally Struthers?!!???? Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Only Gigantalope could successfully compliment someone with a Sally Struthers analogy!

Along with my little ohana, I met the Big G (Paul) & his lovely wife Deb last weekend. We exchanged Madrone logs, orange marmalade & some lively discussion. I'll tap his extensive knowledge of beer, art and Shinola when we meet again (soon, I hope). Thanks for the comps, G!

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-11-15 14:05 ]

For anyone who's interested, Tiki No. 4 is now showing at the TIKI MARKETPLACE.

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-11-15 14:09 ]

Tiki No. 5 added to the first post, first page of this topic.

Thanks for the eyeballin' and feedback!

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-09-04 21:08 ]

Oh I LOVE him Aaron, super job!
Hec, I love everything you've done.

Can't wait to see what's next!

Arons-
That is a beautiful Job!!! Thanks for posting pic's!!
Later,
Spermy

Hey AA, that has been SOME Trip. Not only is the tiki superb, it's a great study in sanding and finishing, Beautiful job. Also, look what you learned on that trip, it's unbelievable how interesting and entertaining it has been for All of us. Big Mahalos
HappyHappyHappy

WOW!!! What great way to pay respect to the legendary Leroy and Bob too. Excellent.

great stuff aaron! thanks for letting us peek in on the process too!

Tikiwahine & Spermy, thanks for the comps. It really means a lot, Mahalo! What's next on my list are these:

1. Another identical "Reloy" (in progress right now), this one's done in Ficus. I gave No. 5 to a friend, and my wife will probably kill me if I don't make one for our home. It's the same design as No. 5, so I won't bore anyone with the details.

2. Starting a BIG log project SOON (maybe 8 ft. x 20" dia or so). I just bought a fancy new chainsaw, though I've barely operated one before. As soon as I get the BIG log home (a feat in itself), I'll start a new step-by-step, 'cause believe me, I'll be needing some help with this one! You can all do some chainsaw carving vicariously thru me! This is a "weekend only" project so it will take me a long time to get through it. I'm thinking it will be a very traditional Lono statue.

3. While I'm working on the BIG log project, I'll probably do a small scale replica at the same time - just to work out all the details with a chisel before I do it with the chainsaw. This is stuff I can do on my lunch breaks - a much quicker project.

4. A small scale replica of Mysterious Tiki "X" .

5. Somewhere down the line I'd like to do some concrete casting to hand out to friends and family. I'm thinking I'll make a master using some AAC block, and make the molds from that. I've had this design in my back pocket for a long time now, and I think I'll be using it for my concrete design.

When the time comes, I'll do a little consulting with our resident TC concrete master, Seamus.

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Ben, I've learned a LOT. My advice to the other new carvers out there is - Post lots of pics and ask lots of specific questions. That way you'll get lots of specific answers. Anyway, it's worked well for me with lots of help from you and all of the othe experienced carvers that hang out here. I've probably saved a ton of bucks on tools too. Thanks to all of you guys - I really apreciate it.

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JT & Polynesiac, I think we all respect the awesome work of these masters. And believe me, these step-by-steps have benefited me more than anybody. So yeah I'm glad to post progress pics, stick my neck out a little, share my mistakes, and learn in the process. You guys have been part of the solution for me.

Cheers!

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-09-04 21:16 ]

all that frettin about those "birth marks", yet look how nice it is. Sweet work!

A.A.,

I like it.
It is killer how you finished it. The picture of the back looks like hair. All my palm tikis, made by Maitiki, are currently rotting away in my backyard, due to the lousy weather. Maybe I should seal them like yours. Time to try a big one, remember I have some big logs up here with your name on it.

Will

Will

Tikibus,

Wood is wood, & sometimes it's just gonna do what it wants to do. As Bamboo Ben put it, "...Tiki is not perfect".

I did some spot staining which helped. Also, varnish has a golden color and also seems to darken the wood a little when you apply it. So the yellowish area darkened up some, and the other areas yellowed up some, and it all seemed to blend pretty nicely in the end. So, I'm cool with the way it turned out. My friend Randy was completely stoked when I gave it to him, and of course that's the best reward of all. Thanks for the comps!

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Will,

I love the grain of palm wood when it's all sanded, stained and finished. It seems to have all kinds of cool color variations, and each piece is unique. After the staining was all done, I applied 5 coats of marine (spar) varnish, with a light 220 grit sanding and wipe down with tack cloth in between each coat. It may be overkill, but I know this guy will stand up to sprinklers, dogs, drunk friends, whatever life throws at it. I know Benzart has applied up to 12 coats of marine varnish on some of his large outdoor pieces.

Dude! I sent you a PM on those logs back in early January - still unviewed! Let's get together. I'd ready to take a day trip up to Cruz & help you harvest some of those redwood logs from your friend's property. Let me know when & where & I'm there!

Mahaloz!

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-09-04 21:21 ]

A.A.
Once the mountains dry up a little, I can go up to the property and check out my log stash. Anytime you find yourself up here, feel free to give me an email. Basically I have a bunch of redwood rounds up to 14in in diameter and 10ft legnths. I work half days until 1:00 so any day of the week or weekend works for me. Let me know and keep up the killer work. I'm not sure if I have ever checked my personal messages so I try to make it a habit. Didn't mean to leave you hanging.

Will

Aw... I'm just messing with ya, man! Look for the little flashing envelope at the top of the screen whenever you log in. I'll check when's good with the wife & send ya another PM or email. I'd probably leave EARLY one Saturday & arrive up there around noon or 1. We can work out the details when the weather clears up. Thanks again!

Tikis No. 6 & 7 added to the first post, first page of this topic.

Feedback appreciated as always...

**Cheers!

A-A**

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-09-04 21:19 ]

Love the pic of your son and his chainsaw....

Awesome work Aaron! Keep it up. You are inspiring me to carve something. I took a break to move my work area and build the hut before it gets too hot here. Love the Leroy/Son pic!

Mahalo

Love them both AA and yes it looks like another carver in the family. Don't forget to post pix of his first tiki!!
I'm really glad you found and like the ficus wood. It has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

WOW! You got it goin' on braddah. Keep up the excellent work. We need you around here.

Now that I'm looking at these closer, thay aren't quite perfect like I first thought. on the last one the tikis lefy eye is about 1/32 of an inch lower than the right one.
JT is right we need you here but mostly we need More pix of More tikis. Can't you get your boss to give you a 2 hour lunch for Our sakes??

I agree with Benzart. You really need to carve more and more for the practice. Those are great.

Start using your sick days to carve in the park. We need more !!

Thanks all you guys!

McTiki, I was thinking of taking a break from carving to build a hut. No, seriously!

Ben, you’re making me laugh! Guess I’ll have to burn it & start over. Yeah, that Ficus is really nice to carve. And the “spaulting” gives it some serious character, like a calico striped cat. You explained that phenomenon to me once, maybe you can repeat it for the other guys??. I’m down to (3) logs of this stuff, but going to go pick up some beautiful Santa Cruz redwood logs soon, courtesy of Will at SCTikiShack. Can’t wait! But if I ever run across some downed Ficus again, it’s going straight in the truck.

My son Nathan is just dabbling with finger paints now, but I’m really hoping he’s got a little artist inside. We’ll see. :)

A.A.,

It looks like your son is a tikifeak too. You should see my little 15 month old (Griffin), he can't get enough of tikis. Great work, I think it is time for you to come up and get some redwood. It will add a two toned aspect to your carving, plus I have it coming out of my ears. Keep it up, your tikis are great.

Will

Hey, Will! Yeah, we should get the 2 little monsters together & see what kind of trouble they can get into. I always have to keep the chisels out of reach 'cause Nathan wants to help me with the tikis. Mostly I carve when he's napping for my own peace of mind.

I'm already working out some designs to make use of that beautiful 2-tone redwood. The 14th it is - I'll call you soon to firm everything up. Breakfast will be on me. Does Aloha Grill do breakfast? Hope so - see ya soon!

Mahalo,

Aaron

These are some FINE tikis. Beautiful carving, finish, design - everything! Thanks for posting.

Amazing job on the tikis, A-A! and the 'carving method' thread was helpful as well..

keep up the good work!

Clean carving AA!

I love them both, but that crack in the Leroy kicks ass! Personaly I like to see splits and imperfections in tiki wood.

Those are some fine looking tikis my friend. That wood is beautiful and your detail and finish looks top notch.
That fresh park air is doing you right.

Chongolio

I love the clean lines and execution. It's no wonder your son is inspired.

aaron, those carvings are the awesome! Really nice job.

I never knew ficus could look so good. I was staring at my ficus tree the other day, looking forward to it not being there eventually. Now, maybe I'll save the wood.

Looks like the little guy is following in daddy's footsteps! Cool!!!!

Mahalo Sam, Palama, Chiki, FD, Chong-o, Raff, & Polynesiac! You guys really made my day.

On 2005-04-26 23:21, Sam Gambino wrote:
These are some FINE tikis. Beautiful carving, finish, design - everything! Thanks for posting.

Well thanks, Sam. The design is all Leroy Schmalts though. "Bob" is just a simple twist on Leroy's design - see below. I mirrored the eyes and mouth upside down, then adjusted all the lines to run smoothly around them.

kind of like...

That was my philosophy, anyway. They'd probably make good salt & pepper shakers, but I can't carve that small.

**Cheers!

A-A**

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-09-04 21:25 ]

To cool... I have to say I cannot wait till I can carve with as much detail as you!

Thanks Thanatos, your tikis are awesome.

Aaron

Tiki No. 8 added to the first post, first page of this topic.

Mahalo for all the inspiration!

A-A

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-09-04 21:28 ]

MUST CARVE MORE .....

I love the painted features AA, This is on cool tiki.

This is truly a work of art, AA. Excellent work. It's clear from the pics that you've given meticulous attention to detail and craftsmanship. Thanks for posting this fine work for us to drool over!

That is so cool. So clean and fresh! Really diggin that. Awesome