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Tiki Central / Tiki Carving

AlienTIKI Traditional, Midcentury Polypop and a couple marqs

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Remember that evil tiki that caused the bradys so much trouble on their Hawaiian vacation?
Here's a work in progress about half way done.
"BradyBunch Tiki" in Hawaiian Koa

Cannibal needs finish arrrghhhh!

Mahalo for looking.

A

Another progress shot.
Here we can see the (unfinished)Evil Brady Tiki kicking back with some friends.

A

Tangaroa poly/hemp finished and Hei-Tiki all tied up.

I listed them in the market

Mahalos for lurken

M
McTiki posted on Mon, Feb 5, 2007 3:13 AM

Very nice work Alien! We have a biter too. The Wahine hates this particular tiki in our yard. It fractured her ankle! In kind gesture, I moved him to where he can harm nothing.

Your Tangs are very nice

Keep on carving and posting.

Mahalo

McTiki

A

Mctiki ouch, broken ankles are no fun, I've been there. I'm surprised your wife didn't have a bonfire with it.

Thanks for the kind words.

I just put the final coat on the Cannibal.

And the Koa Brady Bunch inspired one is about done. Some more polishing a cord and signature is all thats left.


Mahalos for lurken.

B

Cool Canibbal and Cool Brady bunch tiki. Well dne, I have ti do a couple cannibals soon so I'm lookin pretty close, Thanks.

A

Thanks Ben. It means a lot to me coming from such a great carver. I'm sure your Cannibal will be insanely good.

I'm going to do the whole trio of Cannibals. Having completed the "Eat'cha Cannibal" I'm now working on the "Gotcha Cannibal" as I refer to it pictured here from The Emeryville Trader Vic's .

Tiki at the Emeryville Trader Vic's - May 2003, Michelle Whiting

I took the Image from Critiki

Mahalos again for looking.

Just some stuff I'm whittling away at. Monkey pod is some hard wood. Especially when it's knotty. And this wood is knotty.


Not much you can do with a knot.

Pahu supports progress shot.

There's a few other pieces in the works.
Stay tuned.
Thanks for lurking.


http://www.eibass.com

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2007-02-23 13:32 ]

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2007-02-23 18:20 ]

A

"It's Progress, 'til there's nothing left to gain".....Greg Graffin



Mahalos for lurken.

B

Wow, That looked like an Eazy thing to carve into the knot...NOT, looking Great so far!

C

Uh! The Cannibal Bastard is amazing! Very scary, it looks like he's going to enjoy and take his time with that snack. Congrats!!

Thanks Ben. That Knot is a pain and I might loose interest in that piece, I'll start a box of misfits of my own.

Mahalos for the kind words Clarita.

Well I'm A slacker and I meant to post these sooner.

Here's the one from the Easter tiki swap.
The Pocket Moai out of Koa with hemp cord.



Mahalos for looking.

B

AT, I REALLY Like this Moai, Sweet lines. Well done

alientiki i love the brady bunch ku one of my favourite shows dont tell anyone

B

MASTERPIECE

Great piece Alien! Youve nailed those all important proportions etc & have even given him the 'Presence' somehow. Perhaps 'life' is a better word.

Hmmmm, reminds me that there is at least one other slacker out there... :wink:

Good job! Congrats Hewey!

Tama

P
Paipo posted on Tue, Apr 24, 2007 5:51 PM

Yep, you nailed it. That's one of the nicest moai pendants I've ever seen on TC!

H
hewey posted on Thu, Apr 26, 2007 2:31 AM

Gorgeous work mate! You've really nailed the moai shape nicely. Watching my letterbox with anticipation :D :D :D

Benzart, Thanks. Honestly I drew some reference from your work so credit should go to you.

Marcus, Mahalos for the kind words. Your secret is safe with me. I wish I still had that Brady guy but I know he's found a fine home.

Benella, You are far too kind. Thanks.

Tama, Thanks, I had tried to produce something I would be comfortable sending you, Paipo or Benzart. I consider you all masterfull at what you do. So your praises mean a lot to me.

Paipo, Thanks. You guys inspire me.

G
GMAN posted on Thu, Apr 26, 2007 2:58 AM

Alien,

That bugger is awesome! Like the others have said above, you nailed it. All of his features, combined with the bend in his neck really make him stunning. The wood choice and finish also add too his great looks. Major bueno!

-Gman

On 2007-04-26 02:58, GMAN wrote:
Alien,

That bugger is awesome! Like the others have said above, you nailed it. All of his features, combined with the bend in his neck really make him stunning. The wood choice and finish also add too his great looks. Major bueno!

-Gman

Ahh Shucks, Stop it guys. My head might explode. You're too kind.

Mahalos
E

B

Yep, we DID it, I just saw a big smile floating by at about 40 mph. The last prop exploded AT
s head. KA POWWW! head pieces scattered all over.
Sorry Alien Tiki

F

Top quality, Alien, the recipient is a lucky fella
Regards
Flynny

H
haikai posted on Wed, May 2, 2007 1:29 AM

That moai is realy well done! I love his expression and the wood color. Hat´s off!

A

Thanks Flynny and Haikai! I appreciate the kind words.
Here's what I started today. Ku out of Mango.

The first out eight. A project deadline is one month and I've barely started today.

Check back here as I hope to post progress on the 8 mango pieces frequently.

Mahalos for looking.

Mango-Ku; sounds like a new fruit drink! Are they a commissioned series..? Theres just something extra special about a 'body' of work intended to be displayed together. Be sure to keep us posted.

Tama :)

A

Mahalo Tamapoutini!
Yes a mangosmoothie, or better a MangoRita. A Mango Ku doesn't sound as appitizing(it reminds me of Ku the maggot mouth) it smells real nice when sanding it though.

The 8 will be for eight groomsmen. They probably will only be shown together once and I hope they appreciate them. I have a thing about carving for unknowing recipients. If you(you the figurative you) didn't ask me to make it or to have an already made piece of art, I would NOT offer any work.

I once gave a beautifully carved Koa tiger shark to a person who was important to me. The recipient said thanks but obviously did not appreciate the carving. One day I was visiting them when I noticed one of their children playing with the shark. All the delicate fins had been broken off and the sharks curly koa finish was scuffed beyond recognition. And it was a hard lesson learned but here I am again making art for the unknowing recipient. Hey at least I'm getting paid, right?


"Progress until there's nothing left to gain"

Mahalos for looking!

B

Excellent looking stuff so far. It's Sad that we even Have to think about where our art will end up. Your story really is a wake up call to the modern times of Uncivilized kids.

H
hewey posted on Sun, May 6, 2007 8:00 PM

Hey Alien

Rest assured, this guy is in good hands :D

He's currently kicking back with a Finkdaddy pendant and a Gman bone pendant on the top of my tiki shelves, will get some pics.

G
GMAN posted on Sun, May 6, 2007 8:04 PM

Ditto: the Brady tiki still has all his fins attached :)

Beautiful piece you have going. Gonna be tough to part with all of them aye?

-G

A

Well thanks guys. I would be hard pressed to find two better patrons than hewey and Gman or a mentor as great as Benz. you guys ROCK.

Mahalos

B

Really beautiful, alien.

Mrs Hoptiki here,

Hi AlienTiki, that story you told about your Koa tiger shark made me very sad. Sometimes people just don’t realize how much heart and soul, not to mention blood sweat and tears a person puts into their carvings. I have arthritis in my hands and often when I carve it gives me lots of pain. So I sacrifice myself a bit for each carving. Geeze I’d be pissed if that happened to me. Anyway, your work is beautiful, keep creating, there are many people out here who understand the value of your art.

Mrs Hoptiki

H
hewey posted on Sun, May 13, 2007 6:10 PM

As promised, here’s your moai boy hanging with Finkdaddy #1 and a Gman hammerhead. If he behaves himself, I might even take them for a drive to go see the South Pacific :D

Aloha Alientiki, the Mango Ku is shaping up nicely and I'm sure will look at least as nice as all of your other great tikis. I'll be in Maui 6/23-7/2. Can I look you up?

Aloha Benella, Mahalo for the kind words. They keep me going sometimes, like carving fuel.

Thanks Mrs BPHoptiki! You know, it must of been a lesson I needed to learn. I'm kinda thick headed like that so I'm stuck learning the hard way.

Thanks for posting the pic Hewey, I always miss the little moai but I rest easy knowing he's in a good home.

Shootz Aaron'sAkua, I wouldn't miss a chance to Meet up with some TC ohana. And I should have all eight mango Tikis finished then.

I'm going to post some progress shots real soon.

G
GMAN posted on Mon, May 14, 2007 7:20 PM

Pics! Let's see 'em!!! :D

-G

Sorry not much progress on this guy.

I have started a new one but I'm kind of in a carvers slump. I just haven't been up to carving much so I'm off to get some inspiration at the festival of Canoes. It's Dubbed "Maui's Signature Cultural Heritage Event," so I bet they've got some cool stuff for the carvers to see. I'll give a full report with lots of photos later.

Aloha and Mahalos for looking

H
hewey posted on Wed, May 16, 2007 3:31 PM

I like the style on this guy, he's coming along nicely :D

Thanks for the props Hewey.

I went ahead and started another of the eight. I better get cracking just 4 weeks left.

Lono of the same mango, just started & roughed out.

I'll post some in progress shots soon.

G
GMAN posted on Mon, May 21, 2007 4:39 PM

Nice cuts brother. These mango guys are gonna be smokin'! I can't wait to see all eight lined up and ready to go. You better get chipping.....tick tock, tick tock!!!

Good 'classic' delineation Alien. Im not so hot with my Hawaiian Gods; a Lono? Ku? Could you name them as you go? Thats assuming they are particular types..?

Ditto; just waiting to see them all together!

Go Man-go!! :wink:

Tama :)

Thanks GMAN! I'm carving like crazy.

On 2007-05-22 04:04, Tamapoutini wrote:
Good 'classic' delineation Alien. Im not so hot with my Hawaiian Gods; a Lono? Ku? Could you name them as you go? Thats assuming they are particular types..?

Good question. This latest tiki with the elaborate head-dress has been referred to as Lono here at TC. From what I have read (Bishop Museum stuff) the image is referred to only as a "akua ka'i", which just means deity figure. The only first hand accounts of these tikis in use are from western explorers, as much of the history and names of these deities was lost when the Hawaiians were given a "New Religion". You know the decimation of thousands by means of introduced disease can make people question there faith. Most of the tiki's were destroyed when Kamehameha died. Well now I've gotten off on a tangent,

Here is the only known image of Lono.

Kinda ugly ain't it?

In this next image a lithograph by John webber, 2 tiki's can be seen and have been described as akua loa(long god) and akua poko(short god) both are said to represent Lono.

So there is no specific correlation between Lono and the tiki carving I started at the top of this page or at least I haven't found it yet.

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2007-05-22 13:37 ]

[ Edited by: AlienTiki 2007-05-22 13:41 ]

good morning alientiki that akua is looking mighty fine keep up the good work

On 2007-05-22 13:36, AlienTiki wrote:

...as much of the history and names of these deities was lost when the Hawaiians were given a "New Religion". You know the decimation of thousands by means of introduced disease can make people question there faith.

Here is the only known image of Lono.
Kinda ugly ain't it?

Hey, thanks for that Alien!

Its not so hard to imagine. So much Maori history/lore has been lost also. Also read: Australian Aboriginal, Native American, Easter Island, etc, etc... (Amine)
I hate to say it, but perhaps it is the fact that its lost forever that makes the rich 'Sth Seas' exsistance so mysterious/alluring..?

So we have many images that we know are 'traditional'/real, but cannot be certain as to their identity. I was recently reading about 'Uenuku'; a wooden figure that was supposedly bought to NZ from the legendary 'Hawaiiki' at the time of the 'Great Migration'; there are only three works in existance known as Uenuku & two of them are in the Honolulu Museum, and I gather that all three look quite different.. I believe the intention of the carver & the name given to a piece is the most important thing. To a race with strong/important oral-tradition & no written language, names were remembered & all recited history accepted as accurate.

Im rambling. Thanks for the info. Keep up the Good Work!

Tama :)

PS: yeah, the original Lono is much uglier than I would have imagined... :lol:

H
hewey posted on Sat, May 26, 2007 4:06 AM

Hey Alien! The lono is coming along nicely :D

I scored these bamboo coasters for 50c each at a thrift store. 5 minutes and some tape and the moai and Finky #1 are hanging in style now :D As you can see Ive kept the moai's cord on him so I can easily take him off and wear him when I want.

Thanks Hewey, The little coaster looks like it was made to frame a small tiki. What a perfect find.

Here's a couple progress shots.




I need a boss to tell me to stop taking breaks or I'll get nothing done. "Back to work, Slacker!"

B

I wondered how you would carve the teeth because of the little you had at this location, I now know you've made a meticulous work.
Greetings.

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