Moral Dillema - to mess with my evolution or not?!

Fellow carvers I have a moral dillema - a customer of mine has asked me to do a "makeover" on a tiki that I carved for him way back when I was new to carving - so about 5 years ago - I can see that my style has definitely changed since then and can see why he is attracted to my new stuff - but now that I have the little guy here in the carving hut - I cannot bring myself to mess with him. Has anyone else had this happen? I would really prefer to carve the guy a whole new tiki so he can have both. Any words of wisdom would be most appreciated. Thanks

Hey bruddah Marcus! Howzit?!
Listen brah, I know the feeling! As Im sure you know, most subtractive sculpture, especially tiki carving is almost a spiritual experience...
Many carver's, myself included look at the raw material as having a life within. As the carver, its our job to chip away at the meat revealing the inner living being...So in my opinion, I dont think I would touch da buggah! Since he was "born" he has been "living" as the tiki you originally revealed from its wooden shell...And its okay if he doesnt match up to da kine tiki you carve today! We all progress and evolve with our skills over time and I look at my old work as the natural progression that all artists go through.
Your idea of carving him a new one is way mo bettah, I think. Your customer will get to keep the old tiki and have a new miki'oi one to add to the ohana! Like I said, Ive been in the same predicament myself a few times. So, I replaced the original instead of refurbishing the old buggah and that same customer was so happy, he bought choke carvings from me after that!
So I think giving him a new one would be good for business and good for the soul!

Hope This helps you making your your decision!

Aloha and Mele kalikimaka!

For miki'oi Authentic Hawaiian Makau, check out my website! You wont find mo bettah brah! http://www.cabanillamakau.com

[ Edited by: kaha ki'i 2005-12-16 16:36 ]

Marcus,

Carve another one for him. Don't mess with the one you made earlier. That's like screwing with history. He is what he is.

-Gman

^^^^^What they said...

I agree, Don't try to change the old one. Even if you tried, you would most likely never be able to finish it. There's something about going back down to a lower level and trying to make an old piece look better that is just difficult to do mentally and emotionally, and not to mention Physically, as Kaha ki'i mentioned earlier. There is already too much wood taken away that you would need to do the same piece with today.
So just tell him it would be easier and cheaper to start fresh and if he insists, overprice it outta the park and if he Still insists and puts the cash in your hand THEN I guess you should go ahead and do it!

Ditto

Carve another. If you dont feel comfortable, dont do it. Anyways, I would rather have 2 tikis rather than one.

I agree that you shouldn't retouch it. And I suggest that you offer them a trade in on another one. Then you can have it back and carve another for the customer so they can be happy. If they really were attached to the first one they wouldn't want it hacked on again now would they?? Good Luck on working out a solution!

I am adding more detail to a formerly carved tiki . I personally don't have a problem with it. I see it a s making it beter .

Tough call. If you think you can improve it, It's a rare opportunity.

He liked your first one for some reason 5 years ago to buy it. Now he likes what you are doing today and wants that. I think it important to have a timeline of your style so you know where you have been and are going. you got a pic of that old one and the style that ge likes now just to see what he sees. If not don't worry about it. If its too much trouble, which it sometimes is.

Aloha marcus!!!!!
I would be ok if it were just adding some detail(not too deep), but if it is a dramatic change and it will take alot of work I would put a higher $ tag on it because it will be alot of mental work as ben stated. I would by all means get money up front(dont be like me,I was going to michigan and brought a tiki to a tiki central member to save him the shipping (i diddnt get any money up front) and he Backed out on the whole deal but not before he tried to BEAT me down even more on the price),SO Marcus please my friend save your self the frustration and do get some FLOW before you go. Happy wood chips flying fun my friend and post some more killer carvings soon,Aloha , your friend, jimmy mooney

It depends on the "possible improvement factor"...If that's there, and provided you, the original creator, are the only one touching it, then I don't see anything wrong with re-opening the book and continuing the carve...and if he is paying you and you feel okay about it, don't turn him down..It's very tough to make ends meet nowadays, and you are still being paid for your art and skills involved therein, which is the greatest and most elusive thing on earth to a right-brained person.

What if he wants it recarved AGAIN in another 5 years?? It'll end up lookin' like one of those chicks that's had WAAAAYYY too much plastic surgery!

On 2005-12-19 17:42, PEDDRO wrote:
What if he wants it recarved AGAIN in another 5 years?? It'll end up lookin' like one of those chicks that's had WAAAAYYY too much plastic surgery!

haha

Itll be all thin and deformed in old age. Thats not graceful

Thanks everyone - I have taken all of your advice into consideration and decided to go with a very gentle makeover - I will age him a little and give him a new coat of shine and send him back home. If the guy really wants one of my newer carvings than I am more than happy to accomodate him - I dont want to mess too much with my time capsule carvings - it is much better to look back on them and see how far I have come.

Hey Marcus, I know how that feels.... a gentle makeover is probably what I would do too - after all, even da Vinci's "The Last Supper" gets restored now and then. :wink: