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Lake Tiki - 8/23/2013 - Red Cedar

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Ku is on his way to Canada... thanks again Darren!

Nice work as allways Dave.Cheers Watango

Nice work on that Ku Dave, and all the other stuff you've been doing. What's next?

Watango, thanks much, appreciate the compliment!

Andy! Good to hear from you! Hope things are well in your world.
Thanks for the kind compliments on the latest work. Lot's more going on, not enough hours in a day to get things done.

I'm working on a commissioned tiki bar sign right now and a bunch of Christmas ornaments. The ornaments are demanding a lot of time as I figure out the ins and outs of how they are made.
Updates soon.

Just put the wraps on this commissioned piece. It is a much larger version of a "Marquesan Explorers" piece I did a few years back.
This one has got some extra little touches like the tassels on the bow and stern. The overall measurements are 36" W x 14.5" H.

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2013-01-13 12:31 ]

N

wow, what a great piece of work!! Excellent job.

I'm sure the recipient will be very pleased.

T

Wow... Love this carve. Great detail... I'm certain the new owner is proud!

Peace,
Jason

A

You should consider a career in art! :wink: Beautiful!!

NIxxon, thanks so much for the kind compliment! The new owner is getting it as a Christmas gift, and I'm sure he'll be quite surprised.
They have a great tiki collection, and I'll be proud to be a part of it.

Jason, thanks so much for the compliment! The new owner is a friend and I know that he will love how it turned out.

amate, I'll give it some thought! :wink: I always have a lot of fun with every piece I do and I enjoy sharing them with people!

C

You should consider a career in art! Beautiful!!
yes you should consider that possibility :)
Gorgeous carve!

Awesome stuff dave,I'm sure I could find a spot in the house for one just like it.
Cheers Watango

Clarita! Good to hear from you! Hope things are well!

Thanks for the kind words! I think I will keep on carving next year! :wink:

Watango... thanks kindly for the compliment! I'd love to see one in every home!

Some big new things coming in 2012... and a new collection of work! More in the new year...

Mele Kalikimaka everyone!!!

As this year comes to a close, I wanted to send out a big thank you to everyone for your wonderful support in 2011!

It has been a real pleasure sharing and selling my art, both here at home and around the country!

It is with great pleasure that I announce the formal launch of my 2012 collection... "A Tradition of Tiki."

Watch for bigger and even better things in the new year!

Wishing you all the best in 2012!

Juggling a bunch of different projects here as usual, but I've been taking chop the last few days on a different and challenging piece...

A bit more progress made tonight on this Middle Sepik Orator's Stool.

This would stand in the center of a men's ceremonial house, and men would use them during speeches as a stand or a podium.
The figure on each stool embodies an important ancestral spirit of the community that could be summoned by ritual means.

Lot's more to go on this piece, updates as it progresses.

Head finished up... started in on the body...

Great logo! Best wishes for a successful rollout of the 2012 collection- hope to see you later in the year at the Forbidden Island event!

Nice start Dave, you are kicking off the year in fine style. Not only are you the most
prolific carver of the bunch around here, it's always top notch stuff. Looking forward to
seeing more of this one, gets me inspired again :)

castaway17, many thanks for the compliment and the best wishes! I hope to get back to the Bay Area again this Fall... I'll keep you updated!

Conga, thanks much my friend! I appreciate the kind words.
This one is a lot of fun and going pretty smooth.
I knew it would be a challenging piece, but after focusing so hard in the past year on PNG, I was hoping that would help me.
So far so good. So much more to go on it though, but I will savor every minute of it!
Looks like we will finally fall to old man Winter this week with a bunch of snow on the way... I'll be hibernating in the studio focusing on this piece even more.

Dave,

That new Tiki is just fantastic! Awesome craftsmanship as always!

Very nice - about 4 feet tall to use as a podium? "Faux Polynesian" is nice but I like pieces like this that are rooted in real tradition.

Bail Tekey... thanks very much for the kind compliments!

Mike... thanks for the compliment!
Yes, this one is just a little shorter then the traditional size of 55"
I'm glad you are a fan of the traditional... for me it starts with the story behind the piece, then while creating it things make a lot more sense!
Then when the piece is done, I can tell the story to others.

Dave Hansen is a motherf*ckin universal soldier. The Audie Murphy of Tiki carving!!

Mahalo Dave, and much love back 'atcha.

Your masterpieces have always been an inspiration to keep the chisels sharp.

The hard work is done... now for the frosting on the cake!
Paint, shells and natural fibers will all come together to finish this piece off.

N

You make it look to easy my friend. That came out fantastic. Keep up the good work and I hope you are keeping warm up there. Carve on!

NIxxon, this one had its challenges for sure. I am pleased with how it finished up.

Thank you for your kind compliments.

Winter has set in here for sure with snow on the ground, but the studio is warm and dry.

Middle Sepik Region Orator's Stool

Worked into the wee hours of the morning both Saturday, Sunday and Monday to put the wraps on this piece.

47" H x 12" W.

Hand carved... hand painted... Cowry shell inlay... raffia skirt... hand braided ties... shell ornamentation

A really fun piece to create!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2013-01-13 12:27 ]

Wow, Dave. I've been out of touch for too long.
Your work is looking amazing!
But then, I expect no less. :wink:

Dave,

This looks fantastic-wow! The paint job puts the entire work over the top....how do you top this!?!? I am sure that you are already working on that angle! Congrats on a great piece to be proud of as a showcase of your PNG carvings.

Larry

Another fine piece LakeS, your time and effort was well spent.
The colors look great, there are certainly some PNG spirits
buzzing around southern Wisconsin!

Fred,

Thank you for the kind compliment on this and other pieces! Just plugging along here... exploring different things.

Larry,

Thank you very much! I'm not sure where things will go from here, but a hell of a way to start off the year... and its only January.
I leapt into this piece not quite knowing how it would turn out, and the log was questionable, so I told myself not to lose sleep if it didn't turn out.
After carving the head, I wanted to see it all come together into something special. I'm very pleased with the final result.

Conga,

I like to think much inspiration came southward out of Northern Wisconsin all these years that you have been doing PNG.
Thanks so much for the kind compliments! After researching and carving PNG for the last couple of years, it was time to take things to the next level.
Watch for more PNG stylings in the future!

N

The paint definitely puts this one in a class all its own. Look great!

A
amate posted on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 3:39 PM

I must say Lake that you have mastered the art of combining traditional and contemporary styles. Your carves have a primitive feel but always with polish and sophistication. Love the spots! :)

NIxxon and amate... thanks guys for stopping by and thanks for your compliments!

Having fun with both the carving and painting aspects of these New Guinea pieces!

Great work! I don't know how you do it! When it gets below sixty degrees around here my hands are too frozen to carve! Very impressive!

Many thanks Captain Jack for your compliment!
I'd take a 50 degree temperature any day outside... but we're currently sitting at 8 above right now.
The nice thing about the Midwest is that we've got nice warm basements to work in over the winter.

He looks great, both in his natural state and finished. Thanks for the advice on the ash awile ago. I ended up finding that while the wood was tough, it didn't fuzz, and the grain was nice.

what the hell? seriously?

thats going to be expensive to ship to florida lake! you are letting me have that one right? your awsome dude......thanks. me and some drunk friends of mine will swing by with a truck and pick it up....:)

great sepik...just great.....REEEEEEEEALLY!!!! can you just carve something crappy and make some of us feel better about ourselves......ha ha ha ha ha ha

again great job man on that sepik....your very talented. VERY!

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2012-01-20 09:02 ]

Grand Poobah,

Thanks! I really appreciate the compliments on this last piece! I liked how he look unfinished also... really shows off all the tool marks.
I wanted to see him through to a traditional finish, and I do enjoy watching it come alive through painting.

No worries on the tips... I like carving Ash once in a while... its a lot of work but the end result is worth it!

Creative Chimp,

Awfully cold up here right now... 8 degrees and 6 inches of snow falling on the 14 that we already have.

You sure you want to come up from Florida right now? :wink:
Thanks a ton for the kind compliments! Like I said, I was a bit wary of this log, but it all worked out in the end.

This piece was a lot of fun and I'm happy how it turned out. I learned a lot more about a subject in PNG culture that I didn't know before.

That Orator's Stool turned out FANTASTIC,man!
P N friggin Gee Whillikers!!!!

KEN!

Thanks a bunch!

Here is a Lower Sepik Region Suspension Hook that I carved over the weekend and painted earlier this week.
Ornately carved and painted hooks like this are used inside PNG houses for hanging up net bags and other household articles.
This piece measures in at 40" H x 11" W, which is a traditional size for these hooks.

Kicking things in production mode here this month, getting ready for the International Tiki Marketplace at Don the Beachcomber's next month!
Looking forward to getting back out to SoCal... sun, surf and palm trees!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2013-01-13 12:31 ]

C

Killer stuff Lake....really like the last two png pieces. The coloring is great,
you've certainly done your homework. I'm sure you be pretty popular on the west coast.

H
Heath posted on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 7:30 AM

Gorgeous.
The research you're doing is definitely paying off.

Conga... thanks for the kind compliments Sir!

If I've learned anything from all the research, its that each region of PNG and their groups have their own color pallets.
That has helped me a lot in each piece, as I know automatically which colors to go to based on where each piece comes from.
PNG is an amazing region... there is so much variety packed into such a small area.

Heath, thanks for the kind words... and thanks for stopping by!

Boi-YOI-YOINNNNNG!
excellent,man!
see you SOON!

Way kool stuff Dave!

I'm sure there'll be some happy campers leav'n dons with ya booty and glad to hear
you'll get to work on your tan as well as catch some waves.Cheers Watango

Thank ya kindly Ken!
See ya soon for sure!
Order me up some nice sunny weather!

Watango, thanks a bunch for the kind compliment!
I've got some fun new goodies in store for sure... sawdust flying here!

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