Paipo's Stone Tikis V2.0 - 2011

I guess she Refuses to open the "Ghost" page, so this confirms that you need to send her right away.

HA, Got her.

myspace

[ Edited by: Benzart 2009-05-13 03:05 ]

Just amazing work, just caught up on all the pages, and was just blown away!! Just amazing!!! tikibad

Nice!

That is one nice stone carve! way to make it alive.

Paipo here is a bump so you won't have to look too far down the list for your page when you get ready to post some WOOD CARVING Pix!! :o :P :lol:

WOW!
I have a lot of catching up to do. The last couple off pages have so many cool pieces.

Mind-blowing art! And I've only seen the last
couple of pages. Look forward to catching up
on everything I've been missing. Truly inspiring!

Hey Paipo,
sooooooo... . I noticed you signed up for the Tiki Swap! Are you making something super mind-blowing for it? Heck, I'd happily bribe the Swap Officials for a piece of scrap from your studio floor :)

Just checking in!
Henrik

Yes, I am making for the swap...but we have a month still don't we? Going by how long the current piece is taking, that should be enough! I am long overdue for a Vantiki original!
Carving wise I am very getting close to finishing a special piece - this one is an epic even by my standards. It has comnsumed many painstaking hours sandwiched around "the other stuff" and the minutiae of everyday life. My Whakairo tutor must take some of the blame, as I decided I needed to immediately incorporate his teachings into my stone work. Give me another day or so and I should have some new pics and replies to everybody who's posted. Thanks!

Well HURRY Up already we're all dying Here! :o

Your work is definately already epic....I cant wait to see what you have conjured up!!!

Only got time for a Kinny-style driveby...ZZZZZOOOOM! I took a whole pile o' pics and they turned out crap. Surf is pulsing for the 3rd day running so I'll have to reshoot (and reply) later.....

Nice!
even from that angle!
thick and Juicy!
like dem waves!
ZZZZZZZZooooooM!

take some shots
when you land....
:)

wow

My thoughts Exactly, (Pdrake Where you been)Looks like another bar has been raised and do I spy some Wood carving techniques hidden here? can't wait for the next show.

Well, another 4 weeks or have slipped by, and once more I'm a little remiss in responding to all the nice stuff people have to say. First things first...

GROG - I never left, just switched from "post" to "lurk". Now I'm back again - after another month!

cheekytiki: It is is probably a little easier when the story is already written as it was in this case...but I am trying to make the pieces more "character-driven", whether through my own ideas or adapting existing tales. New guy (below) I think fits this mold pretty well...

KINNY! kinny...kinny! Still providing my biggest fix of eye-candy and inspiration on TC! Much of the aforementioned lurking is devoted to keeping up with your offerings. I'm not posting...but I am always watching....

As for the "crossover", it's just a deep undercut. Not easy to clean up when you have another layer overlapping where you're trying to reach with the tools, but still one of the best ways of making a flat stone look a lot deeper and get some more dramatic shadows happening!

T-mec - yes, well a student at least. We're actually working to a pretty tight deadline with our class so I'm holding off posting until I'm sure I'll finish my piece! Anyway, before I can consider myself a carver I've really got to hook up some chisels (which I will be doing via that way-cheaper-than-NZ website you posted).

Amy - I'm so glad you're back posting and carving again too. Shame I missed your party again - a trip to the desert would be just the ticket right now!

Bowana - well, you'll probably like the latest batch of pics below. Light is also becoming part of the story for some of these characters I'm working on, and I try and get a couple of "Black Velvet" pics of each new piece. As for shots of my wood - see reply to T-Mec! Pics...soon?

laojia - I'm definitely right back at base camp now, and looking up at the lofty heights. The tradition and artistry in this country are unsurpassed, but if I can even learn or absorb just a fraction of that greatness I will be happy. Watching a master carver using the chisels with my own eyes has been a revelation!

Pat - thanks for taking the time to trawl through the archives. You're another person I'm stoked to see back posting and in action with the diamond burrs, and brushes...and needle. Seems like a lot of the regular posters form the last couple of years have been busy with life sometimes overtaking art. I am taking too long to write this too :)

Lake/Dave - yes, it's been good have a break and not push too hard for a while. I'm often pulled in many different directions with work and home life and it can be tough to choose which path to take. One that's been easy to follow lately is the lure of the sea - two consecutive 3-day weekends of pumping conditions have slaked my thirst and I now need a break from that too. A warm shed is looking very inviting this week! Hope you're getting some freshwater goodness!

Ben - Thanks (for all the many replies and bumps). :) :) :)
I know you always understand how much work these pieces take. Only one flaw? I can see a few in that photo, but fortunately you won't be able find all of them unless you visit this wahine in her new home on the West Coast (and I'm not talking about my West Coast). Speaking of ghost pages, unless you beat me to it , I think this post will exorcise the ghost of page 34! Fingers crossed

Benjamin - I like the view from the back just as much too. I had a small obsession with these crossed-over notches, which I think I've satisfied now. Originally the piece was going to be little more than an overlapping form, but somehow it developed a life of its own...

tikibad - thanks too for taking the time to dig back through the thread. I do it myself sometimes to where I've made progress and where I can make more. Hope you like the new piece!

Clarita - succinct and to the point. I like it!

seeks - hope you've been finding and not just seeking! I like to think these guys are alive too, especially once the eyes go in!

tikifreak - it seems a couple of pages in my thread covers a period of months these days, where it used to be weeks. I think I have some catching up to do too...

Iokona - Cheers! Pull up a chair, have a sift through the archive and enjoy!

Henrik - well, I already sort of replied, but yes - I'm in! Thinking I had plenty of time, I now notice half of the 2 months we had has already disappeared into the aether. I better get cracking!

Ben (again..x2!) We're almost there...just a little further....

Kinny - 1 month on - yes! Waves! Check out the next pics....

Perry! WOW! This is like a class of '06 reunion! Whatcha been up to man?

Phew! Gonna take a break, pics to follow in another post cause this one is now officially H U G E! Hang in there!

The colours are pretty funky (but also kinda cool) cause of the sinking late afternoon light - I'll take a couple more when I have the cord done. The stone is very black and the inlay a vivid green. Finding it almost impossible to photograph the way the eye catches the light, but I'll keep trying...

Stone Tiki #68 - Tangaroa (God of the Sea)

OK, that's my next month's worth of posting done. I need a nap now - good night!

:tiki:

You earned your nap with this one. Beautiful work and I love the
photography too. See you in another month :)

Gorgeous creative flow on this fella.
The detail and craftsmanship is to die for.

Paipo, great design on this guy. I just sat there staring
at the computer screen for a while, drinking in all the details.

It is too simple to say an amazing piece of paipo, and yet what to say?

This light on his eye pierces my heart...

J.

Paipo, I KNEW this guy was gonna be something special. He's already Pierced Laojia's heart and this golden tone has blinded my eyes

That shot that took out Laojia was really spectacular too ( if you ever stop arving you should take up pro photogrophy, you're a natural!)
Well lets see if I get the ghost page or not. Either way you just have no idea how much I appreciate your works. I know you are so torn between doing it quick versus doing it "All the way" but these pieces rally tell the story. Thanks Paipo.

:0

COOL No Ghost page

Unauahi and Tara-Tara-A-Kae patterning in stone? Man, you must have been sharpening your chisels every 30 seconds! :lol: Sweet piece mate.

How about a few pics of you latest swap/score..?

:o Daaayaaamn! :o thud...

Rhys, this one has some special magic in it.

It even controls the way the sun sets on it.

Beautiful finish... I wish I could get wood to look the way you get rock surfaces to look.

If pieces like this require us to wait a bit longer, than wait I will, because this one is wonderful.

what. the. hell. ?????

that is in-freaking-credible!!

man, you are a true talent.

i've been making metal stuff and burning my hands. mostly spending money on equipment. hahaha

Paipo,
Wow! Very Nice.
-Johnny

So, lets see some wood Paipers. GROG know you've been carving.

this piece has more mana invested in it than anything i've seen since "tiki emerges from cobble"

Thanks conga, seeks, TK, laojia, Ben, Tama, Jonesey, Lake, pdrake, jabtiki, GROG & prairie jade! You fellas are too kind. I'm glad this one found such an appreciative audience, and although the time it took was frustrating, it will pay off on the next piece (which is quite similar) now I've already figured out the hard stuff.
GROG, I'm gonna hold off on posting the wood stuff for a little while. Partially because the progress is really slow until I get tooled up at home, and also because I'm enjoying the quiet, steady and contemplative nature of the work. It's refreshing to be making without thought to having to sell or even put the work into the public arena at the moment. I don't even take my carving out to look at between classes! I hope this doesn't come off as too precious but it is what it is. Once I get some chisels and get started on my own path at home you'd better believe there will be some wood tikis gracing this thread - hopefully some BIG buggers!
Back in stone land, work is well advanced on the next piece - another large profile style manaia/figurehead in argillite. I think he'll be done in the next day or so, but in the meantime I reshot #68 as promised. I also made my first-ever 4-plait cord for this piece and man did it take FOREVER! Thanks to Tama for showing me the ropes way back when, in such a way that it stuck in my mind. It only took 10 years!

Paips, I'm Glad you shot this guy again, he's SO Powerful and has such presence,, Well done Sir!

i really dig #68, paipo! but he also kind of scares me. that evil eye gives me the willies!

When I said "a day or so", I really meant a week or two. Like the last one, this was carved over many, many short sessions focused on little areas of detail. #69 - more pics + title to come:

He sort of reminds me of Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons. :)

and before I forget:

Cheers Ben - I liked the light and mood, in those first pics but the stone colour is much better second time round. I had the same problem today so I'm just gonna have to wait until the sun comes back. I think I'm officially overdue for a camera upgrade this year too!

Bullet - long time no see stranger! thanks for dropping by, and the bump which saved me having to search for my thread - it's a little neglected these days.

Holy chit man, what mold did you pop this guy out of? You are getting some Scary detail, looks like a wood carving, can't wait to see more.

8. POW! mindblowing... 8)

Man! This last pair is Flippin' my WIG!

How is it possible for you to get any better!?!?!?

Maybe because the theme is so close to home....
or that Faustian pact ...
:)

Kinny,

I have 2 of those play wigs that were my sister's. Totally Rad!

Paipo......WOW!

Jen

On 2009-06-29 04:22, Paipo wrote:
Bullet - long time no see stranger! thanks for dropping by, and the bump which saved me having to search for my thread - it's a little neglected these days.

hey rhys, even if you don't hear from me for a while, i'm still checking up on you. so you better keep making masterpieces or i'll know about it! #69 looks like you are keeping up your end of that bargain.

Definitely some wood carving influences creeping in for sure on these guys. It's probably a reflection of my frustrating lack of chisels.
Ben, I was actually tempted to pop this guy out of a mold for real, but it's too cold and damp for casting at this time of year. I may dabble in limited editions again at some stage cause I'd really like my own copy of some of these.
Jonesey - thanks! Kinda cool seeing em side-by-side like that. They are definitely brothers!
Kinny - I'll keep flipping your wig, as long as you promise to keep melting my face! :lol:
Jen - you should hook Kinny up with one of those wigs (and of course post pics)! Cheers for dropping in.
Bullet - good to know you're still out there. Sounds like you're in the same boat as me - observing, enjoying, but not posting quite as much as we used to.

Well, the sun came out right on cue today so I took some more shots. I almost left it too late again but managed to get what I needed:

#69 - Kae

YES, the Lighting really makes a Big Difference, Lays it out for all to see. All the delicate detail, the beauty and the blemishes are few and far between if there are any at all.

I don't mind so much your not posting any wood pix yet as long as you keep Wowing us with pieces such as these. I understand about the pieces you are working on staying under wraps while you are going through this wild learning experience, it is a time of insecurity too as you are trying to learn about a whole different set of tools and I an just imagine when you are chiseling on a piece of wood, you are constantly saying "how would the stone react to this or that", and when working on stone now." I wonder if I can get it to do this,,,". Soon it will all start making sense if it hasn't already.
Back to this guy, just beautiful.
You join Face Book yet?

DANG....

Holy SHEET metal!
Ok, the execution is great and all...but the CREATIVITY, it's ingenous! It's all thought out so well...did you even plan the the subtle stripes of the stone's colors, and where they would fall? Jeeesh.

Ben, there are a couple of obvious blemishes (thought not apparent in the pix I chose) but I'm getting less obsessive these days. The photos did bring a few "folllow-throughs" to my attention that I will go back and clean up though. I use some pretty large and aggressive tools sometimes to do a fine job, as it's the only way to get into a tight space with these deep carves. As for the wood, I'm still very much at square one and I like just keeping it on the down-low for now. I really missed not carving this week (classes finished last week) and I don't have the time or the tools to carry on yet so the chizzlin' is on hiatus for a while. Facebook - I think I'm going to crumble soon and sign up. Just about everyone I know around here (NZ) is using it these days. I much prefer myspace still as it seems better suited to artists but even then I never find time for updates!

Kinny - is that the sound a flipping wig makes?

Surfin - the stripes were sort of planned, in that I could see 'em when I sketched out my lines, but I didn't know how cool that dark band would look when the eye was cut down to the right depth. I wasn't decided on an inlay, and once that pattern became apparent I couldn't bring myself to carve any more of the stone as the bands would be lost. One of my favourite things about argillite is those beautiful flow lines that will always naturally follow the curves on these beach stones. Cheers mate!

There is just so much cool stuff in these two to look at.
Your level of creativity is off the hook.
Don't worry about the wood, it will find you.
Back to staring.

That is sick!

Gorgeous! you make it look like wood.
How you do that i will never know? Hard to believe is stone.

"Live" update:

Couldn't help myself ....
:)