Someone please reply?

Aloha!
Tyler from neptune beach here. New to the forums and trying to get some feedback from some folks that know the subject. I am a sculptor down here in florida. I've been a chef for 20 years and have done some ice sculpting - now working in palm wood (i've always loved tiki art since I grew up on the beach) I have a new website set up at http://tikisbytyler.com Someone please respond - I need feedback!
Here are a few samples:

Tiki Trav's Opinion of the Day:

I think you are on the right track and clearly have the required carving skills, however, I feel that your designs could use some work... more style and less big teeth would help... cruise the carving thread on here (where this should have been posted) and find inspiration from all the other stuff happening on here... The more you learn, the more you will understand what makes a nice classy tiki and what is a smiling log with big teeth.. You are off to a good start so let's see your carvings evolve..

Regards..
TT

AWSOME !....I dig it !
now being that they are a start are ya sellin em cheap ?lol

I agree with Tiki Trav.

Also, I'm not sure the Grateful Dead logo is any place for a tiki...that's just me tho'.

On 2008-09-23 14:41, tikiyaki wrote:
I agree with Tiki Trav.

Also, I'm not sure the Grateful Dead logo is any place for a tiki...that's just me tho'.

Yeah,the Steal Your Face was a special request. Probably was a little too sell out for me.

Grateful dead = great evil and the death of tiki culture of the 50's. Please don't ever use it again!!

Otherwise, stuff looks great! I wish I had your talent!

You have carving skills, you just need better reference materials. AND The grateful dead don't belong anywhere even in the same room as a tiki- sorry. Like others have said, dig into the site and see what some of the amazing carvers on TC are doing. Have fun with it!

I have to agree with everyone else about breaking away from the toothy grin. Like most people on the Florida East Coast Wayne Coombs, Mai Tikis (and the knockoffs) are everywhere. Do a little research and you will find that being a bit more original may help you sell more. Try a full body as well, it may help you in diversifying your tikis. Don't get sucked into doing what people think they want - do something they can't live without. Good luck aNd welcome to TC - stick around for a while.

Greetings Tyler, from Tiki Central and Welcome Here too, We're Happy you have found us. There aor over 8500 users and of those maybe 600 of us are Artists and that is just a guess on my part. Of course a Lot of those members are long gone but still remain on the books so what it boils down to is that there are maybe a few thousand peeps out there ,whom are all tiki lovers by the way, who are digging on yer works now give or take a few thousand and a lot of them will like it and a lot will see that you have potential you are not even beginning to use yet. Yes you need some positive traditional influence in an accelerated course. Left to your own you would eventually get there but it would take a lot more logs and time. I think you have Talent and you can be a proficient carver given the right inspiration.
There you asked and looks like we sounded off. C'mon in and bring yer tools and carve some tikis
.You can copy all mine if you want I don't mind but the traditional tiki are open season so fire away Read some posts, ask some questions, Give some answers and have a lot of fun. We have Hukilau comig up is=n several months and You WILL Want to be there! Time's a'wasting start your thread! :lol: :P :D

Tyler it seems like you made a the jump from the ice to palm. I would like to see a TIKICICLE however. Keep up the good work.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, that's what I needed. HEARD on "don't give them what they think they want." I've been checking out a of of the carvings online and hope you guys don't mind if I use your work as a sort of personal challenge. REALLY admire what i see around here! It's definitely time for me to grow in my art. I'll come back with something new soon.

Appreciate the honest replies! Now give me somewhere to start a fresh perspective. Traditional Maoi?

I have that same chainsaw. Heavy bastard for it's size, isn't it? I figure as soon as I buy an Echo or McCulloch, I'll be a wiz after working with that thing.

If you wanna carve, get rid of that chainsaw. People use it on ice cause the stuff is melting out from under you and speed is an issue. Not so with wood.

Try a Sculptor Set from Flexcut!

On 2008-09-24 03:25, Cammo wrote:
If you wanna carve, get rid of that chainsaw. People use it on ice cause the stuff is melting out from under you and speed is an issue. Not so with wood.

Try a Sculptor Set from Flexcut!

Cam, you still need a chainsaw to size your logs and split them.......or do you Canadians just gnaw them with your two front teeth?

But yeah, get the Flexcut set, man. Cam knows what he's talking about, he just hates powertools on tikis.

Im impresed. Nice carves keep us updated.

Love the one in the tree! and the Dead Head Cool!