Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / Tiki Carving

Baby Marquesan tiki sleeping on leaf

Pages: 1 41 replies

Been taking up some new hobbies on my off time from the restaurant... It's been nice having hobbies for myself that have nothing to do with the restaurant. Here are some pics:

Been making hooks now... lot of fun! Nice to work on these smaller pieces that dont take too much time investment... this first one was made for a Chicago radio guy, Roe Conn on his "A-Roe-Ha" broadcast in Maui.

And these were made for family and friends... some finished and some are still rough. This first one is made of a Myrtle Burl.

This is an ebony... macassar I'm pretty sure

Another Ebony.. still pretty rough

This one unfortunately broke, so it wont get finished:

I really enjoy the hooks and small carvings. These are my first attempts at smaller carvings and I'm still collecting tools. I would love to have any critical advice from the pros out there.

I took up a new hobby a couple years ago and have really been putting in more time the last three months... tattoo. I work with the modern machines, but only do the Polynesian tribal. I'll post the sketch and then the tattoos... all of them are in progress:

This first one is on my brother. It changed decently from the sketch. Had a very hard time getting the stencil to flow over the shoulder and onto the chest. Much of the stencil was drawn by hand.

Here is a pic of the progress. I'm a beginner at this, so I have to go over most all of it a second time as there are holidays. Any tattoo pros, please give your critique. I would appreciate.

Here is a sketch and tattoo for buddy from Guam.

It's really amazing how skin varies from person to person... this guys skin has been the easiest to work with (out of 4 different people I am working on). So this one has been the most technically sound.

This is on our chef from Hawaii:

Again, most will need a second coat of ink.

This is my first tattoo on myself.. still needs a lot of work:

This is a sketch that I will do on a buddy from hula class.

Tattoo is something I do for my own personal enjoyment... has no monitary value to me. I can now really appreciate what the pro tattoo artists do. Probably the hardest technical art I've tried. Any of the Tiki Central tattoo artists, I definitely welcome your critique. Thanks for looking :)
Scott

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-01-26 20:41 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-03-04 22:28 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-04-05 10:17 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-04-05 23:17 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-04-20 15:22 ]

Even the broken one looks great! Beautiful work. Tiki Terrace is
definitely on my list this summer, and I'm gonna expect the red carpet
treatment :)

B

WOW, Scott, Just plain Awesome Stuff. Man you are getting Super Intricate with your details on your Hooks And tats. You are Definitely on the right path to do some Excellent pieces, LOVE the tats and wish I were in your neck of the woods, you could experiment on my old red skin.
For your Hooks you might want to try some bone too as it allows Much finer detail than the wood. The woods are great and they are Beautiful but they get too thin and they break. Your burls and the exotics with the tight, hard grain will be more stable.
PM me your address and I'll send you a few pieces of wood you might like for hooks. For bone, go to a Pet store and get the hollow dog bones. they come in pieces about 4 inches for 1.99$ and are clean, White and sterilized. just look for the ones with the thickest walls and the heaviest pieces. slice them on a band saw or use a regular coping, hack, jig saw.
You can use any of the woodworking burs but carbide and diamonds work best with the tine ones for fine detail.
Good luck, Keep up the great work and Keep Posting those Awesome Photos.
HappyHappyHappy!

BD

very nice work! tats are great as well. hell i can't tell where the break is, i would be proud to own that.

bd

T

the carvings are just beautiful!!! Do you sell them??

i love what you are doing keep up the good work

Most excellent!! all the way around!

T

Great pattern work on the hooks! I love that last tattoo sketch - wow. :)

S

Nice! I really like.

Thanks so much for the comps! I really look forward to learning more and getting better. Keeps me sane in the midst of running a restaurant, arrgh! To answer some of the questions, I dont sell anything, yet. Just dont have time unfortunately... I usually make things as gifts for friends and family. The one hook that is "broken".. it actually broke after the picture seen in the thread. It is definitely not repairable. Thanks for the advice Benz! Yes, I really dont know what type of woods work best and am just guessing what types to choose... I did read your "carving tools" thread and picked up a bunch of your recommended bits, etc... very helpful and thanks for posting that! I will PM you in a moment!

Thanks!

Rock on!!!

Thanks for comps! Working on a gift for a customer and good friend. Still need to do all the fine sanding, but the rough stuff is done. Thanks Benz for the help and advice... detail work is so much easier now!

B

WOW, The detail on this guy is Outstanding, looks like you ave been practicing again. Can't wait to see it all sanded and finished!

Top notch work my man!

I got to visit the Tiki Terrace soon.

Those tattoos are wicked.

aloha,
tiki junkman

L

Very good hook carving and I like tatoo too :roll:.
continued to do good work...

Trying something different with a hook... this is something Im making for my customers. Will mold, cast and give away at the anniversary party. Still have a lot of little detail finishing, sanding, staining, poly, etc.. but the rough is done.
Thanks for looking!

Oh, the tiki will actually hang by its feet... supposed to be a hook necklace/tiki hook.

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2009-04-01 20:26 ]

L
laojia posted on Wed, Apr 1, 2009 9:58 PM

Well done, good work in volume, nice detail and so small. This one feel the movement almost...What kind of wood is it?

B

Man-O-Man, I'm seeing some Great strides here Scott, Love where you are going. Really Happy to see the amount of detail you are taking the time to perfect.
I have a Brother -in-law in Moline who we might visit one of these days and you can bet when we do I'm Coming your way! Gotta see how you are doing all this stuff!
Keep up the good work.

S

WoW! I love this guy. Great combo, little man hook.

B

Bump

I havent carved in a long time, but had some inspiration as of late. Tried working on bone for the first time. Here are the first three in progres:

Something I made from cow bone. made it look like boar's tusk (tusk look on the back side at least). Hibiscus and Hawaiian fern patterns.

Something for a friend that just got inducted into the cult of the eye... hence the eye in the center

And then a honu made from Mammoth tusk... I left the weathered exterior as it kinda made sense:

Thanks for looking!

sweeeettt stuff!!! man you guys carve some awsome small stuff!!!! cheerz!!!

T

Great looking pieces! I think the bone likes you. Nice honu, and good call to leave that patina for the shell.

S

Wow me impressed nice touch.

Thanks! I continue to enjoy learning what I can/can't do with bone. My skill level requires that I make things a little bigger, so here is an attempt at a larger pendant. I'ts a Hawaiian plant I really like called the lawai fern with two plumeria. Measures about 2.5 inches high. I tried carving a raised vein in the fern and raised spores. I like how it turned out and will continue to experiment with this. I'm probably most proud of this piece to date. Also an image of another hibiscus with a tea stain.


When I made this hibiscus, I originally liked it. But after looking for a while, I feel that I need to work on a little larger of a scale before going this small again (like the pros here at TC :) But I'm really enjoying the process of learning how to carve bone. I'm really able to lose myself in the tediousness!

R

You dont really need any advice :) you got natural skill! Just pratice bone lots and then some more...the hawaiian theme works for you and your ability to design. I like the flowers :)

B

Really great to see your carving skills progress so well, as Rainhawk said you Are a Natural. Love your original designs most of all, so great. The tats are sweet too, you could have my arm any time!

Absolutely amazing! Your detail work is stupendous! I've seen your tat designs which are great by the way but I think you found your true calling as a 3-D artist.

I also am just starting in bone carving & was just roaming in here to find a few tips, inspiration. Keep it up! I loved that tat design with the tiki partial with cracked wood grain detal. Never seen that before.

Beautiful pieces man! They show the tremendous effort you put in. It inspires me to be more full, and create a real piece of art...ahhhh, nevermind. :lol:

L

Incredible details on the leaf... You're too modest man!

J.

Thanks so much for the comps! It really means a lot :) Here is the current project. I was intending on doing a true 3D, but it is ending up as a cross between 2d and 3d.... learning and enjoying myself in the process. Besides finishing all the scales, hair, tail, and details, I need to work on the dimensions of the face quite a bit and do something with the upper chest... something bothering me about this and I cant quite figure it out yet. But I guess that's what makes this challenging and fun! So here are some progress pics. I think I am a little over half way there.

Thanks for looking!

Great composition on this piece, I like the waves incorporated in there too. Can't wait to see it finished.

Nice going. Can't wait to see the end results.

Thanks so much! I continue to enjoy working on this... it's unlike anything I have tried. Unfortunately, I can only work on it every so often :( But its a gift for a friend and her bday is next week, so I better get a movin! Will probably give it to her and then require to refine it as I see areas that can be improved. I'm a bit happier with the left arm now (the one that points upward, thanks to some advice from TCers!). Now, I think the left chest and right breast needs some work. Will work on creating some more depth in the hair. I'm also working on the back side. Originally, I was going to leave the back blank, but then one thing led to another and you know how it goes. Then I gotta figure out how to make it smooth. And I think I will tie the cord around her left arm so the recipient can wear as a necklace if desired. Anyhow, thanks for looking! Any comments/advice is much appreciated!

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-03-04 22:21 ]

Howzit? Here is a fun post. Raffling this tiki for one dollar! Hope it goes home with someone that will take good care :) Finished this about a month ago. Thing is heavy, bout 200lbs. Oak wood. About 18" diameter. We will load into the winner's car. Thanks
Scott

More Polynesian tattoos :) Been away from this for a long while. Just needed a break. Have a few sessions under my belt since returning to tattoo and here are the updates.

This is my brother who has graciously lended me his skin. I will have to put a second coat on everything (notice the areas that ink has fallen out due to my poor techinque. But "should" be good with second run).

And here is the grand-daddy of my tattoo work... this one is really painful for my buddy. But this is what he has always wanted. So I'm happy to give. Notice where ink has fallen out... this is where I unsuccesfully experimented with larger needle groupings. So a second run is necessary to his dismay.

Thanks for looking :)

BT

Those look pretty cool. I'm completely taken away by that Tiki though, great style on him. Wish I could be present to try and win.

Yeah, your buddy was beggin for pain on that one 'drill on every last inch of my back please'. That's ALOT of ink.

T

WOW!!!

B

Man I can't believe the creativity in your blood,, Excellent stuff from Bonz to ink to wood,,Cool Stuff.

Thanks guys! Appreciate it much. Here is a piece I'm working on and then a piece that is finished.

I love doing the simple nature stuff... leaves, florals, etc. So here is an attempt at combining tiki in a nature scene. It's supposed to be a baby marquesan tiki sleeping on a leaf. Still need to figure out how to tighten up the detail, but I like the overall concept and simplicity. Will be a necklace piece for a friend. Measures about 3" and the tiki is about the size of my thumbnail. Was able to thin out the leaf a little less than 1/8th inch. Any bits of advice to offer on what I can do to make this little guy betta, I woudl appreciate.

Here is a request from a friend for his wife. Their wedding ring is an orchid with maile lei forming the band. Took some pics of the ring and went to work. Was not exact like the ring, but close enough (my interpretation :) this one is done... just need to rope it for necklace.

Thanks

[ Edited by: Tiki Terrace 2010-04-20 15:24 ]

WOW! That's amazing... great detail.

That's some Beautiful pieces you carved.
Amazing how you pull that stuff from bone

Pages: 1 41 replies