Detroit area Tiki Carver?

Hey all-
This is my first official message on Tiki Central, so I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there knew of someone who carves Tikis in the Detroit area.
I have a 7 foot stump in my backyard that I know has a Tiki in it somewhere. I had heard that there was going to be carvers at Motor City Tiki at Chin's, but I didn't see any there.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Michael Z

On 2004-06-28 06:44, zadsim wrote:
I had heard that there was going to be carvers at Motor City Tiki at Chin's, but I didn't see any there.

TC's own Chisel Slinger was there, I believe he did a bar and the tall skinny tikis near the DJ booth . Shown below on the far right:

He's from Ohio. Send him a message. I carve a bit, but my chops are not quite up to where I'd like them.

-Z

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: feelin' zombified on 2004-06-28 09:27 ]

Welcome Zadsim, I'm sure a carver will show up soon.I don't know of any since I'm inSo Florida. but they are there,

Isn't this considered part of lakesurfers hood?

Here's a link to some of his stuff too:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=8908&forum=7

I really need to get a hat that says tiki carver.

Well, I live in the detroit area (Shelby Township)and I've carved a couple tikis. I've only worked with 18" maple wood blocks though. Do you know what kind of tree the stump is? If its a soft wood tree it would be fairly easy and I'd be happy to help you out or assist you if you want to give it a go yourself. All you need to do is wrap poster board or construction paper around the trunk, draw a likeable Tiki (May take a couple of trys) and lightly trace the tiki onto the wood using a nail. No different than those fancy pumpkin carving decals. As soon as i get a hold of a digital camera I'll post a picture of one of my carvings. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. The pumpkin stencil carving technique.

I guess it is split distance between Chisel Slinger and me... I'm a few states away from Detroit though...

Hey everyone-
Thanks so much for the suggestions. Lake Surfer, your stuff is great, but I can't exactly afford to bring someone in from Chicago to work on the stump in my backyard. (Also, Chisel Slinger, I did indeed admire your stuff at the Motor City Tiki, but I guess I was thinking too much in terms of big, wide carvings. I should have known there wouldn't be anything like that there.)

Tikilee, thanks for the thoughts about the DIY carving. But frankly, I've never done anything like this before. Like I mentioned, the stump is seven feet tall. It's also about a foot and a half in diameter. It's an Oak tree stump, by the way, not exactly a soft wood. It's not a job I would want to experiment on.

Another question. I do see people who call themselves "Chainsaw Carvers." Does anyone think a good tiki could be done in this manner? Or would it be considered a Tiki sin to use a non-Polynesian power tool? Thoughts?

Thanks again,
Michael Z

a chainsaw should strickly be used for rough work only. And sometimes that can be too powerful. I used a chainsaw once just to do the rough work and did the rest by hand. There really is no great way to make a finished detailed tiki with a chainsaw. Its really easy to make a mistake and the mistakes are not forgiving. (I trimmed trees for five years) Although I am not knocking any chainsaw carvers, I've seen many beautiful pieces. I'm just speaking from expierience. I believe with a good old chisel you put something of yourself in the work. As with any great work of art, you can't rush it.