Post #249310 by Paipo on Wed, Aug 16, 2006 2:41 PM

Benz, I'm hoping to get a few more of these out now I've got a couple of things out of the way. I have enough ideas for the next 6-10 of these so far - and the materials (see below).
Thanks for digging my stuff enough to feature it on your blog Chris. I'm really happy with the way you presented what I sent you.
Cheers to Harro and Pablus too, and Swamp Fire and crazy al - wow! I just got all the back issues of Tiki Magazine, and I'm in awe of the work you guys do. I couldn't believe the amazing contemporary tiki art people were doing when I found this site, it really opened my eyes. I wish I'd started doing stuff like this way sooner - I've never enjoyed carving as much as I am now.

I have a non-carving update today - I thought I'd show you a little about the material side of things. I was running low on good "tiki stones" so I thought a trip to one of my favourite beaches was in order. This one is good because it has headlands at either end which keep the stones on the beach for most of the year, where they get refined into nice consistent shapes. Some beaches I fossick get cleaned out totally by the big swells that frequently pound the coast.
A quick 15 minute drive and we're there:

Looking north:

Looking south. As you can see, there are a few stones to look through!

A few minutes on the beach, and I found this. Score! I hardly ever find jade these days...

Down the south end, there's some cool limestone formations:

...and a rock ledge that houses one of the best mussel beds around, and also a really good surf break on its day (not today, but the town breakwall was firing later that afternoon! :) )...

Back home, I inspect my haul - one pile of A grade tiki stones, plus some old iron and copper and a hatful of B grade stones that will all be used in my sculpture garden. Not bad for two hours!