Post #345376 by Paipo on Wed, Nov 21, 2007 1:14 PM

Thanks Ben/s!
Clarita - no offence taken at suggestions, but I'm not really into surface carving on jade cause the stone is so nice as is! When I carve something I have to clean all the toolmarks - so imagine if I carved feathers or scales - I'd be here for years!
Kinny, you're thinking of the Taniwha or Marakihau, which are very much the same sort of thing as this guy, just different faces. This one is the Maori variant of the Tangata Manu.
Sneaky, kind of new but sort of old too, I used to make these sort of pieces a lot back in the day, so it was fun to do another old-skool piece.
hewey, cheers m'man - I really liked #43 too, so have held him back for a while and have been wearing him out and about!
VanT, you have almost described an exhibition concept I am thinking of working on - I am very influenced by my study of the old exploring days , the collection and trade of artifacts and how they were perceived. Watch this space... (in quite a while)
JP, thanks. Graceful is the way for the jade - flowing curves and soft surfaces.
Kai, variety is the only way to go, but there's still a few key styles I haven't tackled that I want to get working on. PNG is very high on my list. Be careful on those ladders man! the tiki world needs you!
Tama - good to catch up the other night at the class of 07 gathering. There didn't seem to be a lot that caught my eye this year?
No tongue this time - I should have incorporated it into the carving as it's too hard to get inside the beak. I have often thought one of those little offset handpieces could be useful for getting into the tight spaces the regular one can't reach. In the end I left this guy fairly plain to let the stone do its thing, and ended up taking the surface back to a coarser grade after all that sanding!