swap piece update!!

On 2007-03-16 21:14, pdrake wrote:
i have moari friends here and they are great, wonderful, brave people. i would stand with them in battle. (i actually have.)

i'm currently watching "once were warriors" and needed to express that.

'Drake the Muss'..? 'You're a hard man Drakie' (a quote from 'Once Were Whittlers') :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, I can be a bit of a 'martass myself.

Rock on braddah!

Tama :)

Pd
Great stuff, I would echo Benz, I think these are best without inlays, concentrating on the finish.
Battle, battle, let me mention something to you. In another life I was asked by the Uk Rugby League to try and arrange sponsorship for referees shirts. As a sweetner I had access to the teams at the NZ v England games for potential clients, seeing some of these guys up close, the only thing they'd see in battle would be my ass :)

Best Regards
Flynny
P.S. where's the swap piece????

heh, drake the muss. hadn't thought of that.

flynny, he's being worked on.

okay, thanks for the input. no inlays. almost done, just need a polish and a hole.

Kia ora Muss

Purdy! They are looking much better now with the grooves on the handle. I would suggest that proportionally the bulb/butt is a bit large in comparison with the spatulate/blade end but Im sure you have seen images of the real Macoy & knew this already..? I'd also hazard a guess that this is beacause you need the extra size to accommodate the holes. Where were you thinking of inlaying the paua? And where was this stone from again?; looks a bit like the coveted NZ 'flower' jade...?

T3 :)

Hot damn that's some nice stone! Beautiful translucency - I'm also glad you didn't obscure it with inlays. Simple is definitely better when it comes to jade (especially really good jade).
Nothing wrong with the carving either!

thanks, it's from new zealand. it has some really beautiful blooms of gold in it.

yes, they're a bit larger for the hole goes and it gives it a bit of an exaggerated look.

it's by far the nicest stone i've carved. i have another piece that's almost 1/2" thick that i'm looking forward to.

Dual Patus...very nice! I started on that piece of Jade you sent me, man, and I thank you.

hei toki i started tonight.

i just wanted to say that even with just that sponge on silcone carbide discs on my belt sander it was sooo much easier to get large, flat, smooth sides. i can't wait to get some good equipment. if you have a belt/disc sander, this is a great substitute for the good stuff.

same jade slab as the earrings. wonderful yellow/gold blooms in the jade.

[ Edited by: pdrake 2007-03-21 18:32 ]

those first two photos don't come close to showing how beautiful this stone is.

keep up the good work pdrake loveing it

thanks marcus, i really appreciate your input.

here's what i did today. i almost tossed this piece of stone. as soon as i touched it to the sander a big piece flaked off. it was discouraging.

i think i might of saved it, though.

it has white inclusions. not sure what that is. it's new zealand jade.

perry that is an excellent piece, your angles and detail is great, hope to get there someday

Amy

Dude you are carving up a storm! Looks good, keep it up.

What do you bench?

Very cute little hook there PD, nice work!

thank you very much. had to put it aside for a little while, now back at it.

the angles get easier with better tools and practice amy. i still don't have enough of either.

grog, send me a body shot from the goatee down and i'll let you know what i bench.

PDrake, your latest stuff is REALLY showing your Improvement, All Over the Place. part of it is the tools but you have to Improve to effectively use the tools. You are Well on your way to All around Excellence. Just take care of the finer details and you got it.
Beautiful stuff, I'm shaking my head with pride!

thanks a lot ben. i still think i need a lot of improvement. i can see every flaw, big and small. you know what they say, the artist is his own worst critic. i've been taught and inspired by the best in the world. it helps me strive to better myself and my work.

thank you very much.

One thing about getting better is that you SEE more flaws and are then able to fix them. It's all in the fine details. Something about a carving you can't quite put your finger on but you know it isn't right. With more skill and experience comes the ability to DEFINE that thing that other people can't put their finger on. :) :) :)

detail? um, okay. will do! :)

a little more detail . . .

if any of you jade workers think i'm butchering the stone, please advise me on how to make it better. i really want to make my work better.

thanks.

actually, i'd like some feedback. i see stuff, like, make the fin ribs thinner at the top and that kind of thing. i'd like some honest input. i know it's a nice piece and all, but i want it to be gallery quality. (not this one, just one in the future.)

[ Edited by: pdrake 2007-03-24 21:24 ]

[ Edited by: pdrake 2007-03-24 21:29 ]

oh, this is what it looked like after the big piece flaked off. i'm glad i didn't give up on it.

yes, you are putting your finger on things that don't look right, Any irregularities in the continuous line, a long gentle curve that has kind of flatish spots on it, stuff like that. How to fix them is difficult because you need to go back to where you created those lines and use that tool to even things out. Sometimes you need to compromise and fix some and leave others alone. Fixing one may make the other bearable. Don't get me wrong, this is an Excellent piece the way it is. and you may want to leave it as is depending on how much time you want to spend on it, peopleare usually not going to give you a hard time about minor stuff, Unless you show it to them, then you probably need to fix it. There are Some pieces you will do where everything just clicks and it is just turning out great and you can see it is one of your better pieces, That is the piece you will spend the extra time with going over it with that fine toothed comb, making it as perfect as you can. then there are other pieces that are just so-so and don't merit the extra time for special upgrades.
This is what I mean by having the ability to see problem areas,decide weather the piece warrants the time to fix those issues and then Fixing them. The more you do, the more you realize that needs to be done. I hope this helps to solve the riddle of carving. I hope it did not add to the puzzle and make you more confused.
You are definitely on the right track!

Benzart,

You ARE the MASTER! A true sage! Excellent advise, very understandable, and I'm sure that not only does Pdrake appreciate it, but all the other artists as well.

Good luck Perry.

grog's right ben. thank you very much. it made quite a bit of sense and i appreciate it.

well, it's almost finished. now i have no idea where to put the hole. any suggestions?

On 2007-03-25 13:17, pdrake wrote:
well, it's almost finished. now i have no idea where to put the hole. any suggestions?

A: "Decide from the very start where you are going to put them and allow room..." :lol: :lol: :lol:
Please forgive my teasing, its just that I have faced this particular problem many times myself & am repeating my own Mantra to you.

The areas you circled as 'problem' spots just need a little more taken off them to rectify those ridges. As Ben said, you would need to readdress with whatever tool/s you made the rest of that shaping with. I tend to run a pen or pencil mark along ridges so that you can find them again once the water is running on them. Ditto any small bumps or hollows; not that you seem to be having any trouble with them. Your shaping is getting remarkably smooth; the rest of this hook esp. the internal facets are looking very crisp & of 'gallery quality' already in my opinion (Galleries come in all shapes/sizes/qualities too you know - I found that my work was accepted by 'lesser' galleries at the start & found its way into more upmarket venues quite naturally as skills/quality improved - prices follow suit) Once you've got 6-10 pieces that you are happy with & that work well as a group (this is important! most outlets/galleries prefer to see some continuity running through a group of work, as this helps to reinforce trust that the artist knows what he/she is doing/can do it again, & also means that each piece 'backs up' and helps to sell the others) try contacting a gallery that you think might accept/suit them. I dont know about the US but over here most newcomers have to accept sale-or-return/consignment basis until a name is established & you can start to dictate a few rules of your own.

Keep it up; I wouldnt bother telling you this if didnt think your work/potential up to it. Because we are working on such a small/fine scale I would suggest working your designs out on paper first & then transfer onto the stone. Get your designs as perfectly proportioned/refined as you can make them before transferring and then stick to those lines as best you can. There is always a little 'wandering' but a bit of evolution is ok. As time goes on you can loosen this approach a bit but for now I would advise concentrating on how accurately you can stick to your design; this seems to be your way anyway and is the approach of many great carvers.

I understand how Maori designs must appeal but I always advise that people find their own style/devices/approach/subject matter: If I were in the US I would be using local jade & trying to create myself a wee niche market. Jade can be turned into anything; I have been commissioned to make horseshoes for horsey-types, Chevrolet/Harley.D badges for the rev-heads, warm tingly family-stuff for new parents, alien heads, New-Age symbols, etc, etc... Even in NZ where there is almost an inexhaustable demand for spirals/hooks etc, I advise carvers to find an area to specialise in - Cabachons/ring-stones is another avenue & perhaps the very best u$e for good stone; a tiny-but-well-made cab can fetch ridiculous money for use by metalsmiths...

Hope this helps!

Tama :)

[ Edited by: Tamapoutini 2007-03-25 14:16 ]

thanks. that helps. i always appreciate when people take the time to type something in order to help others.

i still don't know where to put a hole.

a little sumpin i'm grinding at.

[ Edited by: pdrake 2007-04-07 15:15 ]

so, any advice? doesn't matter, i'm just going in balls out.

Naked women..? where? what..? :o

-oh I get it; that was a ploy to get me here right? Well, it worked... :lol:

This hei-tiki is coming along nicely; your balls out/in approach seems to be working just fine. Dont forget to allow room for the suspension hole!

Rock on!

Tama

Whoops! You forgot to post pictures, Pdrake. Here, GROG help.

Nice one Grog, Happy Easter
Flynny

thanks grog, now no one see my junk.

SWEEEET! Oh, and your jade Moai is pretty cool too! :wink:

What Moai?

Oh, yeah, there it is! Seriously sweet grind there Pdrake!

-G

thanks alot gman and surf. i tried to put the satin finish on it. it's based on the old islands dinner menu moai.

the best you've ever made.
Beautiful.

thanks for all the props on that last piece. it's even better these days with the lanyard and the toggle and the tears i've poured over it in the last few weeks. ;-D

somebody told me i haven't posted in awhile so i thought i'd put up something. i'm working a lot at my real job because we're very, very busy and i have to take a week off during this busy time. i'm splitting my time between my swap piece (which i'm trying to make great, seeing how i now know who it's going to) and this little cutie i had a great idea about.

it's a maori teething stick. it will be fully functional and have some spirals and waves in it when it's done. it's made form a pretty little piece of poanamu i got in the mail. it looks like candy. soft spots all arond so it won't hurt baby warrior's gums.

what do you all think?

goo goo baby!

GROG accidently step on one of those this evening when GROG come home from work. It was on the front porch and had it's little slime trail behind it leading back to the grass from whence it came.

uh, okay. yeah, those are not normal. bright yellow, slightly brown and beige. if you have bright green slugs please call the UCSC campus. i'm sure they'll do a study on grog. (well, another one. one that doesn't sit in the muesem all night collectin dust.)

heh, it does look a little like a slug now that i think about it.

here's a quick and dirty pic of the swap piece. i'll probably finish the sanding tonight.

i promise tama, i'm putting extra into this.

On 2007-05-02 19:06, pdrake wrote:

i promise tama, i'm putting extra into this.

Good on you mate! He's looking great! :D

T3