BenZart...MaoriChief, Glass pendant Update Today

Thanks again everyone for the humor and kind words.
Here is another update where it actually looks like something.

Ok, it stopped looking like a penis and started looking like a really terrific hei-tiki

Is is " The Thinker"'s great great grandson?

Nice Benz, yes he his coming out.
What is the wood?

He comes to life !
The curly maple is a very good choice for this piece: the grain of the wood is simply beautiful.

Benjamin.

Johnny - It looked like a what???!!! Where on earth have you been hanging out?

Thanks again everyone and heres todays update as little as it is. Starting to get defined and refined.

And this pic is for JenTiki:

I can see where that is going, and it's absolutely awesome - if not a little freaky already! Love that organic alien/fetus shape you've got going on. :D

Looking good benz. The WOW is getting closer.

Looks intriguing! 3D Hei-Tiki?? I may have to come up and see how you thought of this one - and the "secret" project.

Oh this is going to be good.

Top coool Master Benz.
Is that curly maple a hard or a soft wood ? I got some very cracked piece of that kind :wink:

Benjamin.

Benzart...phone home.......

Hey Benz, you know I have a photo of you taped to my computer. In it you have very short hair and are clean shaven. Is that really you in the photo back a few pages? When was that taken?

The new carving is so wonderful, are you going to teach another carving seminar in California? Wendy

Thanks Hewey, he is still in the Early stages and does not look like much yet but I Agree he is a bit Freaky looking already.
Seeks, thanks, the "WOW" is Just around the corner, I'm starting to see and believe myself. Maybe he won't end up in "the Box" after all.
Thanks AlohaS, Come on up Any time, I promise not to hide the stuff from ya'.
McTiki, I have my fingers crossed! Thanks.
Bene, the Curly Maple is a Very HARD wood but the beauty makes it worthwhile, plus the hardness gives it a toughness that hopefully will allow stable Fingers suspended in air that won't break off.
GMAN, I AM Home and I called but No One Answered and that really Confused me. Why was No one answering my phone? You'll get yours.
danLovestikis, Thanks Wendy, how can you stand to sit in front of your computer with an ugly picture taped to it? Yes that pic is me from several weeks ago and I still have the beard. Glad you like this new guy although you can't tell much yet.

Merry Christmas everyone. I'll be working on this guy tomorrow and shoot some updates then.

Benz, that is looking creepy in the coolest way possible!!

Aww Ben. Youre not just a carver - youre a sculptor! Awesome looking hei-tiki, thats made my Xmas! :D

Tama

Thanks Freak, Can you have Creepy Cool? I Hope so.

Tama Thank you too. Hopefully I won't disappoint you with this one as he is Totally new territory, but Thats what makes it fun.

Merry Christmas to All

wicked design benz, real cool

Watching this guy Benz... an interesting new twist!

That's a helluva piece there, Ben, and good to see you back and makin the chips fly. That's the first wooden hei-tiki I've ever seen... way cool!

Merry Christmas to you and the missus, too!

Thanks TikiDud, I guess he's just a Wickid guy.
Thanks LakeSurfer, hope he stays interesting.
Tgap, Thanks! Long time no see, of course this guy is making all Small dusty chips as he is all Power tools, Damn this wood is HARD and does NOT like the Knife or chisel.
Thanks for the X-Mas wishes.

Heres todays update, along with yesterdays too.

As I recall, someone asked a question earlier in this thread about the hardness of maple. As I understand it, there are two basic varieties of maple - hard maple and soft maple. For detailed information about their hardness see the following web site:

http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/display_main_category.asp?mainID=6

Both can be purchased in highly figured forms, and soft maple is much cheaper than hard maple.

[ Edited by: timidtiki 2007-12-27 13:03 ]

Thanks for the link Timid, Yes the soft Maple is easier worked than the hard but is still quitre hard itself. This piece of curly Maple is from the hard variety and is much like carving a rock but ther Diamond bits do Not work :lol:. That is an Excellent web page!

Keeping the bar pretty high! Very cool.

Question: I have beatles digging in that Mahogany. How do you get rid of them?

Hey Aloha, Thanks, the Bar? May be too high for me this time!
Beatles? First thing to do would be to skin the bark off them because the beetles need the bark to lay their eggs in so the worms will have food. When the worm gets big enough they dive into the wood outta the bark. Then there are the Borers who drill right into the wood and start deep so you have to treat the log deep. If it is a really bad infestation you can take the logs to an exterminator's shop where they have a room set up to treat individual furniture. Other things to do are to use the bug bombs in your wood shed. I used to sell ray tree materials to a company in Deerfield who sold to the silk tree trade. We sold branches, bark, palm spathes and stuff like that. They had a "Exterminating" room set up just for that purpose. I can't remember the name of the company but they were in the warehouse complex on the Southeast corner on Powerline and 10th Street, there in Deerfield.
You Don't want to sell a carving that starts spewing out powder-post beetles in 6 months. There are Lots of ways to exterminate bugz.

Totally twisted and uniquely Benzart...looks like he may have a few drops of Marquesan blood too. I'm sure it may have been mentioned already but I'm too lazy to go back and look - how big is this guy Ben?
PS did I show you the Hei-Tiki S+P shakers I had? - his posture is quite similar...

Thanks Paipo, yeah Typical Benzart Half-breed, no telling what his background will be. No I haven't seen your shakers yet, Show me, Show Me, Show Me ...

Oh, Sorry, He's 5 inches tall
SHOUT???

[ Edited by: Benzart 2007-12-27 18:44 ]

Benzo,

Howdie! I likee. He's coming into shape now. He's looking great. Show us more when you can.

-G

Coming along very freaky. Someone's gonna be a happy recipient!

On 2007-12-27 18:40, Benzart wrote:
Thanks Paipo, yeah Typical Benzart Half-breed, no telling what his background will be. No I haven't seen your shakers yet, Show me, Show Me, Show Me ...

Until your one, these were the only properly 3D hei-tiki I've seen:

cute huh?

Thanks GMAN, Glad you like him. I'll post more pix this afternoon
Hewey, thanks, no one has spoken for him yet so he's still up for grabs.
Paipo, thanks, Nice to Shout at you last night, I don't visit there often. The shakers are cool and would have saved me having to get modeling clay and sculpting one to use for refrences. Of course mine was as good as any 4th grader could do!
Thanks everyone.

Here's what I did today to this ugly little bastard!

Wow Ben...That ugly bastard is sure looking good! Teeny tiny fingers and all....I wonder how you kept from breaking them....they're so fine.

Still looking creepy, I love it!!!

His nose reminds me of something I just saw...........

Oh. This is it!!!!

Thanks Robin, Those fingers are why I used the hard maple, I Knew they were going to be spindly, long skinny things.

Tikifreak, Thanks, Of Course he would Look FREAKY to You, :lol: I Love it. :lol: :lol:

Greetings Benny boy, Thanks for that compliment(I think it was). Where could you dig up a nose like that? Where yas been Hiding?

Absolutely fabulous carving Ben, only problem, it reminds me of going to my
dentist. I get chills just looking at the guy. Are you carving that with
dental tools?

Watching this one being created is fun. I am loving it.

Looking incredible Benz! and the eyes haven't even
come out yet! Nice!

Benzo,

That hand and nose are beautiful! Man, that hand had to be tough. Howz you dooz that? Go figger. This project is nutz and so are youz.

Thanks Conga and I can Understand your feelings to the extent I was thinking of calling it"The Royal ToothAche' as he really seems to be in some Pain there.. BUT then, He's a Maori and can take it!

Thanks Hiltiki, I am Very happy that you are enjoying this creation so much, for me it's a Mixed Emotion kind of thing,, Happy and proud but seriously challenged and Under skilled and afraid of failure with this piece, Thanks Again.

SeekSurf, Thanks, yes them EYES, Not there yet but there enough to feel a presence telling me I better not F()& it up. The Ancients are hovering around a LOT with this one, they Really want to see him done and done right.

GMAN,, Fancy meeting you here! Thanks for the kind words, Yes the Hand and mouth and facial features are ALL Tough, He is sitting with such a cockeyed look that is a Very Un-Natural way to hold your head (unless you have a tooth ache) and therefore Very unnatural way to hold his head giving me a huge Unnatural Headache!!! :lol: I had to figure out the fingers first so I Could figure out everything else on this little Brat. The Ancients don't like me talking like this to this guy, they say it is Irreverent and they will make me PAY. They Will too. They already have me well down the road to =the Funny Farm but they keep giving me stuff to do so I can't go yet. You should see TheIR List!!!
Well I guess It' time for me to go have Nightmares, my nightly ritual.
Sweet dreams

Happy New Year everyone, I hope 2008 is a great year for us all!
Here is a few progress shots of this little bugger.

incedible benz! sure gonna be a masterpiece!
happy new year!

:D Wicked, gnarly and twisted Hei Tiki BenZ... oozing with personality & character fo'sho!

I dig Piap's shakers too!! Thought I'd throw in a favorite piece of my collection for reference... It's a SylvaC pottery vase from the UK (c.1920's):

Keep carvin' deep braddah BenZ! :D

Thanks TikiDuddy, Appreciate the kind words.
Jonesey, Thanks too!. I've Never seen anything like that Vase, HOW COOL. Thanks for the pictures and for the ones of the Maori Mugz in the background too. How tall is that vase?
Here is todays update as I had to do a bit on it .

Hi Benz, happy new year.
This is so unbelievable how fragile it looks till now. Definitely a hell of a job and an even more weird expression on the face than the last one. I like it weird.
Great.