BenZart...MaoriChief, Glass pendant Update Today

Benzart, WOW. I am in awe! That last piece is really beautiful! Bravo!

Incredable my friend! that carving is one spectacular piece of art. I thought the pictures were nice but holding it in person the other day it was even more incredable. you have an amazing eye to see it way before it ever makes paper to wood to carving !!! a Big thanks for sharing and I cant wait to see whats next on your carving plate,Aloha , Mooney

Astounding!!! :o Your imagination and workmanship is unsurpassable! What can one say, that already has been said?

We kneel before the ultimate craftsman!!!

Beyond belief!!!

sandz

Hi Ben, been following the progress of this one quietly, but with so much anticipation. I have enjoyed watching him come to life. He is fabulous. Not to freaky to me, he's got nice eyes...I always go with the eyes. He certainly is a testament to your skills and creativity....you're pretty amazing there Ben.

R.

Tiki Shark Art, Thanks for the props and coming by, Appreciate the kind words,
Mooney, Thanks for the comps and Thanks for coming by the other day, Glad to have you Anytime.
Blacksandz Thanks, I appreciate you coming by and offering inspiration, :) :) :)
ROBIN! Thanks and Happy you came out to say hello and Kind words. All OK with You??

Heres todays update,as small as it is. Thanks!!

myspace

[ Edited by: Benzart 2008-01-11 12:31 ]

O.K. now you've really got me with the butt swirls! I'm O.K. Ben thanks for asking....glad you are too by the looks of this piece.

R.

WOW WOW WOW!!!
Can't say in words how exhilirating scrolling through the last 3 pages has been (in a non-sicko type of way!).
Great to receive such a pleasant and different surprise after a while away from your thread Ben - all the best for the finishing touches!
cheers.

Benzart,

I love it, this tiki is probably the best that I have seen.
Excellent work.

Just though I would come out of my hole and give you some praise on your latest masterpiece.

Be Safe,
Will

Nice Benz, the butt shot put me into a tantalizingly hypnotic
state.

Thanks Again Robin, Had I known about the butt swirls I would have used it Long long ago, Ha. Yes this piece has been good medicine. You gonna stick around awhile? I've Missed you.

Harro Thanks Man, Glad you came back, see what you miss when you stay away. I should be shipping this guy out by Next Friday so you will have a weeks worth of updates to enjoy. Thanks again for the comps.

Will, Are my Eyes working right? All these Peeps who have not been around in awhile show up tonight, is it a conspiracy? Thanks for the Praise and kind words, How you been?

Seeker, Hypnotized by Ben's Butt, Big headlines....I'll be careful with those butt shots from now on :lol: :lol: :lol:Thanks again Seeksurf..

Probably won't get to do any updates on Sherry's time this weekend so Monday I'll be Baaack.

Awesome!

Sweet yet naughty at the same time!

Ben, it is about time he gets his moko, he was beginning to remind me of the Gollum, with his "furless cat"-looking skin...
But in a way, he is like the Gollum: Just like that character set new standards in world of CG effects, this baby is a new step on the evolution ladder of Tiki carving. Just that it is not computer animation, it is WOOD animation! Magical.

Well Well Well, Will Wonders Never Cease?
BamBooBen, Tiki(thecheekytiki)Diablo, bigbrotiki the Book godfather his own self
Benny I want your Mug Thanks for the Comp does your wife know you are out playing?? Stick around awhile!
TikikDiablo at least you cleaned up the language for posting on my thread? Nice to see you here these daze. Thanks man Sincerely!
Bigbrotiki thanks for the kind words. I could never let this guy go without at least Some semblance of his moko, wouldn't wanna leave him naked or anything you know. Yes Gollum kept coming up in my mind too and I couldn't wait to get to the point where he could show his true colors. I think the Peeps were Expecting me to give him more Smeagol/Gollum ""We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false! ""

type features and just hope it would pass as tiki but my intent from the start was only a 3-D, or "In-the-round" creation of a plain old Hei-Tiki. We All know that benzarts usually end up with more human features that tiki and this would be no different .
You old coot, you always know what's going on someway don't you. Thanks Sven!

On 2008-01-12 19:38, Benzart wrote:

...but my intent from the start was only a 3-D, or "In-the-round" creation of a plain old Hei-Tiki...

"only"??,"plain old"?? This is shaping up to be the coolest damn hei-tiki of all time Ben!! This piece has just moved the bar to soaring heights & wherever it ends up will become the Mecca of tiki carvers.. Awe inspiring!

Ben Davis? - only a plain old carver.. :wink:

T :)

Tama, Thanks for your More than Kind words, I was Hoping you might like this guy. I've had Tons of fun getting him to come out of the wood. Glad to see you hanging around here again too!.

Heres another update .

Just a bit more moko and some hand rubbed poly and he'll be ready to go by weeks end.

Ohhhhhhh!

Hi Ben; I just caught this thread and I've got to tell you what I said aloud the moment I saw this guy. "How the [expletive deleted] does he DO that?!" This is already an AMAZING piece of work! I feel like I should look away or my head will explode, but I just CAN'T!

:o

Top first class, man.

:o

Ohhh GMAN, Thanks :lol:
Silverline, Thanks for the kind words and comps. NICE to see you around here again, I have Missed your posts, any recent carvings???
Ben, Thanks, As Always!

I forgot to say that the amazing thing to me is that he really looks alive. Tortured, perhaps, but alive. There's some real magic in this carving. :)

[ Edited by: TheBigT 2008-01-15 12:25 ]

Ben,

I have been doing well. Working a lot at my day job. I believe that working is over rated and that it gets in the way of fun and tiki carving time. It seem like the only time I can check this forumn is at work behind my bosses back.

However, I have been carving a little every day and am trying out new mediums.

You're last tiki made me bite the bullit and risk getting reprimanded at work because I couldn't resist putting in my two cents worth.

Take care,
Will

Thanks BigT, Appreciate the comps but it's ME that is Tortured, by This guy trying to tell me how to do the carving, he just does not understand todays tools and would mess himself up if I listened to him> :lol:
WILL! Thanks Again for risking getting in trouble to come see my stuff, Hope you don't get into trouble, it's not Worth it! Glad to hear you are still carving and can't Wait to see your new stuff. :) :)
Heres the latest update, all the carving is done and all he needs are a few more coats of poly and some buffing out, then he'll take to the skies heading north to the Cold Country!

Looking Fantastic Benz.

Just Unreal vision and execution. Superb!

amazing!

Sweeeet :D So how are you going to top this one eh?

The bar was definitely raised on this one. Major compliments.

Seeker, Thanks
McTiki Thank you too
Harro you too Thanks
Hewey, Thanks and I don't know If I Ever will top this one!
Thanks JohnnyP, Appreciate your inspiration..
This is the Last pic update with all the Poly layered on and Ready to go, though I may have to keep him around a few weeks just to look at since I don't want him to leave...Right.

:)

Splendid Benzo.

CHOICE BEN! Can't wait until the next one!

Aloha Ben!!!
That carving is just incredable my friend! I cant wait to see what your up to Next!I'l stop by next week and leave some wood chips in your driveway again,Mahalo for all your insight,wisdom and time Aloha, your friend, jimmy Mooney

Fantastic one of my favorites from you and
i have looked at many pic's of yours.

How do you let him go?

Amazing! I love a good swirly tikibutt! The rest of him is really nice too! :wink:

I can't help but giggle when I look at this one. You are absolutely
nuts. What are you gonna do next?

I think we can use the word 'breathtaking' this time, Ben. Wow.

Fabulous
Perfect work
I'm always amazed by your finished pieces.
The grain is simply perfect, I'm sure you spent lots of time with a 4000 grit to give it this smoothy smooth look !

Thanks,

Benjamin.

Yo Benzart!
I feel as though I'm the luckiest guy in TikiTown today!

I still cannot believe that it's actually mine!

Mine! Yes! All Mine!

Other than being absolutely speechless, I do have to say this: the shenanigans you and Zaya pulled over on me for last couple of weeks REALLY made it a much bigger surprise for me, and it was the icing on the proverbial cake. Hats off to you Buddy! Good one! For some reason, all the events that led up to this seem to all make sense, like it was supposed to happen the way it all did. As`you sometimes say: Happyhappyhappy!
I'm proud to own this piece, and I know how much it means to you. I feel SO lucky to have it. When I got it last night, I couldn't stop looking at it or take it out of my hand for about a half hour. It's just amazing! I will treasure it forever.

I'd like to thank you for making this, thank Zaya for making it happen, and thank the both of you for your web of deceit! The piece stands out alone on its own merits, but the story that goes along with it adds an extra layer of specialness to it for me. That makes it extra+extra special, and that's really special. Thanks you guys! I forgive you for all the lies...

It's the nicest thing in my house right now. I think I need to go build a nice room around him...When the house catches on fire late one night, it's the first thing I'll grab on my way out!

Thanks, thanks, and thanks!
Buzzy Out!

Greetings Loki, Thanks for the comps and Great to see you here again, How ya' been?
Thanks Babalu, Me too, not sure what I'm gonna do next.
Mooney, thanks for the kind words and you can leave tiki-chips here Any time!
Seeker thanks for the props, I don't know How I let him slip away, he said he was on a Mission and I had No choice. (&(%)(&*&^Little Brat
Jen, Every tiki-butt I do is there mostly for you and this one was no exception, Thanks for the inspiration! :) :) :)
Thanks Conga, It's This guys Fault, He drove me Totally Nutz. Next I'm gonna get sane. :lol:
Pappy thanks, appreciate you sticking your neck out there. "Breathtaking"? I dunno!
Ben, yes this guy had More than His share of Hand sanding, WAY Too much, but it was fun, THANKS.

Mr Buzzy,, What can I say, Zaya and I have been plotting this for about 3 weeks, Barely when he had his fingers showing. It has been Fun trying to create Mis-directions and throwing you off course. The nite we all were Shouting and I asked you if you wanted it we were absolutely splitting a gut it was So funny. I apologize for all that but we Had to keep it a suprise. I really am happy that you have this little guy except that All my carving knowledge is tied up and showing in this guy and Now you will know as much as I do! Thanks for all your kind words and compliments,
HappyHappyHAPPY!

great finish on the tiki Ben, and a great story about its lucky recipient too!

You're a real lucky (Tiki) guy Buzz!!

top stuff :) :) :)

That is so COOL! Buzzy ends up with the little man.
RIGHT ON BUZZY, what a GEM! Love the "when the house
catches fire its the first thing i will grab".
Big Props to the Benz Master.

Ohhhh, this is soooo ripe!! :) :) :)

BIG Cograts BUZZY! I just love it!! Zaya, your the bomb lady!

The world spins just the way it's suppose to doesn't it :)

[ Edited by: Babalu 2008-01-18 18:50 ]

"The world spins just the way it's supposed to doesn't it"

Yes, sometimes it does. Super job Benz. Congrats Buzz...I know you'll treasure him....

Benzart-

I posed this question to BK on his thread, but I'm curious about your thoughts as well..

What do you feel has been the most difficult or challenging piece you've carved to date? And was it coming up with the design or the actual carving that made it tougher than others??

Excellent work as always! You really got into the details on the Hei-Tiki..

Thanks harro, Seeker, Babalu and GMAN, I appreciate the kind words and encouragement, This guy has been special all along and working with Zaya to try keeping Buzzy from knowing what was going on was really a trip and it made it that much more special. Thanks

Capt'n Skully, Thank you too for your compliments and kind words. The answer to your question:
"What do you feel has been the most difficult or challenging piece you've carved to date? And was it coming up with the design or the actual carving that made it tougher than others??" .

Right now it's easy, This last piece I completed was by far the most difficult piece I have done to date. This is the Only piece that required me to sculpt a model in clay before being able to sculpt it in wood. The Wood itself was difficult to carve and make it do what I wanted it to do let alone the pose of the piece being so unusual as far as having done one before and having to figure it out every step of the way. On top of all that was the fact that this was going to another carver who would pick it apart trying to understand every cut, scrape and gouge and trying to understand how it was done.
There were several times it was almost Banished to the "BOX", that pile of unfinished, unloved pieces waiting for salvation hopefully some day in the future when the mood is right. The Box from which few ever escape, full of misfits and mistakes, Misshapen some with broken limbs and All with broken hearts and All hoping to get someones attention.
I am Very Happy it was finished and I am proud of how well it turned out.
Again I want to thank everyone who helped me with this guy!

Thanks for the answer, Ben.. Can't wait to see what you come up with next!

(And as you would say- I think you should let me dispose of 'the Box' for you.. All that misfit mana is sure to do you no good.)

Curly Lono! Curly Lono!! Curly Lono!!!

Are you working on a Lono for someone?