BenZart...MaoriChief, Glass pendant Update Today

Ben,

The Hei-Tiki with the hand in his mouth really intrigued me. Never seen anything like it.

Out on another research trip today I finally found the little buggers...

Nice work once again... you nailed it!

Damn Benz!!! Have you and Gman been watching the Ultimate Fighter together? Get better soon!

Craig

Yo Benzo,

Is your nose still outta joint? Plug up that beak and get to grindin'. We need more of your juice here...

MAn, THANKS Everybody, I appreciate all the words of kindness and support. The Nose is getting better and I should be able ton do some light carving soon. The chisels send a message directly to the nose that says Stop but not for long. I'll get the stitches out next Friday then I think I'll be free! :)

Schnoz report?

Thanks Babalu,
That picture pretty much sums it up, BIG Schnozz, Totally Red infected eye, but I can breathe a bit better now. This was harder than I expected as it got infected then the eye got infected and an easy time was changed a bit. I'll be back one of these days though, I Promise but can't say when, yet! I Miss all you guyz a lot. I miss carving a Lot.
Thanks,
Benzart

We miss you too! Get better soon.

Thanks Conga!

Look mister infection, behave!! (we miss you a lot tough :) )

OK, i´m nosy, how´s the nose?
Must be a hard time right now. Get well soon.

There is another question: You and Babalu were discussing the use of this "crooked knife"a couple of weeks ago. I allways thought, these kinds of knives would be called hook-knives. Am I wrong? Maybe it is just incorrect translation. If i am wrong, what would be a hook-knife then? I was searching in the "Tools carvers use"-thread but did not find a good explanation. And all the pictures are gone in the olders postings, too. Can you help?
Thanks. tok-tok

Hey Tok-Tok,

There are some pics of Ben's hook knife in this thread:
Hook Knife Lesson

I use them quite a bit now. Even on very large carvings I will use it to clean up lines and deep places that a chisel wont reach.

It's very useful once you get comfortable using it. Just be aware of the direction you're caving and always know where your fingers are!

Ben, How are you? My thoughts are with you. Get well soon!

Thanks everyone. I am feeling much better and can't wait to get back to work!

I hope you're all healed up as soon as possible, but definity by May 4th or 5th! It looks like that's the timeframe for my 2-hour crash course in carving a tiki at the hands of the master! Okay, I don't really expect you to teach me to carve, but I am thrilled that you're allowing me to drop in, see the workshop, and meet you and your wife!

Get well, Ben! This place is a mere shadow of itself without your work gracing its pages.

So glad to hear you're feeling better Ben! Take it easy!

Thanks Guys, I AM feeling better and will be back carving Monday, Look for updates!

Take care of yourself and those precious hands, Ben. Glad you're feeling better.

Thanks Pappy!

Glad the probiscus is gettin better Ben!
Carving on Monday? Sweet!

Hey Ben,

Been a while since I posted or even looked in here. I hope all is well. Having had two septoplastys and and 2 Rhinoplastys, I feel your pain. Breathing at night without a CPAP is the goal though.

Can't wait to see whats next.

Mahalo

COMING SOON BENZART and his amazing next project!!!I cant wait and hope the recovery is moving better each day! I'll come by next week and mess up your driveway with some wood chips and the smell of slayed WOOD!,Get well my friend,Aloha, Mooney

WELL??!!

Well WHAT? Thanks everyone for all the kind words. As Predicted, I did some work today, Yeay, It Really felt great. A friend of mine returned from a trip to Africa with a carved Elephant about 14" tall and the trip sort of broke an ear off and she asked me if I could fix it and I said I'd try. So before beginning on my Swap piece I worked in this magnificent elephant, the Artist who did it is Awesome. Heres a few pic's even tho it isn't tiki

My project for the Swap will be a pendant Moko/Moai out of Zircote wood, I Hope there will be enough time.

Oh Yeah, This was the broken-off ear, you can see a bit on the inside.

Holy crap that elephant is crazy!
It looks just like skin.

I know whoever gets the pendant is going to stoked.

Yahoo! Benz is back with yet another beautiful carving started! And a tiny one to boot. So glad you're feeling better. Yay!

Good to see you back, even if it is only performing elephant ear surgery! Oh wait, there's a new pendant there too...sweet!
A friend of mine used to buy up those souvenir ebony elephants you see everywhere, and butcher them for their wood. I inherited a couple of these sad cases when he went back to Japan - maybe I could send 'em to you for "repair"? :lol:

Swap? What swap...? Oh #$%@!

Woooo! Good to see you carving again Ben, but even better that you're feeling better again. The pendant is some cool wood, cant wait to see it progress :D

Wow - the texture on that elephant is nuts!

Happy Happy Happy. Nice to see you finally stuck your nose back into some
wood. Spring is coming, Ben is back to carving, I guess everything works out
on the end.

HE's BACK!!!HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY, bens carvin again,glad your feelin better and back carvin. Looking forward to more of your amazing carvings and style,Aloha , your friend , mooney

Happy, happy, happy.

Ben.

Man Oh MAN, I'm So Happy everyone is HappyHappyHappy! Not as much as I am though. Thanks for all the comments and comps and all that stuff.
I even worked a bit today and heres the pix to show for it. The Evil/nice thing about using a Macro lens is it shows All the places that weren't sanded yet or are still unfinished. There is still Lots of work to do but it is coming along.

It's great to have you back posting. Somebody's going to be happy happy happy with that swap piece.

wow im always floored when i see your work brother benz...amazing ...

Lookin' beautiful as always, Ben. Glad your back~

Great work on the elephants. Not sure why a two-tone tiki but your carving (as always) is top notch.

MM-um love the wood color and grain.

WOW Looks great!

:D Yeeeaaa HappyHappyHappy BenZ!!! :D

Oh that's a very lucky elephant he has a top notch vet :)!
The swap piece is looking great too, happy you are happy :D !

On 2008-03-18 17:03, Benzart wrote:

Too cool!

" It's great to have you back posting. Somebody's going to be happy happy happy with that swap piece. "Thanks Johnny, Appreciate these words.

kreepytiki lounge & tattoos, Thanks for the kind words, but you should Try not to spend too much time on the floor :lol: :lol:

FastFreddi, Thanks for your words of wisdom and praise. I am Happy to be back too.

Pappythesailor, Thanks for the props on the elephants, It was a spectacular piece and I am really glad that the repair came out so well because she eventhought I would not be able to do it without it looking bad. I Was worried at first but that was unfounded, it turned out to be very easy to fix.
The Moko/Moai will be az two faced type of guy where dual looking wood would fit his dual personality, but honestly I just wanted to use that Ziricote wood since it is SO Spectacular. Thanks.

Thanks Seeks, You would probably love the Smell of the wood too as it is a very rich , sweet smell to it. Also it buffs and polishes up very well with a bit of Bees Wax. It's nit great for carving detail with any knife but power machined tools work well. The hook knife blade breaks right off and is difficult to control.Thanks again

Thanatos, Thanks for the kind words, Long time no see, Everything OK with you?? Thanks. You're in Tampa bay these days? Were you Always there?

Jonsesey, How 'ya doin', Man?? Happy it would seem, me too! HappyHappyHappy Thanks SO Much for the Giant box of Enthusiasm, and kind words.

Clarita, Clarita, Clarita, SO Happy and Positive and So Sweet Thanks for brightening my day! you have a Standing invitation to come around here Anytime you like, THANKS!

Hey Hodadhank, Thanks for the Cool Words, I think he's even Cooler Now, Check IT!

This guy is 5" tall and large for a pendant so I may create a stand for him too so he can have a permanent place to sit when not hangin' around someones neck
I hollowed his back out and refined the details and am ready for the Moko for what it is anyway. It would be great to see Tama get this one since he has the original I'm working off of, they are brothers in fact so there.
Here are todays Pictures, Enjoy

:) :) :) :) You are still the best. :) :) :) :)

On 2008-03-20 19:56, hiltiki wrote:
:) :) :) :) You are still the best. :) :) :) :)

yep!

benjamin

The "swap" piece is really nice Ben. I especially like the natural "moko" of the wood grain.

Thnaks Hiltiki, even tho you might have Blinders on. :lol:

Ben thanks to you too, you guys bought your blinders at the same place? :lol:

timidtiki thanks I love this grain but I'm still gonna carve it all up, but you will still see it, Thanks.

Here is the finished piece. The finish is heavy buffing with Bees Wax. He is 5 " tall, kind'a big for a pendant so I put him on a base and whoever gets him an let me know if they want it as a pendant too so I can drill and string him.

Thats one mean lookin' Maori Moai. The zircote really lends itself to the piece. I also like the way the patterning seems to fall over the features of the face, almost as if it is surface patterning. I was a little worried that adding the moko might detract from this, but once again you quietly prove why you are King..

That fella sure would look good round my neck - and has an older brother over here who would love to meet him also. I guess the only way to be in with a chance is to enter that swap-draw eh?

Glad to hear youve been feeling a bit better Ben - best wishes!

Tama :)

Very nice Ben. I think that's the best Moko yet. I'd sure like to get a sniff of that wood! I hope he stays in Florida. :wink:

Gorgeous work mate :D Feeling good to work some word again I bet eh?

Amazing~