Leaning Tiki
This piece is the other half of a tree stump that makes up "The Landing Broken Nose". A remodel/addition of a high school was occurring, a friend of mine lived across the street, he obtained couple sections of a newly cut down Red Cedar tree and gave one to me, so very nice and thoughtful. I split it in half and this is the second half.
I'm attracted to the idea that as an artist, I can, on a whim, stop all current projects and commitments to pursue a truly inspirational idea. One that just won't leave my head, despite all attempts to listen to reason, making sure this isn't some stupid, flimsy idea. Because it can cost, create trouble. There is much freedom with this idea, free, on a chance, not tied so firmly to commitments and the daily grind of time and schedules.
With this piece I put the above idea to use. I had returned from a vacation in Hawaii, I had left with the idea on my return to start making chairs to go with our kitchen table. What we use now is a disparate and at times desperate group of wooden chairs, none match. Hawaii is such a beautiful place, I came back relaxed, lighter, relieved somehow and I could not get this idea out of my mind nor out of my desire. The idea to carve a Tiki, after seeing so many beautifully carved Tiki's in Hawaii. Interestingly, there are Tiki carvers in Hawaii that demonstrate publicly their carving techniques. The mallet they use to hit the chisel is like a wood stick. I was under the impression that this stick mallet was more for show than real use. It seemed so small, ineffective and yet when I returned home I found a nice sized Locust branch to try as a mallet and it worked quite well.
Many conifers grow with a protruding, spiral bulge that grows outside the round diameter of the tree. The grain of the wood is the same as the rest of the tree, it's not a burl or twisty grain, sometimes it grows the entire length of the tree, sometimes just in places. This Red Cedar tree had such a growth and I tried to incorporate it into the finished piece. This spiral growth is what creates the lean. I drew, in charcoal the untouched half of this stump with the growth clearly visible, the lean, and then drew the Tiki over this first drawing using the growth, to make the lean in the Tiki.
37 " x 19 1/2 " x 9 1/2"
Red Cedar
$1,500.00
I'm attracted to the idea that as an artist, I can, on a whim, stop all current projects and commitments to pursue a truly inspirational idea. One that just won't leave my head, despite all attempts to listen to reason, making sure this isn't some stupid, flimsy idea. Because it can cost, create trouble. There is much freedom with this idea, free, on a chance, not tied so firmly to commitments and the daily grind of time and schedules.
With this piece I put the above idea to use. I had returned from a vacation in Hawaii, I had left with the idea on my return to start making chairs to go with our kitchen table. What we use now is a disparate and at times desperate group of wooden chairs, none match. Hawaii is such a beautiful place, I came back relaxed, lighter, relieved somehow and I could not get this idea out of my mind nor out of my desire. The idea to carve a Tiki, after seeing so many beautifully carved Tiki's in Hawaii. Interestingly, there are Tiki carvers in Hawaii that demonstrate publicly their carving techniques. The mallet they use to hit the chisel is like a wood stick. I was under the impression that this stick mallet was more for show than real use. It seemed so small, ineffective and yet when I returned home I found a nice sized Locust branch to try as a mallet and it worked quite well.
Many conifers grow with a protruding, spiral bulge that grows outside the round diameter of the tree. The grain of the wood is the same as the rest of the tree, it's not a burl or twisty grain, sometimes it grows the entire length of the tree, sometimes just in places. This Red Cedar tree had such a growth and I tried to incorporate it into the finished piece. This spiral growth is what creates the lean. I drew, in charcoal the untouched half of this stump with the growth clearly visible, the lean, and then drew the Tiki over this first drawing using the growth, to make the lean in the Tiki.
37 " x 19 1/2 " x 9 1/2"
Red Cedar
$1,500.00