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Crazy AL Tiki !?! New stuff of old stuff? pg.19 |
little lost tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 12, 2006
Posts: 7459
From: Orange,CA-right near the Circle!
|  Posted: 2006-10-11 1:45 pm Permalink
Can't wait to see a whole mess of Crazy Al madness on Friday! You are the MAN! There's a special magic seeing these guys in person! Al, make sure to take a nice nap and eat well on the big day,a little bit of chillin before the show will store up all that crazy energy ,ready to be unleashed that night! Hope you're more excited than stressed! This will definetely be the show of the year! Congrats!
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Capt'n Skully
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 28, 2005
Posts: 404
From: The Lost Lagoon
| Posted: 2006-10-11 2:53 pm Permalink
They may call you crazy- You're Insane!!! The detail in your carvings is astounding.. I love the way you wrapped the tongue through the teeth and the character in the fingers and wings. Absolutely amazing work!
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10306
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2006-10-11 6:31 pm Permalink
I think you have been hanging with Paaipo here recently, Beware,Beware, jxxxxrjivvvzxer and don't you ever, Ever repeat that.
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MEAN GENE
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 09, 2004
Posts: 385
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2006-12-08 11:25 am Permalink
That thing is wicked sick Dude!
See ya at the show tomorow...
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Queen Kamehameha
Grand Member (7 years) 
Joined: Oct 21, 2003
Posts: 1370
From: So Cal
| Posted: 2006-12-08 1:32 pm Permalink
Al, You do the most incredible stuff! I am awed.....
Thank you for sharing this new one, love it
Amy
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Mr. Dale
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 26, 2004
Posts: 300
From: a garage somewhere in Arvada, Colorado
| Posted: 2006-12-08 1:44 pm Permalink
Oh my Gawd oh my gawd oh my gawd oh my gawd.......I'm goin blind mama and you can't stop me......
Crazy Al walks on water!
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crazy al
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 25, 2002
Posts: 1782
From: CA
| Posted: 2008-03-19 7:23 pm Permalink
Here's CrazyAL Tiki#141 "the Bird Dance"
http://tikimania.com/docs/bt_141.html
This sculpture really had a mind of it's own from the start. I never know what my finished tiki will look like. This is half the fun of sculpting and also why there is much time spent on each piece by myself.
Tiki#141 started as a commission with the infamous instructions, "Do what ever you like!, your the artist..." Great! or great... blank page syndrome...
So I decided to do an idea I've had for many years!!
Tiki#141 would be another exploration into Cross-Polynesi-ation such as Tiki#13 "Keeper of the Charm" sitting Buddha style. However, Tiki#141 would be inspired by these Hindu images
I thought I was all original, and unique, and creative, and every thing else I tried to be with my Buddha like Tiki#13 in 1998. Then, within a year or two, I found this flier in the Limbo Lounge... what the????
I guess someone else had this idea to mix things up.
This one legged stance is something I've taken on personally since 1990 or so... using it many times in self-portraits during school... and photo ops ever since...(dang psychic Ben)
As I stated, I don't usually know what my tikis will end up looking like. I start with a general idea that I will sketch onto the log. This time, with a commission at hand, and a complex sculpt in the works, I did this drawing for the client.
the 'tusk' of the original Hindu-influence concept remained in the finish piece
However, as I was starting the sculpt, a visiting friend stated to me, "you're actually going to sculpt it in a 'Kung-Fu' pose??"
From then on... the project really went to the birds...
The left hand was to be empty and hold another 'curio-tiki'. This is something I've done previously with other sculptures. But, while sculpting the hand, this appeared.
With the [karate kid] 'Crane Pose' stuck in my head, and the challenge of sculpting a perfect egg shape, I had the movie 'Rapa Nui' pop into my head. The movie had a great scene about the race to find the first egg on these little islands off the cost of Easter Island... so a sculpting I did egg-go...
Then, as i worked on the egg, I remembered a book I read parts of at the Coon Tiki Carving weekend. It stated that the Maori Hei Tiki or Infant Tiki symbol might be designed after bird embryos... and that Maori tikis in general have bird attributes. So now the piece really got my interest up. Combining the two different Island cultures was going to make a great sculpt.
Thanks Paipo!! I did not have the references I had read earlier, and I did not want to trust my memory. Paipo confirmed my bird-brain idea with some great articles he had. He sent these to me.
http://www.tikimania.com/imgs/products/141/TC/bird1.jpg
http://www.tikimania.com/imgs/products/141/TC/bird2.jpg
http://www.tikimania.com/imgs/products/141/TC/bird3.jpg
http://www.tikimania.com/imgs/products/141/TC/bird4.jpg
one item revealed an Owl design? the horn like design on these images represent the tuffs on the owl's head.
this in turn really validated my wanting to use this image within the new egg concept.
Since the Maori Owl over sees 'life' and death, I used it instead of the classic Hei Tiki with a more round head.
While roaming the net for more reference, I found out why Maori tikis are carved with crazy designs all over them (and this was from a travel site). This might be common knowledge, but seeing as I do little research until I need to, I had no clue that the maniacal spirals all over Maori tikis are ferns! or new fern leaf buds that represent 'new life', growth, or strength.
check this green stone sculpt i found!! nice!
Now, check this out! From my original 'pre-bird' concept sketch, my eye design became the perfect 'Bird-skull' design! and worked great with the classic Maori Abalone Eyes!
which worked great with Maori bird designs
as well as the Easter Island bird cult images
yes... back to the Bird-Man...
this image is all over the cliffs overlooking the 'egg contest' cost.
There was a terrible civil war in which the MOAI were cast down, and a new cult sprang up which introduced TANGATA-MANU, the Bird-Man.
I was familiar with the 'Bird-Man' Cult, not only from the Kevin Costner movie, but from a book I had.
But check this out...more weirdness... I found this image after I had already started my Egg in hand idea. I never found the original historic work, just this drawing and contemporary work
So onto Easter Island... I let the natural condition of the material dictate allot of the final look of my pieces.. Here again a wired perfect fit... I found this image. I did not record it's meaning... but it looked cool... so saved it..
and Bing Bang Boom it fit right into both shoulders of Tiki#141
as well did the Sacred Tablet writings of Easter Island peoples...
which seemed to read between the lines as well.
I put selected glyphs together that looked bird like
and even got a whole sentence? or two right from the original text!
I hope it does not tell somebody's mother to "Go take a Bird Bath!" or some thing like that. I found a site that was all about the tablets, but it was in French
I translated this one as 'man with feather'
maybe Squid could translate the rest...may be not...
this is a web site I just found, it is in english.
http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/fischer.html
here's another full sentance form the tablets I was able to use.
I sure hope it says something good....
like go cave another tiki, turkey!................
[ This Message was edited by: crazy al 2008-03-24 10:16 ]
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congatiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2004
Posts: 2406
From: wisconsin northwoods
| Posted: 2008-03-19 7:35 pm Permalink
Great Tiki and great read. Thanks for taking the time to post all the
reference stuff. Now if you would only be so kind as to build another
Tiki for us to see.
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seeksurf
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2007
Posts: 2144
From: Buckley, WA
| Posted: 2008-03-19 7:46 pm Permalink
Crazy, crazy al i loved the mini story and i learned something.
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hewey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4270
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2008-03-19 7:49 pm Permalink
Wow man - such great ideas into 1 tiki!  Looks awesome too
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kreepytiki lounge & tattoos
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 09, 2008
Posts: 63 | Posted: 2008-03-19 7:57 pm Permalink
i second that ...mad man carver ...u da baddest bro
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Paipo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 22, 2006
Posts: 1886
From: Aotearoa / NZ
| Posted: 2008-03-19 8:56 pm Permalink
Wow. We had to wait since 2006 for an update for this thread, but boy was it worth it! I'm stoked I was able to contribute in some small way to the magnificence of this piece! Great insight into your working methods....
As for this guy:
..he was another very good choice considering your themes.
David Attenborough did an amazing doco that discusses this god that I can't recommend enough. A whole show about a single carved tiki!
The Lost gods of Easter Island
A decent quality preview is here...the carving he's researching is just incredible. I've watched it (the whole show that is) about 4 times now!
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Lake Surfer
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 21, 2002
Posts: 3308
From: Milwaukee, WI
| Posted: 2008-03-20 01:00 am Permalink
Outstanding, Al.
Your mind works in amazing and bizarre ways.
The detail in your work is insane, this one even more so.
The story behind the tiki is just sweet, sweet frosting on the cake.
One of a kind!
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Babalu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 19, 2006
Posts: 2498
From: Lemon Grove
| Posted: 2008-03-20 08:00 am Permalink
Amazing work as always Al, it's wonderful that you posted the research steps you took prior to this carve.
I find it intriguing how you take direction from the ancients and add to that your own vision. Your style is most definitely your own.
I guess every artist at some point has to put some type of definition to the ole art vs. craft thing...For me, the difference is that art tends to read more like a book. It stimulates and motivates the the viewer to contemplate long after they have walked away from the the piece. Art is not just a pretty, or well made object...it goes beyond it's physical existence and takes the viewer on a journey.
Thanks for sharing this art.
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Surf tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 28, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Va Beach
| Posted: 2008-03-20 08:17 am Permalink
[ I found a site that was all about the tablets, but it was in French
Best I can do, I'm really rusty:
Flying bird
Red flying bird (although how you get red from a stone carving I don't know)
Bird with long beak
Sleeping bird
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