These tiki's were carved out of palm trees which had been topped because the tops were interfering with electrical lines. This is at an apt. complex in my neighborhood. One guy did these in two days with a chain saw. Pretty cool !
The pictures aren't that great, sorry. 3 more to follow.
another shot
another
last one
Okay, I'm officially envious. And you get to look at them every day! Love the idea of turning them into art, since they'll probably die now anyway. : - (
Frowning face is for them dying, there is a happy face for the creative and distinctive artwork they are now.
JD, save them and enter one in the photo contest, yard art category. A sure fire winner for me anyway!
Thanks for sharing, you've been silent too long. You've been missed.
WIB~
SW
You need to actually be standing in front of them to get the full effect of the artistry involved in the carvings. They're also in a difficult place to photograph because of the way the sun moves throughout the day...plus I'm a lousy photographer. LOL
The guy who did them was very short and stocky and looked like he was Tongan or some sort of island ancestry. When I first saw him up on the trunks I thought he was some maniac the way he was swinging the chain saw around and contorting himself to hang on with one hand and operate the chain saw with the other. You couldn't really tell what it was he was doing because of the debris making a huge cloud around him and all around everything else.
When they're WET, the details really jump out. I guess the deeper cuts abosrb water differently than the other parts and so on.
No telling how long they'll last, but they're WAY cool. You can see people drive past them, stop, then back up and study them. At any given time, you can see people staring up at them and marveling at the skill it took to do them.
Great work!
I agree - take more photos and some close-up shots for the photo contest.
JasperDale, your photos may not be exactly what you want, but they are better than you think. Sometimes we are our own worst critics. : - )
Practice! If you aren't happy, keep trying until you are. I imagine that the sun moving throughout the day also affects the appearance of the tiki trees. : - )
I still think they are beautiful. What I think would be fun is to get photos of the passers by, faces as they first see them. : - )
I'm easily amused. : - )
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf
Wow that guy did a great job and not just at the bottom of the trunk. You say his was climbing and doing that while holding on with his other hand? No harness or one of those things that make a sling behind you? He obviously has experience, or he would no longer have TWO hanS!
Brilliant work. That guy sure has talent.
Yes, it was pretty amazing to watch him. He MAY have used a ladder at some point, but when I saw him he was harness free and straddling himself between the trunks (you can see they're planted very close together) holding the chain saw. Then I saw him hanging by one arm but there was so much dust and debris flying it was difficult to see what was holding him in position. He probably had spiked shoes on his feet...who knows ?
Since I never saw him begin the entire process, I have no clue if he drew the shapes or designs on the drunks to start with or just "winged it".
I did see an assortment of chain saws on the ground around him, so he must have had certain ones for the detailing, etc.
Since I know nothing about tiki's or totems, there may be some sort of symbolism or story/folklore behind each one, since they appear to be different.
