Large Tiki - Five Feet

 Large Tiki - Five Feet

A few elements of this tiki inspired by:

Traditional Maori mokos
Ancient adornments of Britannia
Maori haka tongue
Maori fish hooks
Lahainan Tikis

This five-foot tiki took the island artist many hours to complete. The goal was a high degree of detail and a menacing look. The Popeye forearms were not planned, but a happy accident.

A considerable amount of wood needs to be chiseled out to create a large, gaping mouth like his. Went deliberately deep with all cuts here.

Made from a carefully-selected log from the pressure-treated pine forests of deep South Texas.

The beginnings of a tiki

Sadness at covering up the pretty sanded wood

Tiki guarding the gulf coast like a Moai

Haka tongue - Almost lifelike

Available now- 

Paperback copies of Mark's tiki book "Every Tiki has a Spirit"

-Full color and black and white versions- 

Tiki Books

Books by Mark Ferdinand

Tiki Acrobats

Two Man Tiki Acrobats

6 Feet Tall

A few elements of this tiki inspired by:

Maori haka tongue
Marquesan island tikis
Pacific Northwest totems
Robots

Made from a carefully-selected log from the pressure-treated pine forests of deep South Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available now- 

Paperback copies of Mark's tiki book "Every Tiki has a Spirit"

-Full color and black and white versions- 

Every Tiki has a Spirit

Books by Mark Ferdinand

All-black Tiki - Deep Ebony

Deep Ebony Five-Footer Tiki carving

Tikis up to this point had been of a lighter mono-stain combined with highlights of depths and shadows.

 
Creating an all-black, deeply-black, tiki was something that had yet to be attempted. It was important to concentrate on depth. Without sufficient depth of cuts the details could be lost in the uniform, deep ebony stain.



Made from a carefully-selected log from the pressure-treated pine forests of deep South Texas.

Pre-staining.
Always a bit of regret for having to cover
up freshly sanded beauty.

Quality, high-resolution photos on this piece have regretfully been lost to hard-drive mishaps. Current location of this artifact is unknown, but thought to be in the hands of a local collector.

Available now- 

Paperback copies of Mark's tiki book "Every Tiki has a Spirit"

-Full color and black and white versions- 

Every Tiki has a Spirit

 

 

 

 

Books by Mark Ferdinand

Topknot Palm Tiki

Topknot Texas Tiki - Palm

A few elements of this tiki inspired by:

Traditional Maori mokos
Traditional San Diego tribal tattoos circa 1996
Maori pre-haka tongue (It's about to reveal itself, it just hasn't yet)
A basket my mom gave me.

Pukao - Topknot adornments placed on Easter Island Moai. In this Texas tiki is it a recognition of his authority and position of status on the island.

 

Tiki exposing his tuchus as if to say
"Hey! Look at my tuchus!"

This tiki made from a log from:

Washingtonia robusta (Mexican Fan Palm)

 

 

 

 

 

Available now- 

Paperback copies of Mark's tiki book "Every Tiki has a Spirit"

-Full color and black and white versions- 

Every Tiki has a Spirit

Books by Mark Ferdinand