Wahine of the Week: Ruby Peru ...

It's Tuesday and so time to warm the Southern Hemisphere Winter here on the Secret Island with my Wahine of the Week. This week I bring you Ruby Peru.

Now I have to admit that I know absolutely nothing about Ruby although I do know that she is the perfect accompaniment to a Tiki carved by none other than Marcus Thorn.

Tiki Beat Carving Workshop with Marcus Thorn ...

Last weekend I jumped in the outrigger canoe and did a bit of Island hopping. Leaving behind the Wahine and the savages for a weekend in Sydney at the Tiki Beat Carving Workshop hosted by Tiki Centralite and top host Hewey. Tiki Beat is artist and sculptor Marcus Thorn who is literally carving himself as one of the World's best Tiki carvers.

Self taught Marcus has been carving for fifteen years... I hoped that just a little of his talent might rub off on me ... time will tell! We all started off the first morning by investigating the contents of our very own Tiki Beat carving tool kit.... three chisels and a mallet ... we would all have all become close friends by the end of the second day.

Image by Hewey.

We all set about carving our half logs under the watchful eye of the master. He had already drawn a traditional Tiki design (... does that count as an original!?!) as a starting point. First thing I noticed was that it was hard work... it certainly gave me an appreciation of the work that went into those carvings I pick up at thrift stores for next to nothing! Marcus looked at total ease with the tools in hand, he had total control over everything, making the wood do exactly what he wanted it to. I could have watched him all day work on my Tiki ... but it was clear from the start that he wanted it to be my work!

Image by Hewey.

As the hours passed, the sandwiches and biscuits disappeared and the pile of wood chips grew! Marcus was always on hand to encourage, praise or help you re-carve the nose that you just removed too much of!

I loved having the opportunity to do something creative and making the commitment to a two day course meant that I was focused on the carving and learning the skills necessary to start out right. Its a beginning, my first Tiki... okay and its not finished yet I know ... but I also know that I want to keep carving and that I'm a lot further along the road than I would have been without the Tiki Beat workshop.

If you are reading this and you are in Australia and you've an appreciation of carving  then I thoroughly  recommended that you check out  Tiki Beat for details of a workshop near you. Its a great couple of days with like minded people and a great carver. He's passionate about what he does, wants to share it with you, but also has the skills and most importantly the ability to teach you how! What are you waiting for?


Marcus Thorn - Tiki Beat.
Marcus Thorn - Newspaper Article.

Carving to a Tiki Beat ...

Next weekend I'll be putting down the weekend tools which keep the shack here on the Secret Island just about standing, waving goodbye to the Wahine and the primitives and making my way down the coast for some more pleasurable work with tools!

Hewey blogmaster for Kustom Kulture Australia is proud to host the Sydney round of the Tiki Beat carving workshops featuring one of the World's best carvers Marcus Thorn! On the 13th and 14th of November I'll attempt to carve my very own tiki under the watchful gaze of a master - no pressure! At the end of it I'll hopefully have my very own tiki, or at the very least a pile of wood chips and my very own tools (included in the cost!) to practice some more on my return!....  Is it me or are the palm trees here trembling!!!

Places are limited so if you’re interested shoot Marcus an email on Tikibeat@bigpond.com. Tune in next week for a review of the workshop and an image of something loosely resembling a Tiki ...