[Lachlan]

Nice to meet you all, Ive lurked here for awhile decided to join the other day.
Ive been carving bone for about 1 yr, mainly the last 6 months though. Mostly I carve beef bone, pig tusk and dugong bone but Im looking to expand into antler, whale bone, wood, horn and other tusks and jade.

My main influence is nature and australian culture though Ive been inspired by some pieces Ive stumbled upon on the internet, kerry thompson comes to mind. Im not really sure what sort of carving I do, just whatever, certianly not influenced by maori culture though some of my carvings such as my twists are commonly seen in maori carvings.

Ill attach some photos for you in a while.

[fkvesic]

Welcome, Lachlan. There's lots on bone carving on the site for you to find. Enjoy the learning curve.

[Lachlan]

Ok here they are in chronological order

Attached image(s)

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[Lachlan]

The first ones up to the whale tail were made with all I had (was living in the bush in a remote area of australia). All I had was bones from the cattle we were hunting to live off (except shin bones, the dingoes always stole them before I could get them), a file and 240 and 1200 grain sandpaper. The red/black stuff is resin from a tree here, incredibly hardy.

About 6 months ago I got some beef shin and a dremal tool and everything after the whales tail has been done since. There are some dugong bones in there to, I find them in campfires or washed up on the beach but its illegal here to use them or sell them, ohwell. The last piece isnt finished yet. I might restain it as Im not happy with the contrast, want it blacker, also need to put my dot pattern on it.

The seahorse was inspired by one of kerry thompsons pieces, and the crossover twist was me working out how to make one, and was completely copied maori design.

[Ron Scupham]

Lachlan, on Jan 29 2010, 06:46 PM, said:

Nice to meet you all, Ive lurked here for awhile decided to join the other day.
Ive been carving bone for about 1 yr, mainly the last 6 months though. Mostly I carve beef bone, pig tusk and dugong bone but Im looking to expand into antler, whale bone, wood, horn and other tusks and jade.

My main influence is nature and australian culture though Ive been inspired by some pieces Ive stumbled upon on the internet, kerry thompson comes to mind. Im not really sure what sort of carving I do, just whatever, certianly not influenced by maori culture though some of my carvings such as my twists are commonly seen in maori carvings.

Ill attach some photos for you in a while.

Welcome mate!!
Not enough of us on here! I have been carving for a while now and i still consider myself as a novice! Where are you?
If your interested check this out. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.ph...mp;id=645417427
Feel free to ask anything!

[Lachlan]

hey mate,
Im about 30km north of bamaga, live up cape york QLD Where are you?
Nice pictures mate

[Ron Scupham]

Hey
I'm just down the road from Brisbane in a country town. Thanks for the rap! Just an idea for you if you want to get into retailing them, I use this site to sell,
check it out it might be helpfull. http://www.etsy.com It only costs to list an item 0.20cents for 3months. I use it and it gets me out there.
Have you tried making your own tools yet? All so on another note the resin you use in your pieces why no gather it and parcel it up and retail it. I'm sure people on this forum would be interested.
I love how you have incorperated the dot painting style of the natives into your pieces.

[Lachlan]

Thanks for the suggestion Ive got 2 places to sell at the moment, one is at a tourist resort up heere, second is a retail shop in nth NSW. Ill look into etsy though problem is I dont have that much stock at the moment, mostly I always jsut give them away to friends haha.... Working on making some up for sale though, plenty of designs, just nee dosme time.

I made my own gravers, mostly I use needle files, cant really think of any other tool I would need. The resin is probably best not gathered and sold it would kick up a stink with EPA.

[Ron Scupham]

I hope you put a reasonable price on them as I have seen others not pricing as to how many hours it takes from conception to finished product and setting the correct hourly rate. And of course typical Qlders they expect it to be cheap!
Talk again soon

[Lachlan]

I have done alot of research on pricing, both at market stalls and online. I expect my prices are reasonable, as yours are. Some works take along time, the dots themselves on some pieces take longer the the carvings to get them right! I often see bone carvings at markets selling for $10-$30 but they are covered in file markings, the backs are not smoothed etc.

[BoneArt]

Nice work!
I particularly like the fact that you have added a contemporary feel to traditional designs so they should be very popular.
I have been carving for 30+ years and know Kerry Thompson very well, in fact Kerry will be here tomorrow with some of his recent work which is simply stunning.
It is great that you can take inspiration from a master like Kerry without just copying his work as so many do.

As far as pricing goes you will never get a high return on the amount of work you put into a carving but set a price that makes you feel OK about it. Definitely don't try to compete on price with the imported Chinese made rubbish, sell on quality and authenticity and you will do well.

[Billy]

Love your work Lachlan. The indigenous flavour on your surface design is fantastic. Fresh and beautiful.

I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Billy