Carved work from American Samoa

[David Somers]

Hey Everyone!

I have been working in American Samoa the last 2 weeks. Heading home late Thursday night. While here I had a chance to get together with a friend who is a native Western Samoan (neighboring islands) who does traditional carving for a living. He happened to have some photos of some recent work with him. He agreed to let me share them with you folks. We thought that even though the work is wholly carved, as opposed to our technique of turning then carving, that some folks might be interested in the techniques and patterns used here.

My friends name is John Lafa'ele. He lives in Leone on the Island of Tutuila in American Samoa. (about 16 degrees below the equator 1 time zone west of Hawaii.

The woods used in these photos are....
Afa - the yellowish wood
Mamala - The reddish colored wood
Ifi Lele - Polynesian Teak
Samoan Mahogany
Kaumanu - (this is the same Kaumanu we have in Hawaii)
The black die used is made from the soot of the burned Kukui nut, also something we have in Hawaii.
Each piece is then given a coat or two of spray on Varnish (a urethane varnish I think)

The bowls with legs are Kava bowls, used to prepare the drink Kava, made from the Kava root. It is a mildly narcotic drink used for ceremonies and celebrations. It is prepared with something that approaches the reverence that Japanese people will put into a tea ceremony.

The weapons are traditional Samoan weapons. (with the exception of the one that looks suspiciously like it was designed after watching a Batman movie? It was in fact, designed after watching a Batman movie. The other 2 are 2 of 6 very traditional war club designs Samoans used.

The other bowls are utility bowls used as serving platters and dishes and fruit bowls.

Our apologies for the poor quality photos. These were all John had with him and I did not have time to go to his side of the island and get better shots for him. Perhaps on the next trip.

If you have any comments or questions for John let me know. He does not have email so I need to pass it through some other folks on the island. I am sure he would be delighted to answer any questions you have!

I hope you folks enjoy these and perhaps get some ideas from them! And Talofa from John and me in American Samoa!!

Dave Somers

 

[Richard Baker]

Very cool, Dave! Thanks for sharing the pictures and information.

 

[jimwtolly]

Dave, that is NICE work!!

 

[S. Clark]

The curves in these bowls sure look turned to me; amazing uniformity and consistency in the arc. What type of tools are being used in the carving process? Are the patterns measured out to specific dimensions or are the shapes simply carved to the available dimensions of the stock?

- Scott

 

[David Somers]

The curves in these bowls sure look turned to me; amazing uniformity and consistency in the arc. What type of tools are being used in the carving process? Are the patterns measured out to specific dimensions or are the shapes simply carved to the available dimensions of the stock?

- Scott

Scott,

His tools are the typical gouges and chisels used by hand carvers all over. When I have seen him work he relied on a mallet a lot, especially in the roughing stage. I am not sure how he eventually smooths the bowls and gets them to look so "turned." His patterns are carved using much smaller gouges; v and u shapes, and also what looks to me like a slightly oversized Chip carving Knife. Many of his tools are handmade. I am afraid I don't know if he carefully measures things out before carving. I suspect it is largely freehanded after perhaps marking a few key points. Incidentally, many of these designs and patterns are also the same ones used in traditional Samoan tattoos. They often have animals and fish shapes imbedded very stylistically in the designs, sort of like Pacific Northwest tribal art, but using more geometric patterns.

I will see him this evening before I fly out at 11 and will find out. I won't be able to get back to you with an answer until late on Friday though when I finally get home.

And thanks to everyone who has responded so far for your kind comments. The carving work out here is beautiful, and unfortunately, is not being taken up by many youngsters in American Samoa. It is faring better in Western Samoa however. (American Samoa is a US Territory and has a much higher standard of living relative to Western Samoa, an independant country. It appears to me that carving for a living is just not attractive to AS youth, at least not compared to better paying jobs in the local tuna cannery, in the US Military, or to be had by working in Hawaii or the US Mainland. That is not an option for most Western Samoans so the handcrafts like traditional carving are still being passed on. This is just my speculation though.)

And for those of you in the frozen northlands looking for warmer furtile fields for wood turning.....I could not find so much as one turner in American Samoa, and all the carvers I talked to did not even know what wood turning or a lathe was. Same in Western Samoa! Imagine.....an entire tropical island territory or nation could be yours for the taking (in a woodturning sense of course)!!!

I will get back to you with some answers after talking with John!!!

Dave

 

[David Somers]

The curves in these bowls sure look turned to me; amazing uniformity and consistency in the arc. What type of tools are being used in the carving process? Are the patterns measured out to specific dimensions or are the shapes simply carved to the available dimensions of the stock?

- Scott

Scott,

Johns Wife, Epi, came by the office just now and I was able to get some more information about the questions you asked.

He uses a string compass to draw the circles for the bowl shapes, both the inside and outside of the rim. Other than that it is all free hand, including the cylindrical pillars that form the legs of the Kava Bowl. The patterns are done completely free hand. No marks or layout done before carving whatsoever. His primary tools for roughing out the bowl shapes and smoothing them were handmade from old machete blades. The tool forms were shaped on a grinding wheel, and then wooden handles made to fit them. The final carved finish is done with a scraper made from the machete blades. It is a somewhat thicker version of a cabinet scraper that we might use. I tried to find out if he uses a burnisher to create the burr but his wife was not sure. I suspect the burr on the scraper is straight from the grinder. Sometimes he sands the finishes with sandpaper, but often he uses sand (literallly) rubbed into the wood with his hands, first dry, then wet, followed by other finer abrasive materials like fish skins. His choice depends more on what is at hand and what he can afford at the time.

His decorative work is done with carving chisels he bought at the local Ace Harware. Basically, 3 sizes of V shaped chisels, and a small u shape chisel.

The designs are all traditional, and as I said earlier, are the same pattern used in local tattoo patterns and on patterns made on the hand made cloth called Siapa. (made using the bark of the paperbark Mulberry Tree and made by pounding it like you would felt.) Those of you who have been in the islands may know this cloth by other names like Tapa or Kapa. Same stuff, just different cultures like Fiji or Hawaii or Tonga. The pattern that looks like a diamond check represents a net. The designs that look like waves are waves. Etc. Many times animals and birds will be represented in the patterns as well, but his work is mostly the repeating patterns like the net and the waves. All the designs are done free hand as well. No predrawing or marking in any way.

His wife brought in some pieces that are in process and I will try to photograph them and post them for everyone later today. I need to get done with the last flurry of work related stuff first though.

Keep the questions coming! If we get done with work in time today I hope to have dinner with them before the flight and I can find out the answers directly from the source!! His wife was absolutely tickeled so many folks have looked at this posting so far by the way!

Dave

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Nice pieces Dave. Maybe they might look better right-side up.

 

[David Somers]

Thanks for rotating them Jeff! I took them straight from his old Mavica camera and hadn't taken time to do anything to them yet. I think they were in that orientation cause we are below the equator! <grin>

 

[David Somers]

Scott,

John's wife, Epi, brought some partially finished bowls to the office for me. She also brought some traditional carving tools that John refurbished from an old village site. Not sure how old these stone tools are. The handles were long gone when he found them so he remade handles based on photos of intact tools from archeolgical sites. (Epi is an archeologist)

I am not sure how much better these photos are. Didn't have anything in way of lighting to work with so I had folks standing around with white paper trying to reflect daylight for me. They will at least give you better views of the detail work and undersides of the pieces.

 

[Richard Baker]

Dave,
The pictures are just fine, and the carving is amazing.

 

[S. Clark]

I am not sure how much better these photos are. Didn't have anything in way of lighting to work with so I had folks standing around with white paper trying to reflect daylight for me. They will at least give you better views of the detail work and undersides of the pieces.

You did a great job with the photos!

I especially like the platter and the fine detail carving. I'm amazed that this is freehand work. There is such uniformity and eveness to these patterns. The legs of the Kava Bowl too are so consistently sized and spaced. I can't imagine the number of hours that must be put in to complete a bowl like this.

Sanding with sand; this guy must have tough skin! I guess carving with the tools you described would build strength and calluses. I enjoy doing a little whittling when I'm on my out door camp trips; it's how I occupy these restless hands. A couple hours with my pocket knife is about all my hands can stand in a single session though.

His work is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.

- Scott

 

[David Somers]

One last photo,

John actually brought his working tools with him when we had dinner last night so I snatched a shot of them. Pardon the quality of the shots. They were done on the table cloth of a dark Chinese Restaraunt.

His main tools are more like an adze than I understood from his wife. These are the ones that are ground from a machete blade and then mounted in a handle. His scrapers are in this shot as well. They are essentially handmade furniture scrapers. All his sharpening is with an oil stone and occasionally a borrowed grinder.

And Scott, if you ever get to shake this mans hands you will see how tough they are from this work. Those surfaces are every bit as smooth as they look.

His wife told me that a Kava bowl can take about a day to do from start to finish.

Thanks again to everyone for your interest and kind comments on his work. They were both amused and pleased that so many folks on this site were interested. And he was very interested in what wood turning is. He doesn't speak english well so I was trying to get the idea through to him with his wife translating for me. I will do up a video tape of turning when I get a chance and send it to him. His wife said they will probably be in Hawaii for some meetings in the next year and will come by the house for some hands on with the lathe. That should be a kick.

Anyway, they both send very sincere thanks to everyone for looking at his work and taking time to comment and ask questions!!

Dave

 

[Griesbach]

Just fantastic that such fine work comes from such crude tools. It certainly is another example that it's not the tools it's the craftsman.

David, thank you so much for sharing this beautiful work with us all.

 

[S. Clark]

His wife told me that a Kava bowl can take about a day to do from start to finish.

I can't imagine finishing a piece like that in a single day even using my power tools. It would be facinating to see his process in action.

He'll probably get quite a chuckle from seeing the turning using the lathe. Hey, don't spoil the man. If he gets ahold of a lathe, god only knows what he could do.

- Scott

 

[bowlman]

Carving in Samoa

Any idea how much he charges for these incredible items? We as American woodturners would do well to acquire a few pieces of his work as inspiration and examples of what can be done without our super dandy lathes and chucks and high speed tools. besides, if we all purchased one or 2 items, maybe his increased status would attract more youngsters to take up carving and, maybe, eventually turning. Did I head Samoa nominated as the site for the 2015 AAW Symposium? Also how about donating any "surplus" tools, tool steels, etc, that we all have around the shop gatering dust. This would make an excellent outreach project for us to "adopt" or collaborate with others around the world.

I am serious about acquiring 1 oe 2 pieces. Let me know his price ranges please.

 

[Angelo]

Hand Work

Awesome images!! I am embarassed by the number of hand tools I have and don;t use becase they cause too much work. I am also humbled by the fact that I need a Oneway to accomplish what he does by hand.

Does he sell his work? If so where?

Angelo

 

[David Somers]

Aloha everyone!

I have a question in to Jeff Jilg as to just what is acceptable on the forums in the way of passing on info that might lead to a sale. Don't want to abuse the forum after all.

In the meantime, I will answer your inquiries about this through the private messages if that is OK.

More later after I hear from Jeff.

Dave

 

[Jeff Jilg]

I agree with Angelo (board member) that this is humbling work to see from such crude tools. I do not even know if I could do something like that with those tools if I had to.

In general product sales are not allowed in this forum. However, Dave did not initially post this as a way to sell the items, but did post them to show some neat stuff. Dave - it's fine to post the prices in this case. But if people are actually interested in purchasing them, they should followup directly with an email to you.

Personally I'm interested in the pricing as well since that is always an interesting topic to most woodturners (but I'm not interested in actually purchasing the items).

 

[David Somers]

Thanks Jeff,

I popped a note to John's wife, Epi, and asked her for prices for a few pieces to give everyone an idea what kind of price range they are in. I will post them as soon as I hear from her. Doesn't seem like she is in today though so it may be bit. (she is a field archeologist and sensibly avoids her office whenever she can)

More info as soon as I hear from her!

Thanks everyone!!

Dave

 

[David Somers]

Still no word from Epi and John

Hey Everyone.

Just wanted you to know that I have not heard back yet from Epi and John with some prices for his work. As soon as I hear from them I will post if for you.

Sorry for the delays. Not sure where she is this week. I will be working in Saipan this coming week (week of May 6) but can still provide the updates from there if I hear from her. And don't worry. No native carvers there that I am aware of. <grin>

 

[David Somers]

Contact and Prices for Samoan Carvings

Hey Everyone!

I am reallllllllly sorry this took so long to get posted. It took a while to get John and Epi a private email address so you all had a way to contact them. I normally talk to Epi over our office email and that is not an appropriate way to conduct private business like this.

(and for those of you just catching this new posting without reading earlier messages. AAW said it was OK to post these prices. The post originally started to share some amazing traditional hand carving work from American Samoa, and later on folks expressed interest in purchasing some of the work.)

John and Epi's email is;
mlt_evs12@yahoo.com

Prices for Johns work follows:

For Samoan Weapons
18 inches in length = $30
20 inches $45
2 feet $55
3 feet $65
4 feet $80

For Kava Bowls (the bowls with many legs)
11" diameter= $100,
12" diameter =$120,
13" diameter = $130,
14" diameter = $140,
15" diameter = $200,
16" diameter=$250,
17" diameter = $300,
18" diameter = $320,
19" diameter = $340,
20" diameter $350.

For Food bowls (umeke):
16" long x 9" wide with fine design = $100
24" long x 12"wide (plain) = $160

If anyone does order something from them I would love to hear what you think of the work once you have seen it!

And please feel free to contact me if you have any difficulties reaching John and Epi. I am happy to do what I can to help. They are really nice folks, but live a looooooong way from everthing. She is also in the field a lot for work and doesn't get near a computer for modest stretches.

Thanks again for your patience!!!

Dave

 

[eganfire1]

Johns work

This is some very nice work !
John has obviously put in the hours to hone his skill to this level.

Thanks!