Bone Carvings with Malia "Squib" Fuertes

“I spent most of my time growing up in San Bernardino bmx-ing, climbing trees, getting dirty and playing all of the “ball” sports,” Fuertes said.

Lucky for her, she was sent to Hawaii for the summers where she would go boogie boarding with her uncles and cousins. But it wasn’t until she was 20-years-old when she learned how to surf.

“I learned how to surf at Waikiki with the Waikiki beach boys in front of the Outrigger Hotel. Once I discovered surfing, my whole life changed,” she said.

Fuertes picked up surfing fairly quickly and started competing in longboard competitions after only three years of surfing. Since then she has traveled to many places and been exposed to meeting new people.

“I think because I played so many sports and because I’ve always been drawn to the ocean, it was easier for me,” Fuertes said. “I always wanted to learn. When I finally discovered it I was like, this is what it’s all about.”

Eventually Fuertes would meet a man along her journey in life who taught her the art of bone carving.

“I learned from this guy named George Michaels, who I met in Waikiki, Fuertes said. “He took me under his wing and let me sand for him. I would watch what he did, and one day he said, “Do you want to try and carve a hook?” So he showed me how he did it. He didn’t really let me touch the band saw. He let me play with his dremel tool and all the different bits and pieces he had. From there, I learned how to make my first hook. Then he said, “I better not show you anymore because you’re good.”

As time went by, Fuertes patiently waited for Michaels to show her the tricks of the trade little by little.
“It was one of those things where it’s a secret trade that he had and he wanted to show someone who really cared about this particular art and creating these pennants,” Malia said.

She took the skills that Michaels taught her and moved to California where she made pennants and did fairly well with it. Her craft slowly fell to the wayside and she started traveling for surfing. After stepping away from bone carving, Malia is once again focused on her craft.

“I think I’m better now than when I was doing it five years ago,” she said. I’m more mellow and patient now.”
Bone carving is not only artistic, but it requires many different steps including; finding the bone, cutting it, deciding what you’re going to carve, drawing an outline, cutting and forming the bone, sanding, polishing and then finally tying the finished product off into a necklace.

“Finding the bone is the most difficult task and then trying to decide the shape of what you’re going to carve from each piece that you cut out,” she said. Then there’s the design, there are so many different styles. It’s really in the eye of the artist. I do a bunch of different things from Hammerhead sharks, turtles, whale tails, half moons, to flowers.”

The story behind the bone carvings is that people would take the jaw bones of their deceased relatives and carve pennants out of that bone piece. They would then carry them around on their journeys for good luck and prosperity.

“The more oil that it absorbs, the more of your energy it absorbs. They’re meant to be given as gifts, so it’s kind of like a sharing of energy, Malia said. “So if I gave you a bone carving it’s supposed to give you good luck.”

To get a custom made bone carving from Malia contact her through our contact form.