Tiki Central / General Tiki / Mai Tiki makes a puppet
Post #507282 by TikiHardBop on Wed, Jan 27, 2010 5:05 AM
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Wed, Jan 27, 2010 5:05 AM
Tiki talk: Artist creates puppet for comedy show BY CHRIS KRIDLER For the first time, one of Mai Tiki's tikis can talk. Artist Wayne Coombs pushes the jaw up and down and makes the grinning tropical icon laugh. He's been working on the tiki, rigging the jaw and painting it, so ventriloquist Peter Hefty can give it a debut Saturday at the Laughing Tiki comedy show in Cape Canaveral. "Peter wants some really bright color and vivid color," Coombs says as he adds hues in layers to the carved palm log: first black, then white to bring out the next layers of color, then shades of red and orange, and then white and black again to accent Lou Wow's features. That's what Hefty called him before he even existed. "That's something that I've been wanting so long," he says. He's thinking about a tropical-themed ventriloquist act that could star even more tikis. He's looking forward to the inspiration the new puppet will provide and will give the tiki a run at Saturday's show, which also features Gene Merola and Merritt Island's Ted Holum. "The writing for me is easy once you have the characters," says Hefty, a Wisconsin-based comedian who already features smart-aleck Justin and other puppets in his act. "I really get better at it when I see the character and I'm actually with it. I can just bounce off it." Lou Wow, carved in Mai Tiki's iconic joker style, has plenty of personality already. The jaw, cut out with a chainsaw, hinges easily on a dowel. The colors blend and pop, and his teeth gleam. "The dry-brush look that's so successful on these, it hides all sins," Coombs says as he paints in the backyard of the Cocoa Beach studio. The tiki even has a squiggly goatee. "He has a nice chomping of the teeth and good movement," he says, moving the jaw up and down. The teeth meet with a satisfying "clack.""It kind of looks like me, doesn't it?" Coombs grins in the fashion of his tiki and mugs for the camera. Then the tiki laughs again. "There he is," Coombs intones. "Folks, meet Lou Wow! Heh heh heh heh heh!" Contact Kridler at 242-3633 or [email protected]. Additional Facts |