Post #513270 by MadDogMike on Wed, Feb 24, 2010 8:38 PM

I want to pretend that I'm an artist too :D

First, I want to thank the TC artistic community for your inspiration, your willingness to share your technical knowledge, and your encouragement. It's hard to decide what to post, what would be representative of my "art". I'll start with my first clay attempt and hopefully you'll be able to see some progress. I love to experiment and I'm not afraid to fail.

I wanted a mug to match my first carved tiki, sort of a mascot in the grand tradition of Mr Bali Hai. Also my first attempt at mold making (July '08)

In a “finishing frenzy”, and not knowing any better, I glazed all my mugs with opaque glaze and pretty much ruined them! So I re-cast a new batch and glazed them with a semi-transparent glaze so that the woodgrain detail shows though.

Dabbled in Batik (Aug '08)

My first hand built (vs molded) mug (Sept '08)

A 48 ounce Kamapua'a (wild boar god) mug (Nov '08)

Woodgrained marbled clay (Feb '09)

Faux mosaic (Feb '09)

Mixed media mug (not tiki) Clay, bike parts, aluminum diamond plate

A Papua New Guinea inspired "Penis Gourd Mug" :lol: (July '09)

Shrunken Head (July '09)

Failed attempt at pit firing (June '09)

Tried my hand at bone carving (July '09)

Epoxy & Clay for the Polynesian Menu Art Swap (Sept '09)

Queen Kamehameha's backyard in mug form (Oct '09)

Experiment in tile making. The jade jaguar is mine, the tan tiles are store bought. (Jan '10)

Zombie Village Pupu Platter (Feb '10)

Frankenpig for Squid's "Fresh Pork" show (Feb '10)

I had a left-over Squid pig so I turned him into a Nguzunguzu (Mar '10)

A polymer clay and mixed media diorama lamp, "Mermaid & Moai by Moonlight". Solar LEDs to light it at night (Apr '10)

"Guardians of the Flame" Firepit Table (May '10)

Marquesan U'u (Warclub) Bowl (May '10)

An attempt at watercolor, "Monday Morning in Baining" (May '10)

Ceiling fan lamp (June '10)

"Gimme Head" mug (July '10)

Hornbill Mug for Birds of the South Pacific Swap (July '10)

Hornbill Hatchling Mug for Birds of the South Pacific Swap (July '10)

Solomon Islands Feast Bowl for Birds of the South Pacific Swap (Aug '10)

"Monday Morning in Baining" 2nd attempt. Watercolor pencil and ink (Aug '10)

Sepik River Fighting Horn for Birds of the South Pacific Swap (Aug '10)

MadDog Mike Shirt (Aug '10)

"Lupus Triumphus" Halloween mug (Sept '10)

A couple of Samoan Flying Fox (fruit bat) goblets epoxied to wine glass bases (Nov '10)

A 4x6 foot multi-media art installation for Queen Kamehameha's Mojave Oasis. Here are some of the 30+ elements (Nov '10 - Mar '11)

And some shots of the finished project in situ

Decoupage bar supply book (Jan '11)

Bob Kong for GROG's Tiki Bob Show (Mar '11)

Baining Firedance applique shirt (Mar '11)

Pua Huna (Hidden FLower) commissioned bowl (Jun '11)

Melvin the Drunken Moai with a lampshade on his head for GROG's Moai Madness Show (Jul '11)

New and Improved Cobra Mug commissioned by one of the physicians at my work (Aug '11)

Barrel Overboard! #1 - more variations of this to come (Aug '11)

Sokwe Finds a Hat - Ceramic & Polymer Clay (Oct '11)

4 cast concrete benches with ceramics embedded in the concrete. Still need a sealer of some sort (Dec. '11)

Tahitian Cannibal Teardrop Trailer (Dec '11 - ?) I got a mostly finished teardrop trailer and am in the process of completing it. The Tahitian Cannibal design is one of Sophista-Tiki's Spoonflower fabrics that I based the decor on with Dawn's permission.
I replaced the cheap trailer axle and 12 inch wheels with a salvaged van axle, giving me real tires and real wheel bearings. Then new fenders, paint to match my car, and a Tahitian Cannibal magnetic decal.

Inside got some paint and new vinyl flooring, Tahitian Cannibal print curtains, a painted border to match the curtains, a wall-to-wall memory foam mattress, orange comforter, and Tahitian Cannibal pillow.

"Kitchen" area in the back

Accessories include a firepit

A doormat

A mosiac table

Hubcaps

Faux license plate

A 1/18 model of the Tahitian Cannibal

A matching Tiki Dashiki and tassled Kufi cap

Pele's Skulls & Certificate of Authenticity (May '12)

Mosaic Table for the Pele/Volcano/Fire Art Swap (June '12)

The "Tiki Edition" of the Walther PPK, mug for Tiki Oasis 12 "Exotic Espionage & Polynesian Pulp" (July '12)

Bryan's Kamehameha Bowl (August '12)
The head was molded from an original made by my late brother Bryan when he was a kid, feather helmets and capes added

Another set of Sea Monkeys, this time male & female salt & pepper shakers (July '12)

A Japanese Lantern mug saggar fired with Ferric Chloride, Copper Mesh, Copper Carbonate, Iron Oxide, and Salt (August '12)

Saggar Fired Trader Vic's bottle for VampiressRN (September '12)

Not very "Tiki" but I'm working on a Pirate Ship Tree House for my grandchildren (October '12)

A short run of cast mugs in several glazes. Based on the menu art from the long defunct El Tiki Restaurant (Nov '12)

A mug for the "Sea Creatures of the South Pacific" Art Swap (Dec '12)

Another mug for the "Sea Creatures of the South Pacific" Art Swap. The Yellow Bellied Sea Snake's Fang inspired by the Islander's Cobra's Fang (Jan '13)

More of a "gag-gift" for the Sea Creature Art Swap - a wall hanging made from a dried triggerfish (Jan'13)

I like to take a theme and run it into the ground - "Anything worth doing is worth doing to the point of wretched excess". I am re-doing my Tiki Deck to a "Headhunter Harbor" theme.
Headhunter Harbor Sign (Apr '13)

"Lil Losers" Shrunken Head Mugs (Apr - Jun '13)

Headhunter Harbor dinnerware (Apr '13)


Shrunken Head Mosaic Table (May '13)

Rack for the Lil Loser mugs (Aug '13)

Welcome Sign for the Headhunter Harbor (Sep '13)

"Ndaokus" Trophy Skull Mug for the Cannibal Art Swap (Aug '13)

Hindi diya or oil lamp in the form of the Sanskrit word "Om"

"Witco Meets Small World". Animated window display for Amy's Palm Springs Tonga Hut. (Nov '13)

A piece for the Album Cover Art Swap. Based on this Sam Gambino painting for Waitiki 7's "New Sounds of Exotic" CD. (Dec. '13)

Polynesian Garden Pig - Concrete coated foam with ceramic tusks (Feb '14)

Ndaokus II - Trophy Skull Mug (Apr '14)

Iguana Head - Paperclay 7 inches long and 4 inches diameter. (June '14)

Wind Motion Hornbill - Paper Machie (Aug '14)

Silk Flower Arrangement (Oct '14)

Hula Pig - Ceramic head and coconut bra for a beer can chicken (Oct '14)

Hawaiian Shirt Art Swap (Jan '15)
Matching lamp and mosaic

Reef Fish Hanging (Feb '15)

Macrame plant holder incorporating Kumihimo braid, 10 inch ceramic fish hook, natural cowrie shells, and a ceramic sea urchin shell (Mar '15)

Mosaic tables - Mahi mahi, Yellowtail, & Octopus (Jul '15)

Enchanted Tiki Room Art Swap project, ceramic bottle (Jul '15)

"Still Life with Tiki Mug", oil on canvas (Sept '15)

"Bird of Paradise", oil on canvas (Sept '15)

3rd (and final?) attempt at "Monday Morning in Baining", oil on canvas (Oct '15)

"Reflections of Sepik River Spirit House", oil on canvas (Dec '15)

Shrunken Ned mug (Dec. '15)

Seasons of Tiki Art Swap Mug (Feb. '16)

Maori Art Swap Taurapa mug (Jul '16)

Maori Art Swap Kia Ora coaster set (Jul '16)

Maori Art Swap Moko Sheep Skull - more of an April Fool's joke than a Swap project :D (Apr '16)

Montreal Kon Tiki mug from the 100 Years of Stephen Crane Swap (Jul '17)

Ceramic Snake Hut commission (Dec '17)

Krakatoa Mug with LED ice cube (Jan '18)

Pele's Dream Bottle for the Dream Tiki Art Swap (Aug '18)

Chief Lapu Lapu mug (Sept '18)

3 ft Fabric Column Lamp (Sep '18) After 4 years outside it was looking faded but it was designed to be able to quickly replace the cloth (Jun '22)

Black Pearl Mug (Nov '18) Hard to photograph due to the Mother of Pearl luster

Jade Tile Mug (Nov '18)

16"x40"Jade Tile Window Cover (Nov '18)

Sunken Treasure Chest (Feb '19)

JESIQ (Jungle Explorer Sinking in Quicksand). Small production run of approx 25 mugs for Laava restaurant in Helsinki Finland (Feb '19)

Altered Jungle Explorer Sinking in Quicksand (Apr '19)

Shrunken Head Lamp (Jun '19)

Rapa Nui Birdman Gourd Lamp for the 2019 Tiki Art Swap (Jul '19)

Pele Bar for Barefoot Bay (Aug '19)

3 hanging Lamps inspired by Trader Sam's at Disneyland (Nov '19)

Carved Box Lamp for the 2020 Art Swap (Jul '20)

Rum Bottle Chandelier (May '20)

"Chinese Hat" Lamp (Sep '20)

Ceramic Hanging Lamp for Pau Hana Cove, home Tiki bar in Imperial Beach, CA (Oct '20)

Papua New Guinea "Artifact" Wall (Nov '20)

A-Frame for the backyard. It houses Yali, the headhunter (Nov '20)

Baining Firedance Mask Lamp (Feb '21)

Ceramic Hanging Lamp for Patrica's Pele Pit in Paradise, CA (Apr '21)

Fish Trap with Ceramic Anglerfish (May '21)

Pile o' Skulls Mug for the 2021 Art Swap (Jul '21)

Pahu Puzzle Mug. 4 openings on top of the mug, 3 have to be covered and use the 4th as a straw (Nov '21)

Shambala Puzzle Mug (Jan '22)

Hanging Box Lamp (Jun'22)

Giant Chinese Jade Tiles (Jul '22)

Ceiling Porthole - particle board and bolts with a TV screen mounted behind

Canoe Mug for the 2022 Oceanic Arts Art Swap (Jul '22)

24x28 inch Marquesan inspired palm wood mask (Oct '22)

Dvarapala mug - Hindu/Buddhist, exotic but not really Tiki (Nov '22)

Tiki Torch Mug for stolenidol (Dec '22)

Maori Wheku Mask (Jan '23)

Kon Tiki Mask (Jan '23)

Pit Viper in a Basket Mug (Mar '23)

A Palau Storyboard/Spider Prank Box mug for the 2023 Art Swap

A 4 foot tall volcano for my sister-in-law's elementary school library. Wood and wire frame, Monster Mud on burlap skin (Jul '23)

Painted Hat (Jul '23)

Luau Pig Serving Dish (Oct '23)

Rhino Pitcher (Jan '24)

Cursed Monkey Paw - Wire armature, polymer clay, fake fur, in a display box (Jan '24)

2 more Fence Hangers - 2 inch fir timber (Jan '24)

Iatmul

Pele

Another Fence Hanger - palm wood Nguzu Nguzu (Apr '24)

My submission for the 2024 Witco Aet Swap (Jul '24)

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Happiness is when what you THINK, what you SAY, and what you DO are in harmony - Gandhi

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-07-02 16:20:17 ]