hang10tiki I like to watch you chisel.
TikiAno I bought some kids oil based clay (looked like it was from the 1050's) at a garage sale and added it to my Romo clay to soften it. It is fun to see.
Don't buy a label scraper. I'll send you one as a thank you for the carving tool and hot chocolate.
hang10tiki Dan's favorite.
lunavideogames I'm glad you like it so far. Dan says it is his favorite crawl mug that I have made. For yours I will alter a hand to hold the chain and then add the name of your bar. I haven't even thought about starting the girl yet. This is the largest Wish List so far with your Wish the most complicated being in two pieces.
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The article for the Elk Grove Citizen came out today. Here's the rest of the story.
Our mail hasn't been being delivered until 8 PM now that Christmas is near so I drove to the newspaper to see if it came out and to get some extra copies.
What a surprise to see my face in the window of the news rack.
I went inside and bought some for myself and for Buddy of the Jungle Bird.
I came home and took these photos.
I added some in color where theirs were in black and white.
Here is what the article by Raina LeGarrita said:
Elk Grove artist Wendy Cevola created a signature mug for the new Midtown Sacramento tiki bar, the Jungle Bird. Photo by Keri Wood.
There's something about tiki culture that takes you to a joyful and peaceful state, whether or not you are well familiar with it.
The genre inspired by 1930s-1950s Hawaiian and Polynesian pop culture has been used, mostly in the United States, heavily throughout the 20th century in many restaurants, bars, homes, and more.
Tiki culture has been a popular genre in many classic movies of the 1950s and onward. The culture is still very popular today after having a resurgence in the late 1990s; it seems as if each new generation since then catches on to its blissful traditions.
Many tiki purists will gladly sit down and educate you on the origins of the Mai Tai beverage, whether a tiki bar they notice is authentic or not, and the beginnings of Trader Vic's restaurant chain founder Victor Bergeron, whose restaurants popularized tiki culture.
When you think about tiki culture you think about the beverages, food, music and of course, the artwork and furniture that has shaped it.
That being said, Elk Grove's very own tiki enthusiast Wendy Cevola has been an admirer of the culture for many years; creating art that displays it in all its glory. She was inspired by her husband's love of all things tiki.
And as profiled in the Citizen in 2011, the painter's home itself could perhaps be called a tiki haven, as it is decorated with tiki paintings, art and is filled with many multicolored, ceramic tiki mugs that she made.
At the time, Cevola was commissioned to design and produce 110 of the signature mugs for the Forbidden Island tiki bar in Alameda. She insisted that she wasn't concerned with selling her pieces, saying, “I’m not a business person, I’m a hobbyist."
Since then, many more individuals and businesses have asked Cevola to design and produce custom mugs for them.
Though she doesn't offer the service of producing a mass amount of mugs like Forbidden Island, she does create a "wish list" for individuals and businesses each year for those who are interested in having a handcrafted tiki mug or two made for them.
More recently, the newly opened and instantly popular Midtown Sacramento tiki bar and restaurant, The Jungle Bird is the latest to display Cevola's work.
The artist was commissioned to make a signature mug for the bar that is slated to be released to its patrons at a later date.
"What I did for co-owner Buddy Newby was actually on the last wish list I made for 2016," Cevola said. "He asked me to make a one of a kind mug for the Jungle Bird. Right now he has it displayed in a glass case, but he's holding on to it until they raise enough profit to be able to produce more of them and offer them to customers."
Newby, who owns the new tiki bar with Tyler and Melissa Williams, is also a tiki enthusiast who started the very successful "Tiki Tuesdays" at the Williams' other restaurant in Sacramento, Tank House BBQ and Bar where he is a bartender.
"I met Wendy through a Sacramento tiki pub crawl and asked her if she'd design a mug that would be specific to our bar. We're hoping to be able to release it as a celebration of our one-anniversary next year," Newby said.
You will also notice additional mugs and bowls, along with two pictures Cevola painted, showcased at the new tiki bar.
"The Jungle Bird, it’s very reminiscent of the tiki bars that opened at the end of World War II. It’ll remind you of Trader Vic's; it's really wonderful. All of us in the tiki community want them to thrive." Cevola said.
Now retired, Cevola creates tiki art almost daily, and she and her husband, Dan regularly attend events that cater to tiki culture across the country.
She recently displayed her acrylic on black velvet work at the Tiki Oasis Art Show in San Diego.
The artist shows much of her work at http://www.tikicentral.com. For more information about The Jungle Bird, visit http://thejunglebird.com.
I'm sure grateful for all the fun tiki has brought my way. Dan is amused. Cheers, Wendy
[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2016-12-09 20:07 ]
