VanTiki Mugs: Octopus Time Lapse

Great! eBay you know I dig the Rush..... Looking forward to it Van Tiki!............. :)

Only feathers that will be ruffled will be those who don't have 200 clams ....

Oh Man, My feathers, I Can't stand it, Oh No, Aahhhh.
Excellent mugz VanTiki, Love the deep, sharp detail. Plus, they are Just Awesome. Nice job and good luck on ebay.

Good luck with em man :)

On 2006-11-08 14:11, Benzart wrote:
Oh Man, My feathers, I Can't stand it, Oh No, Aahhhh.

Too funny!

And........ . . . . Ker-POW!

Volcano #3 is finished! Well, the sculpture at least. Stay tuned, dear readers, as we watch clay dry for a week or two before glazing!

VanTiki

Aloha and welcome to the VanTiki Kiln... Please keep your hands inside the tram at all times and no flash photography, please, as that angers the mugs.

On the first floor we have a forest of Pongo Logs, 2 mini Jabbers, as well as a Great Volcano Mug and Musical Mug #2:

And on the second floor we see a Mini Great Volcano Mug surrounded by a field of Trepanning Accidents:

Will they all survive the intense heat? Will a mug give into the pressure of the fire and take out a neighbor or two in a breathtaking explosion? Will VanTiki be shedding tears of joy or sorrow? Check back in a few days!

Mahalo,
VanTiki

Ooooh MY! I just can't take the suspense...call me when the therma-timer gauge pops up! There's alotta luv'in in dat oven VT! :o I'll be nearby...around the corner...in da bushes...in a raincoat...reading a magazine...well...it might rain??? right?

flip-flop-flip...

Alooooooo - HA! The kiln was cracked open this morning and I was pleased as Hawaiian Punch with what I found!

First up, A special order by the one-and-only Traveling Jones: The Blackened Mug! Taken from the burning embers, this curse-ed mug was sipped from by great chiefs on the eve of major battles -

So cool! Really stoked with this one. Ms. VanTiki likes it better than the "normal" trepanning skulls. She may be right!

Next up we have the Bone Red Pongo! Matte off-white with deep red in the recesses (reminiscent of dried blood perhaps?) - and a gloss dark red interior. Do you dare drink from it?

And here we have a Pongo Log found overgrown in the rain forest - the Moss Green Pongo!

The last Pongo is going to TC member HiPhiPAHulA - the Blood Red Pongo:

The last mug of this load is my favorite, and it took me so long to glaze I was camped out in my studio almost all night, chewing my nails and jumping at every pop while it went through its final firing in the kiln. Allow me to present Mini-Mega Cinder Cone (with color scheme designed by Traveling Jones). THis Volcano is singe chambered - with 4 straw holes for you and your friends:

Whew! The Mini Cinder Cone and the top two pongo logs will be hitting eBay shortly, and I have a two-stage MEGA Cinder Cone that will be ready some time next week.

Mahalo for looking -
VanTiki

Congrats Vantiki on the great new colors and congrats Traveling for the great new mugs that you get and helped bring to life. I have never seen colors so great together.

Great colors,especially the volcano! You and the missus must be proud of your creations! You guys are true explorers, pushing the pre-conceived ideals of Tiki Mugs and doing it with class and craftsmanship! Hats off to these and future endeavors!

Mahalo teaKEY and little lost tiki for the compliments. The mugs are up on eBay, and my fingers are crossed (although I won't be too sad if nobody bids on the Cinder Cone and I get to keep it for myself)! :)

Links are on my website http://www.vantiki.com

VanTiki

I don't think that you will have a problem selling it. Of all of the mugs that sell on Ebay, they are all cheaply made prints and this is an excellent original art piece.

the others are just a pour in the bucket.

So Incredible, I'm still staring at these mugs wishin I had 1 of each. What talent & skills..Mahaloz again

WOW! Amazing stuff as usual.
Thanks for sharing the process too! Makes me want to dip into some mushy wet clay right now..... but mashed spuds will have to do today :)
Keep up the great work!

GREAT MUGS Van...they look fabulous !!

More awesome mugs! Love them all mate :)

Mahalo all for the compliments! :)

It is glazing Friday here in Kailua. Just finished glazing Musical Mug #2 - REALLY stoked with him. Here is a shot of the glazed bisque mug:

Remember - this glaze has not been fired and things will change! The teeth are weathered, but they have been covered with a gloss clear coat, which is opaque white until I fire it (hence the goofy white teeth in the photo). The body of the mug will turn a bit more tan and speckled in the final firing as well. The ocarina built into the base sounds great when you blow on it - I put two holes in it so you can play 3 different notes. Inside of the mug is gloss bright papaya (shade of orange). I'll add him to ebay with the Mega Cinder Cone when the current auctions finish - and then I am taking a break till January! :)

For those patiently waiting for a trepanning skull, I am also glazing all of those (4 of 'em) today, and will be firing them this weekend. Mahalo for waiting!

VanTiki

Absolutely superb as always, particularly this newest guy, but they're all great. It amazes me how consistent your mugs look even though they're all hand-built. Jonesey is a lucky man!

I feel pretty lucky myself :) can't wait to add a few more to the 'ol mug stash... hope too... Those are Tiki Fabulous!

Aloha!

First up - got a few mugs out of the kiln this morning - a slew of Trepanning Accident skull mugs. I sent an e-mail or PM to all who ordered one a long time ago. If they pass on the skulls, they will find their way to eBay. The star of this Kiln Load would be Traveling Jone's Papaya Pongo. Lots of discussion and nail biting on how to get the Pongo to look papaya-ish. Very happy with the end result:

and as it is almost Xmas and I just took all the decorations down from the attic, here is a melting snowman eggnog mug I made for family and friends last year:

Mahalo for looking!
VanTiki

More cool stuff man - love the colours on da tiki :)

Melting 'Severed Snow Head'...NOW THAT's a HOOT! :lol:

VanTiki your new multi-colors and designs are INCREDIBLE! V-E-R-Y expressive and original!! YOU are a maniac clay-slinger and tripping all over the glaze workZ...SsweeetT!!! :D

Flip-flOp-fLipPp...

+Also posted in Marketplace:

Shaka Y'all!

I just wanted to share, with swelled pride and appreciation, my 'BadBoyz of Vantiki' collection. Braddah H' kicked it into highest gear with new creations and multi-layered glazes! ANYONE desiring a quality 'hand-crafted' mug...VanTiki's da Man!

Enjoy the photo and I'll enjoy da mugz! SsweeeetT :D

Flip-flOp-flipPp...

Aloha Folks!

Yessir - sit down, I've got some shocking news: VanTiki has finally gotten around to making a new mug! I know, I know, amazing but true. What brought me out of my mug hibernation? Why, nothing less than an amazing email from the DvA Gallery asking if I would like to participate in their annual tiki show! To say I was excited can hardly describe my feelings. The sticky wicket is that I gotta get the mugs done by the 13th of June! With fingers crossed I set to work. Feeling so stoked/freakedout/intimidated about the show, I bought 100lbs of clay Saturday morning with a "go big or go home" midset. I've been wanting to do a piece (or, in this case, pieces) based on the Martin Denny tune "Stone God". I did some sketches, and then proceeded to lay out some templates:

From there I rolled, cut, and assembled the slabs. A bit tricky as these are more like Tiki Pitchers than Tiki Mugs - very big. Especially the tall guy!

Once the basic forms were laid out it was time to add the details that would truly transform them into "Stone Gods"

And after an entire audiobook (Patrick O'Brian's The Surgeon's Mate) we have the nearly finished stone works!

They will need to dry out sloooowly for a day or two before I add the final round of detail/cleanup. And with a bit of luck I can dry them (without cracking) in time to bisque, glaze, and fire them before the DvA show date. Wish me luck!

Mahalo for peeking -
Henrik "The Long Lost VanTiki"

PS - No, I didn't use the entire 100lbs of clay on these guys :) (just 25!)

They look great man - the stone effect is very cool.

Reminds me of my first Lego set that was one of the $100 grey block castle sets. Oh the memories, Played with Legos forever back then. Love the mugs

Cool, That's what King Arthur would have drank his mai tai in!!

On 2007-05-30 05:47, Surf tiki wrote:
Cool, That's what King Arthur would have drank his mai tai in!!

"Whoso Drinketh the Mai Tai from this Stone is rightwise Chief of All England!" :drink:

Too Funny!

Mahalo for the Kind words Hewey, TeaKey, and SurfTiki!

Awesome creations VanT - congrats on getting in the DVA show. Let's hope you get more exhibition invitations so we can see more of your one-off handbuilt mugs/pitchers/dogbowls. Great photos too!

Yo, VT!! I really luv the original style you gots...all the mugs look great! Lookin forward to seein' the finished product!

Mahalo Paipo and Freddie!

I am happy to announce the first ever VanTiki's Tiki Thursday! What is Tiki Thursday? Welp, I have been in awe of TikiShark's dedication to hitting the studio and producing artwork - and I wanted to try and emulate his work ethic. As some of you may know, I've been attending a ceramics (wheel throwing) class since January. The class got together every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 10, and over the months my work schedule has grown accustomed to the "Wednesday night is for clay" concept. Now that the class is over I hope to shift to tiki mugs every Wednesday night, and I'll post the results on Thursday mornings (hence the "Tiki Thursday" namesake). Will I stick to this like the painting dynamo that is the Tiki Shark? I sure hope so - at least I hope that by publicly announcing my plans I'll be too embarrassed to stop :)

Sooooo that brings us to the mugs! Last night was spent mostly on final detailing/cleanup on the two Stone God mugs - but I did have enough time left over to block out another "Ku" inspired piece:

The photo is small 'cuz this is a very rough work in progress! I still have a lot of work to do on this guy, but I need the clay to firm up a bit before I move on. I built the mouth a little differently than my past mugs - the teeth and "jaw" stick out a bit as opposed to lying flat against the surface. Hard to explain - I'll shoot more photos as work progresses.

oh - and I took a shot of the bigger Stone God with an old friend to give everyone a better idea of its size:

Mahalo for peeking -

Henrik "VanTiki"

http://www.vantiki.com

[ Edited by: VanTiki 2007-05-31 14:37 ]

Holy cow!! I didnt realize how HUGE the stone god was until he was next to Mr Bali Hai.

Outstanding work VT. LOVE the little Ku guy too. Really dig the teeth on him. dibs!! I call dibs!!! lol

On 2007-05-31 12:00, Bargoyle wrote:
Holy cow!! I didnt realize how HUGE the stone god was until he was next to Mr Bali Hai.

Yessir - someone will need a LOT of rum and a room full of friends to tackle the tall guy!

I too didn't quite realise the size of the big guy! The new mugs are cool too. Long live tiki Thursday! Sounds like something I might attempt myself :D

SSSSSSSSSmokin'!!! :o

VanTiki, one of your best mugs yet!

Ku! Ku! Ku!...

sandz

On 2007-05-29 16:35, VanTiki wrote:

Henrik "The Long Lost VanTiki"

"LIFE! DO YOU HEAR ME?! GIVE MY CREATION... LIFE!!!" Dr. Friedrich von Frankenstein ( it's pronounced "Fronkensteen")

Comments:
"Abby Normal?", Igor ( it's pronounced "eye-gore")

"HUGE castle doors...WHAT KNOCKERS!", Dr. Frankenstein

"He vould have an enormous Shwanstooker!", Inga

*** "MAD, simply MAD VANTIKI...MAD IS GOOD!!"***, Flip-flOp-fLipPp... :D

A 'jOnz' by definition: a strong craving, passion or desire.

[ Edited by: TravelingJones 2007-06-01 21:57 ]

Those new stone mugs are kick ass! Your hand built work is very unique and the execution is totally flawless. I'm a big fan! I'm glad you are going to do more work but I've got to say even if you're not satisfied thus far with your work quantity, your quality is outstanding!

Peace,
S
T

Mahalo Hewey, Blacksandz, TJ, and SneakyTiki for the encouragement!

Here are some more shots of Ku #2, aka The angriest Tiki Ever aka Mr. Prickly aka Capt. Chompers:

Really stoked with this guy, can't wait to glaze him. Explored some new textures and techniques - I really dig the carved thick rim on the mug (visible in the center reverse photo). It did turn out a tad angry - and I think I'll have to do a more whimsical mug next to balance out the mojo in my studio :)
He's now hanging out on the drying rack keeping the 2 Stone Gods company. Unfortunately I don't think any of them will shed their moisture in time for me to fire them for the DvA show. Sigh - If I'm invited back next year I'll be sure to get started early! :)

Mahalo for peeking,
Henrik "VanTiki"

Unfortunately I don't think any of them will shed their moisture in time for me to fire them

How much time is needed.

Oh my god!!! I don't know what is more impressive the front or back of this mug!

This is a Tiki Mug for the ages!!! :o

Unreal!

VanTastic!!! :tiki:

sandz

:o GASP!...thump!!! :o

Flip-flOp-fLipPp...

Holy smokes!

Such compliments! I'm blushing! Mahalo - it means a lot to me!

On 2007-06-02 18:42, teaKEY wrote:
How much time is needed.

welp, for these guys I'm thinking a week and a half to two weeks minimum. They have two strikes against them - thin bits poking out of them (the fins on the Ku) and several very thick areas (face areas around the teeth on the Stone Gods). It is essential to dry the mug uniformly or it will develop cracks where thin parts meet the thick areas (the thin parts will dry fist, shrink, and pull away from the moist thicker sections). To do that, I need to keep them wrapped in plastic and dry them very slowly. They would easily dry in four days or so if I just left them on the shelf uncovered, but then they would be riddled with cracks. I've learned the hard way not to rush things! :)

Henrik "VanTiki"

Amazing work Van! To keep on the Frankenstein quote thing that Jonesy started, this from Bride of Frankenstein.....

"Normal size has been my difficulty. You did achieve size." Dr. Pretorious to Henry Frankenstein.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

ch

Aloha!

Happy to report that I've managed to stick to Tiki Thursdays for two whole weeks (so far) :)

Last night I wanted to test out some new assembly techniques for a future "gimmick" mug I have planned. I also wanted to make a more whimsical mug after the last angry Ku fellow, so I give you the halfway finished 3rd mug in the "Stone Gods" series: The Stone King:

please keep in mind that he isn't finished! I've just blocked out the form, and after he has stiffened up a bit I will texture him to match the other Stone Gods.

Here is a shot for scale with an old friend:

And here are the other Stone Gods nearly done drying - you can get an idea of their size (even after shrinking 10% while drying):

I'll post more shots of the Stone King Saturday afternoon after I finish him up.

Mahalo for peeking!

Henrik "VanTiki"

These are teh insane vessels!!!

How does one aquire one (or more)?

Awesome effort man

Mahalo

McTiki

For once...I'm speechless!!!! These vare truly inspired tiki mugs. Hopefully they will inspire others to think outside the 'tiki box'! Truly objects of passion and desire. On behalf of anyone and everyone who sets eyes on your mugs...Thank you!!

Trader Jim - make mine a Mai-Tai!

Off the Chain! Just incredible... HipHipAHuLA!

A heartfelt Mahalo to McTiki, POCKETIKI, and Hiphipahula for the compliments. Your kind words keep me pushing the clay!

Had a bit of a heart attack last night. Daddy VanTiki visited the studio to check out the latest sculptures, and peeking into Ku #2 he asked "Is this big crack supposed to be here?"

ug.

After all my care in wrapping the Stone Tikis, it seems I inadvertently placed the Ku #2 on the elevated drying rack well ahead of schedule. Sure enough, the mug's bottom dried out much faster than the rest of the mug, and a large crack had developed. To say I was depressed doesn't even come close to how I felt. I had a ton of animation to get through that night, so I drenched the Ku with water, re-wrapped it (after taking it off the drying rack) and tried not to think of it while I worked away on the computer for a few hours. Since then I have managed to soften the mug's bottom enough to smooth out and close the crack (gross!). He's in intensive care right now - and I don't know if he will pull through. If all goes well, the moisture will balance out in the now tigltly wrapped mug and I can then begin the drying process anew. As Ms. VanTiki put it - if the crack comes back I'll have a super kick-ass mug to put on my shelf of failures! :)

Henrik "VanTiki"