Aloha All!

Babalu - I had never thought of sandblasting bisque ware - what a great idea! I've got a gun and media - I just need to get around to building a booth. Job one is gonna be getting the extruder set up, though!

Ok, keep your hands and arms inside the boat, folks, because this fellow bites! May I present Cannibal Idol #2: The Fresh Sacrifice -

Mahalo for peeking!

Henrik "VanTiki"

I like chocolate

Vantastic!!

Hey, when you do get around to experimenting with the sand blaster...roll out a couple of test slabs...test leather hard, bone dry, and bisqued...

Got the Bone Boxes out of the kiln yesterday - they look great, but are sadly cracked! I was really focused on tile pressing when I put these guys together and let them dry out too quickly. Still - at least one of them will hold fluids and the other will make a great peanut jar! :) I've posted links to the auctions in the marketplace forum.

Mahalo for peeking!
Henrik "VanTiki"

#2 turned out great...the dude inside looks suitably terrified and I love those chompers! They look a lot like sperm whale teeth:

[ Edited by: Paipo 2008-02-02 00:18 ]

Mahalo Paipo!

Oh MAN - I love those sperm whale tooth photos you posted! Every year in December there is an arts/crafts fair at the Mission Houses Museum in downtown Honolulu (you Oahu folks may know of what I speak). It is a great fair, and every year I make a beeline to the same vendors who have a big sperm whale tooth in their case of curios. Oh - if only I could have that tooth! Not only do I love teeth (as you may have noticed in my mugs - Ms. VanTiki is always asking "what's up with you and the teeth?") but with Moby Dick being one of my favorite books combined with being an icon of the south seas with a dash of the old Hawaii whaling industry the sperm whale tooth is the bomb. OK. Perhaps I've said too much. It is late! Forgive my toothy ramblings :)

Henrik "VanTiki"

off the top Van!

Aloha Folks!

Welp - I am so digging the B-5 Brown clay and the stone-ish look I decided to put the extruder through its paces and put together some variations on a mug I've been kicking around in my head for quite some time. May I present the Cursed Idol Hands. WHat is the curse, you ask? Well - it mainly revolves around the fact that once you flip and fill this mug, you gotta finish drinking it before you can put it back down! I roughed one out today, and I'll try another tomorrow. Worked out some assembling/structural problems on this guy - and the proportions ended up a bit odd - It was bugging at first but now I dig it in a primitive way :) Still lots of texturing and detailing to be done and that always changes everything (So much so that I am always hesitant to post work in progress shots) - but you get the picture. The plundered stone hands of a priceless jungle idol. Mainly I wanted something that would look WAY cool and unexpected to set off a mug collection :)

sorry for the photo quality - used my cellphone.

THanks peeking!
Henrik "VanTiki"

[ Edited by: VanTiki 2008-02-13 23:34 ]

I want what he's on! :D :D :D

I think that you're the first to make the mug that you can't sit down. I've been kicking it around for years but you certainly beat me to it. So many mugs out now would look cooler this way but function over form wins most of the time. I was thinking up heads that would have the full head of hair or point and you drink through the neck. The hand will set fire to any great tiki collection. See?, tiki ground breaking!!

I posted this in another thread a while back:

On 2007-12-06 15:19, Paipo wrote:
I bought this many years ago thinking I might carve or scrimshaw it, until I found out what it was:

I have seen a lot of whale teeth over the years, but this is one of the biggest. I think the smoked patina has been sanded off unfortunately (still visible in the grooves ), and the two dark spots are little tacks still embedded in the ivory that have rusted out. I guess it probably had an engraved plaque on it at some point.

As a slight update to the above, I recently had a couple of houseguests who were current or ex-museum staff and had some expertise in the area of marine mammals, and they were most impressed by the size of this big boy. Not bad for $50 NZ! :) *

I can't wait to see how the hand develops. A detached hand is quite a powerful presence, much like a severed head (the Rapa Nui carved hand in the British Museum comes to mind). It's interesting - obviously to make a piece as a "mug", I guess it must be nominally functional, but I'd be curious to know if any of these crazy one-offs you've been doing will ever contain a drink. I look at them as high-end art pieces and I'm sure their owners do too, and I know I'd be way to scared to risk damaging it by having to wash it after imbibing a beverage. Maybe some members of the VanTiki owners club could chime in?

*hmm, here's an idea for you...a giant ceramic whale tooth scrimshawed with tikis and strange goings-on? Of course, you would have to empty that too before you could put it down again! Or maybe it could be hung around the neck on a big sennit cord? :lol:

Henrick, your work is amazing. I really love some of the mugs you've made previously and I hope that in the near future I'll have the pleasure of acquiring one of them.

Keep up the good work, and if plan on making another couple bone boxes, I can tell you I will buy one for sure.

Thanks for entertaining my afternoon with this thread.

Wow - Mahalo everyone for the encouragement!

Hewey - welp, I was fueled by 2 big chocolate chip cookies and a couple of cans of green tea - I blame the tea! :)

teaKEY - Mahalo! I've also been wanting to make some "flipped" mugs for a while now - glad I finally did it. Now it is your turn!

Paipo - Holey Smokes! I LOVE that tooth - what an amazing piece. Can't believe what you payed for it. Talk about an heirloom! Mahalo for the comments on the hand. I agree that there is something powerful about a disembodied hand. As far as using my mugs to drink from - I must admit that I rarely drink out of the ones I have, and I'd never risk it with the Iron Tiki mug I hang on to. Love your idea of the carved tooth mug!

Flat Black - Wow! Mahalo! Happy to have helped you kill some afternoon time :) Welcome to Tiki Central - now go check out Paipo's stone carving thread - but be sure to set aside a whole day!

Put together another hand today and I'm letting it dry out a bit (while I surf the web) before I start the detailing. Did a right hand this time, and played a bit more with the proportions. I think I need to do one more with the long fingers combined with a long palm. Ahhh, the possibilities :)

Here is the new guy:

and here is a shot for scale next to my hand (Ms. Vantiki says these things are WAY too big, and I just reply with a demoniacal laugh):

Mahalo for peeking!
Henrik "VanTiki"

First Idol Hand sculpt finished! Well... mostly finished - once it has firmed up a bit more I'll flip it to texture the stone around the rim:

Mahalo for peeking!
Henrik "VanTiki"

It's amazing what those details do. Looks great.

A right and a left. I have to see this mug in use, it in a tiki mug collection line-up, and somebody wearing them on their hands. 2 out of three wouldn't be bad. You should make one that sits right side up with a drink (easy) and cut open the ring finger to add the drink and "cork" the tip back on. Makes a good oven mit when not holding a drink.

On 2008-02-15 14:42, teaKEY wrote:
A right and a left. I have to see this mug in use, it in a tiki mug collection line-up, and somebody wearing them on their hands. 2 out of three wouldn't be bad. You should make one that sits right side up with a drink (easy) and cut open the ring finger to add the drink and "cork" the tip back on. Makes a good oven mit when not holding a drink.

Ha! My wife said the same thing - that I should make a decanter or teapot. We shall see!

Flat Black - mahalo for the kind words!

And without further adieu, the detailed Idol Hand #2 sculpt:

Mahalo -
Henrik

Aloha Folks!

Well - before I post photos of my newest mug sculpt, I better get the following disclaimer out of the way...

Disclaimer: I have been watching the Indiana Jones trilogy over the past week in anticipation of the new film. It may have swayed me a tad. Especially the Temple of Doom stuff. I dunno. Just throwing it out there. :)

Whew! With that out of the way let me present Skull Rock Point - first discovered on the southwest slopes of VanTiki island by the intrepid explorer Lord Pomsby -

Sculpted in Laguna B-5 brown with yellow porcelain flames in the eyes and blue porcelain constellations and "earrings". Yeah!

Mahalo for Peeking -
Henrik

Just maybe your best yet! I'll reserve final judgement until he's all glazed and fired though. Looks like there should be something in the mouth (a matching pendant perhaps) hanging on the tongue for our intrepid archaeologist to purloin?

Vantiki- King of Skulls. Kinda a cross between your different works. I like the back of that thing, aside from liking the front of course.

Vantiki,you're a freak.Each mug just gets more and more insane.Awesome work.

Every piece has it's own personality and this is just another amazing mug.

I really like the blue accents.

Also I knew they where making another Indiana Jones, but didn't realize it was coming out in May! I'm wicked excited.

On 2008-02-19 07:34, Flat Black wrote:
Every piece has it's own personality and this is just another amazing mug.

I really like the blue accents.

Also I knew they where making another Indiana Jones, but didn't realize it was coming out in May! I'm wicked excited.

check out the new trailer online...

On 2008-02-18 14:23, Paipo wrote:
Just maybe your best yet! I'll reserve final judgement until he's all glazed and fired though. Looks like there should be something in the mouth (a matching pendant perhaps) hanging on the tongue for our intrepid archaeologist to purloin?

Aww... Shucks. You guys are the best! So glad everyone is stoked about the new mug. Paipo - I totally agree with you on the item in the mouth thing. I was going to do a small skull mug that fits into the mouth (after a sketch I did last week), but I started sculpting that night with the goal of doing "a simple mug" that I would later expand on with a removable skull-in-mouth mug - ha! Didn't work out as planned. In the end, I almost wish I made a little stone throne in the mouth - I love the idea that this was an ancient lighthouse - perhaps an evil beacon to drag european ships on the reefs to be pillaged (and keep VanTiki Island's location secret). The throne would be for the lookout to sit in. Anyway - you can see I spend way too much time thinking of backstories to the mugs :)

As far as glazing goes - I am (as usual) totally freaked out. I've Got Cannibal Idol #1 bisque-firing in the kiln right now along with 5 textured glaze test tiles. I'll play around with glaze options on the test tiles before I move on to mucking up a big mug. I've never used any of these clays before so I am really curious how they will turn out.

again, Mahalo!
Henrik

Inspiring work as always! :D Love the ideas you com up with

I don't think you spend too much time on your back stories, I think that is what really makes your mugs. Your imagination is key to your style.

I'm anxiously awaiting your next update.

Aloha!

I just pulled some glaze test chips out of the kiln this morning and wanted to share the results with everyone to get your (highly valued) opinions. THe B-3 brown is DARK! Wow! The black wash I did is almost invisible! Here we go-
here they are in full sun and shade:

And here are some close ups:

The colors are:

1 - Avacado Green wash
2 - Emeraude light coat
3 - Moss highlights
4 - Black wash (cant even see it!)
5 - grey wash

What do you all think? I'm digging all of them except #5. OK - gotta get to the day job!

Mahalo-
Henrik

I like the 4 & 5. How about a test tile of the gray wash first and then a the black over the top? 1 & 3 are also cool. Are these for the Idol Hands?

1 is awesome, cool mossy look.
2 looks too glossy for stone, not a natural kinda color effect.
3 looks okay, but I think the moss look on 1 is more natural looking though
4 agreed - not enough black wash. I would like to see it with more black wash effect
5 is okay, looks like grouting between stone bricks.

1 is my fave by far.

:D :D :D :D

If these are for the hands, I would stay away from the #2 because in the pictures it just looks too glossy. That seems like a good finish for something that was supposed to look more "new", or maybe something underwater themed.

I think #1 is the best, has a very natural aged look to it.

I like #3....It has an aged look with sort of a mossy looking growth on it...and I like the darker undercuts on it as well!!!

Okay folks, before we get to the goods I wanna get this right out in the open: This mug/pitcher has a crack. Yep. Took it out of the kiln this morning, and thought all looked good until I saw a glimmer of light showing thru the bottom. Sigh. Does the mug hold fluid? No. Does the mug hold straws, chopsticks, candles, and other non-liquid goodies? Heck yeah! OK. Got that out of the way. On to the photos!

I reaaaaally like this one (crack and all)! Put a lot of time into the glaze and it really paid off. Will kick off the auction tomorrow (I'll post in the marketplace thread when the auction is up).

Thanks for looking!

Henrik

PS - I've changed my assembly techniques with the hopes of avoiding future cracking - stronger seams and a lot of clay compression before drying it out. We'll see if it helps - unfortunately I didn't do the new moves to the Cannibal #2 mug - hope it makes it.

[ Edited by: VanTiki 2008-03-07 17:12 ]

Looks sweet! That glaze is very nice!
Keep up the amazing work! Everyone I show your work to
in the ceramics class I'm taking is floored!

Wow, that is incredible! My favorite by a mile!

OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH!

The is soooooooooooooo bitchin!

That turned out great...Love the glaze choice!!!

I didn't vote, but I'm glad to see you went with the one I liked the most too. The extra funky dank interior really sets it off.
It's a real shame you've had a few mishaps with these pieces, but such is the nature of pushing the boundaries creatively. Let's hope you iron out the cracks and have an unbroken run of watertight (rumtight?) vessels from now on!
In other news, I was watching "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" yesterday, and got this strange feeling of deja vu:

:x Dang krackerz always spoiling da best wun'z :D +Best in Show! =Nice Finish!! :D

Aloha folks -
Sorry for the long silence! Time for a VanTiki studio update.

First off, a big mahalo for the happy vibes about Cannibal Idol #1. It is on its way to its new home in the UK!

Bgreen - Ceramics class?! Oh no! Now I feel pressure knowing that clay pros are checking out my stuff! :)

Atomicchick, Tiki Shark, and MeHeadHunter - thank you! you guys are the best!

Paipo - Whoa! I LOVE that movie (as you may have guessed) - I've always loved the way they did they eyes on that cave entrance. I just may have to do a tribute mug now! As for the cracking - well, I've been working on it (see rest of post)

Jonesy - I ran your post through my Traveling Jones Translatograph 2000 and it assures me that you gave me a compliment. Mahalo! :)

OK - now for the update!

Been pulling out my few remaining hairs over this cracking issue. So frustrating! Turns out I've been suffering from a mixture of 3 things - switching to a clay body with a lower sand/grog content (more prone to cracking), "flashback" - a heat transfer conundrum that occurs when a cooling mug is sitting on a hot kiln shelf, and (most significant) big heavy mugs that can't shrink while drying due to the pressure on their bases. I'll be drying my mugs on their sides from now on, and all firing will be done with some fancy-pants porcelain stilts to provide uniform heating/cooling. The uncertainty factor that is ever present in ceramics is torture!

Unfortunately, these changes came too late for my last batch of mugs - and the cracking curse has struck again. Idol's Hand #1 cracked, and I think I may just keep it. Here it is in all its TRON/Mayan splendor:

Some good studio news is I am now using my AMAZING new clay signature stamp machined out of solid brass by claystamps.com - this is about 1000% better than using a rubber sig stamp:

Opened the kiln this morning to check out how the glaze fire went for Cannibal Idol #2, Idol's Hand #2, and Skull Rock Point. Looks like the cannibal cracked - but the glaze seems to have filled the crack and it may be watertight! Once the mug cools some more I'll give it the hydro test. Skull Rock and the Hand look crack free - but I got some foaming in the interior glaze! Argh! F ef Effity F! So, I've got them cooking once again to try and float out the glaze bubbles. Fingers crossed (and fingernails all chewed away). Here is a peek at the cooling Cannibal:

More photos tomorrow!

Mahalo for peeking,
Henrik "VanTiki"

The terror in that guys face almost gives me chills.

Looks great!

It is a very sad day on VanTiki island :(

Talk about depressing - it turns out every single mug I sculpted out of the B3 Brown clay has cracked. Opened the kiln this morning to find an epic rift running down the side of the Skull Rock Point mug, and micro cracks inside the Idol's Hand #2 mug. Too lame! Talk about a big blow to my clay self-confidence. My big no-no move was sculpting 5 intricate mugs back-to-back in a new clay without test firing first. I just loved the way the clay looked and felt - I couldn't help myself! Anyway - here are a bunch of shots of the "Lost Batch" of B3 Brown mugs:

Idol's Hands #1 and #2
These were meant to be "cursed mugs" (the curse being that you had to drink your entire drink before being able to put the mug down). They won't hold fluids - but they look swank on a shelf, so I think I'll offer these up with a ultra-low starting bid.

Cannibal Idol#2: Fresh Sacrifice
I suppose the name says it all! This fellow seemed OK - had a large crack on the bottom, but it had filled with glaze. Filled it with water and left it on an official testing paper towel. 20 min later all was nice an dry. Went to lunch for a half hour, and came back to find a damp spot on the towel! Damn! There are so many micro cracks caused by slumping of the clay during firing that I am not gonna risk shipping this one and it will live out its days on my Shelf of Shame.

Skull Rock Point
This is the one that really broke my heart. Put a ton of time into this sculpt, and I really worked the glaze. No cracks on the first glaze firing, but there were bubbles in the interior glaze coat. Fired it again (at a low Cone 05) last night. Opened the kiln this morning and was delighted to find that the bubbles were gone - then I just about threw up when I noticed a huge crack down the mugs back. Crud! Extra painful as the mug looks fantastic otherwise. This mug is also headed for the shelf of shame. Sigh...

So there you have it - the sad tale of the B3 Brown clay. Good news is I got back on the clay horse last night and am working on some new goodies in a very sturdy buff white sculpture body with lots of grog. Should be quite durable (knock on wood) - I'll post pics as the sculpts progress. Thanks for listening to my blubbering!

Mahalo,
Henrik "VanTiki"

My condolences on your crack problem. These mugs are unbelievable. I truly appreciate the fact that you share your failures as well as your successes.

beautifully intricate work. sad to hear about the cracks. those second times through the kiln to "fix" problems always seem to be a gamble.

Just say NO to CRACK... CRACK BAD! :P

Thats a shame mate. I can only imagine the disappointment after all the work and expectation whilst the kiln is doing its thing.

BUT, you're pushing the boundaries of mug making like no one else, and overall you have plenty more hits than misses, and the hits are HITS ya know :wink: :D

Sorry to hear about your misfortune after all that hard work Henrik. Cracked or not those pieces are still amazing, especially the tiki with the flaming eyes!

hey there VanTiki- sorry to see/hear your misfortune, i think Hewey put it all very well. don't let it slow you down, man.

That is a shame. Yet I think these mugs gave you some of the best glazes and textures and the amount you learned, a crack can't take that from you. The coloring on that Indiana Temple of Doom is the best coloring I've think I've seen is a while.