Big Bang Creations - new Yipwan Drum Mug pg 86

The heads look great Babalu! really looks awesome & I'm pretty sure I know where your going?????? :D

She is Amazing Babalu!! I have my fingers crossed to the drying and firing gods :)!
I thought the heads were going to be removable but now i see that they are hollow too, so you can pass the straws thru them too! Spectacular!!

The sculptural part of this bowl is done. The bowl is in a nice leather hard state right now...time to pick up the pace and dry it out faster. Thanks Robin for pointing out to me to finish drying it in the kiln...good idea.

Harro - Thanks for bouncing in! Big project for me, but lot's of fun :)

Robin - Hey, hey Mudslinger & Rock Muncher!...This clay has a little grog in it, but not enough to screw with those 06 glazes. It sure would be much stronger and more sculptural if I would have wedged a little sand into it, but I think your right...those gritty looking areas just don't cut it with the translucent glazes. It's not to bad with the more opaque 06 glazes. I guess I've just rounded first and headed towards 2nd on this here bowlie.

Clarita - Thank you C..It should hold enough liquor to make a moose mumble.

Hey Kel,

Sorry for the confusion, here is how I made this party bowl of yours to work. You get the fun task of figuring out the drink recipes :) Hope you like where this guy has gone...I know it just kind of took off and went where it was going to go.

That is a beautiful piece of work Babalu, I can't wait to see this one
finished. A party bowl for the ages.

Oh My! It is fabulous Babalu. The crowd roars as the runner heads to second!

"Thanks for pointing out to me to finish drying it in the kiln..."

Hard lessons won....leather hard clay is so tough, and bone dry so fragile.

Thanks for letting me be part of this...you're an expert handbuilder, clay guy, artist, carver...quite a repertoire...oh yeah...and mold maker! You really know your stuff...and it sure is fun for me to watch and learn....rock on Babs!

Freakin' unbelievable. The showstopper of showstoppers. People will stare at this in a museum 2000 years from now as the only example of true intelligence in the 21st century.

Fire that sucka!

ummm.... wow!

Let me start of by saying thank you Conga, Cammo, Tiki Trav....and Robin...Robin, the check is in the mail lady!...you are most certainly in my will. :)

Well guys, I fired the bowl last weekend and it didn't make it through the firing. The reason the firing failed is simple, and is something that one learns in basic Ceramics 101...Any air that is trapped in the clay will force it's way to the surface, sometimes in an explosive manner. This is what happened here. Two of the little bird man faces blew right off. This is what happens when you rush work, like I did on these 2 birdman faces right before I left for Hong Kong.

Yes, it was a bad day last Sunday, but it got better...I took the Bird out for a swim, and then we munched down a whole box of Honey Bunnies. Everything was fine in the world after that.

Believe it or not, quite a bit of good came from this firing...1. All the sculptural elements that I was worried about fired out good. I know now that I can work with this low fire clay just fine. 2. I also have a big piece for which I can test glazes on..."then it gets the hammer". 3. The 4 heads are fine too and can be reused...so this is what I'm going to do...

I have now started bowl #3...

I added this construction shot below on no. 3 as I don't think I showed how I attached the base on the last one...

And Kelly...Kelly you have given such wonderful support to this thread and project - thank you! Folks, Kelly just asked me to make a bowl, she had no idea that I was going to try and build the Taj Mahal. Kelly, for being such a good sport and letting me have big play time with this project...I hand built this little mug just for you. I guess everyone likes a fez wearing monkey...so here ya go kiddo. Now, I still have to fire and glaze him too, but he should be just fine. My daughter said that this baboon looks like he should be chasing roosters around over in Hawaii?

He's very thin and light. He was sculpted solid then hollowed out and the parts reattached. I had no idea what to name him, so I just called him "TC" as a way to thank those folks who have been bouncing around on this thread with me.

I picked a baboon as I think the color ways that I can use on him will look nice. You know, I don't think baboons have tails?? I guess this one does :)

I don't have many mugs yet in my collection, but I put ole TC here next to some of my favorites that I own so that you can get an idea on how big he is. I hope you like him Kelly, and if this 3rd bowl doesn't make it, I'll build a 4th...I know it can be done.

Sorry about the bowl Babalu, it was indeed a thing of beauty. Wishing you better luck in round three!
The baboon looks great. So that's a one-off piece sculpted in ceramic clay rather than a model for a mold?

Call him Red Balloon Butt!

And if that's what the mug looks like before you've had a few Banana Scorpions in it, what the heck will it look like AFTER!?

Hey there Babs....shit shit shit shit shit!!!!!clay is soooooo humbling. Really looking forward to #3..they just keep getting better anyway.

Love the detail on the bottom of the mug....so many people neglect the bottom of stuff...it's like a nice surprise.

The praise is free BTW and sincere....but I'll be looking for that check :wink:....I'm thinking of becoming the worlds' nicest art reviewer.

oh man - so sorry about the blow out. I saw the thread title and my heart just sank. I know the feeling! How thick is the wall where the blow out occurred? Could you sand it smooth and salvage the bowl (at least for your personal use) instead of giving it the hammer? It is an amazing piece - and that Baboon is too cool for school! I LOVE the bottom!

Van-i feel your pain-Tiki

What a bummer Babs!! :( :(

surely it doesn't deserve the hammer though?? "It's still good, it's still good", as Homer would say.

Oh and I think "The Babaloon" is a better name for your new brilliant mug!!

Kablooey! Ah, phooey! Sorry to hear that, Sir Babs.

The Babaloon (good one, Harro!) is damn cool! Very original design on that guy, and not a smidge of bunny. :)

Baboons do have tails, Mandrills (the blue face guys) do not. Only a small tuft.

Oh Rick! That's just heartbreaking. You were so close. I wish you the best of luck with the next one. This is the most ambitious ceramic piece I've seen around here. If anyone can pull it off, it's you.

:(
BABS!
so close......so close.....what a journey!
What a trip!
but, for every advance,there's always a step back or two...
At least now,you can try again with more knowledge and confidence...
You deserve a spot in the Sculptor's/Carver's hall of fame!
I know when you finally finish this,it will be awesome beyond words!
Speaking of Awesome....that baboon is WAY WAY KILLER!
The profile with the arms...wow!

What happened! yikes I leave & look what happens :( .............................. *sigh I'm sorry rick..........

At the kiln shop I went to, this guy had a "glue" that could mend breaks like that. Just wet a bit of both sides with water add the stuff from the tube, press, fire and glaze or glaze then fire.

"At the kiln shop I went to, this guy had a "glue" that could mend breaks like that. Just wet a bit of both sides with water, etc. etc. bla bla bla..."

I was just over there last night, and it's way worse than a patch up job. The whole side of the bowl blew off and the pieces are all over the place, shattered. Babalu is right, this one is good to test glazes on but it's a no-go. His new one is lookin' real nice.

Harro - Love it man! Ok, ok....Babaloon #1 (Kelly's TC version) it is...I've already got's Babaloon #2 started. Thanks for offering up the really cool name dude.

Mad Doggie - Nope, I'm having fun with these one off mugs. No mold in the plans. Like Henrik, these little hand built mugs just kind of make me feel all warm and fuzzy like, if you know what I mean.

Mud Slinger - Thanks, but really, it's fine...it's just mud. I've lost many pieces over the years as I am sure you have too. You just have to leather up to the fact that anything can happen with clay. The losses make those works that turn out nicely feel just that much better.

Henrik - Hey man, thanks for the prop on the Babaloon...It might have been a good thing that this little explosion happened to the bowl in the end. Now I have something that I can test all kinds of colors on. Even if I get some test colors back that I really like, I will most likely still hit it with a hammer to make little test trees instead of having one big bowl thingy sitting around in the shop here...and besides, I like hitting things with hammers. :)

Sir B. - Thank for the baboon research brother...The other "Babaloons" that I make will have short stubbies instead of long curlys. After doing a little research on baboons myself, I find that these are some really major bad ass little creatures! They got fangs like a bears, and they are smart and strong as hell...Like they plot sh*t...they will kill you, then bite your testes off, then poop down your throat...Mean little bastards all!

Kate - No worries kid...Like I said above, there is always good that comes from everything bad that happens. One creative door closes and another one opens...

Cammo - You left the blown up pieces from this bowl in my studio last night...I cannot for the life of me figure out why you would want these??? Dude, it's trash...

Teaks - Thanks for the input man, but Cammo's right...it's much easier just to build another bowl. Hope your clay work is coming along...you and your Pops are pushing out some nice stuffs.

LLT - Thanks for the support boss...You lucky devil - going to Florida and all. Sorry I missed your call.

Kelly - Just hang in there sister...The next bowl will be better than the last. Your little Babaloon gifty will be done first though... I hear thru the grapevine that you have a big trip planned too? I'm jealous!

Well that was a fun weekend....now back to the grind...

(the other studio space)

I was kinda hoping "Kablooey" was a Californian exclamation of success and celebration, but in my heart I knew it wasn't so :(

This has happened to me more times than I care to admit, and, like you've done, I just get back on the horse - usually immediately - and put that frustrated energy into a new project. Some stones have a habit of hiding their compromising flaws until you've spent many hours shaping and sanding to reveal them...

I've actually been thinking about the fogcutter style mugs a bit lately - when you stick a handshaped or molded piece onto a form (mug or bowl), is that one of the areas where the air pockets can occur? Is that what happened here?

The babaloon is very clever - I could see a whole animated tribe of these (similar to your bunny work) populating a mug shelf somewhere.

Ok so I know you are the pro but maybe you should take a mould next time before firing, then you can cast another if it blows up and still have something to show for it... just a thought...

Hi Rick got your call this eve. I will call you in the A.M. Thanks for the Babaloon gifty!!! Love it!!!!! I'm gonna sneak up on Kate & scare her with it!!! VERY COOL! I just feel so bad bout all your work... talk in the morning ... Thanks!

Paipo - Yeah, ya gotta let those negative mishaps roll off of ya like water off a frogs butt. I am well into the 3rd bowly and having fun with how I can step up the design . Your right, the reason for that explosion was the air being trapped behind that bird man medallions (2 of them fired out ok)...Normally, I would attach something like this in the same fashion that you see me putting the added base on on page 11. I would score, or rough up the surfaces of the back of the medallions and the surface I want to adhere it to with a fork or something like that. by adding H2O while your doing this, you create a kind of slippy glue out of the clay...press the pieces into position together firmly as you are working out any air behind. I indent the edge around the medallion and add a small coil of clay and smooth out. Sometimes, I just build up on the surface of the clay instead...like I did with your Creature mug. Your mug was not a added medallion. I will do a little picture demo for you later...pictures are worth a million words. I was really pushing the bowl medallions as the clay was drying very quickly in that area and it was hard to get those surfaces scored up nicely to create that slippy clay glue needed. I am approaching the construction of this 3rd bowl a little differently as to not have that problem this time.

Trav - Thanks for bouncing in man...."Pro"...no, sorry...I'm just one dude of a very few that are hand building in clay and posting on this Site at the moment. Ceramics is a lifetime of learning, and I still have plenty of life left (I hope). I could show you some work from other hand builders out there that would just rock your socks off. As it stands, this is just a hobby for me...I get a kick out of sharing processes with others, that's all. One the advantages that you get with hand building in clay is being able to have under cuts and other sculptural elements that you just can't mold....like this bowly...it can't be made into a mold...and as far as being a "pro" mold maker...sorry, nope on that one too man...It's folks like Bowana, Squid, Monktiki, C-Al, and a few others around here on TC that are the ones who are the local pros. These are the cats that are the ones punching out a living from their mold making.

Hey Kel, Okie Dokie...talk to ya laters...

Aloha babalu! Sorry about your setback but I know as talented of an artist you can make it all work and even better, and the fez monkey is cool but scares me ,he reminds me of those Dam bad monkeys in wizard of oz a movie I havent watched in about 25yrs but I know you fez is a good monkey and very cool at that,looking forward to more of your cool art,Aloha Mooney

Thanks Mooney, think that 1st one was scary...Babaloon #2 - progress shot.

Had to take a bowl break tonight :)

A couple of stiff drinks from THAT and you'll have nightmare for weeks!!!! Too cool!

Well its good to see I'm useful for something around here!!

By the way is Babaloon #2 flipping us the bird?? :lol:

On 2008-05-29 05:45, harro wrote:
By the way is Babaloon #2 flipping us the bird?? :lol:

That's what I thought too!

Nice

Oh not Kablooey! Well is going to be even better this time for sure :D!
The Babaloon is SO cool! Love him!

Hey Thank you for bouncing in Harro, Maddoggie, and Calrita...I took a bowl break again and finished the sculpt on the Babaloon #2 - The whole mug is as thin as the top rim. The drink will only fill into his head and fez...the body is hollow, but has no passage to the head section. I'm feeling much more comfortable with this clay I'm using.

Peace...

So does he have a hole somewhere (butthole?) to vent air out of the hollow body while he's firing?

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2008-06-01 13:54 ]

It seemed like the most logical place...

Give that monkey A DRINK! He wants it NOW! Not later, NOW!

That's the most amazing sculpt I've ever seen, Babs. No prob, it's da best.

Here's what's cool about this mug - it has gesture. It moves. It looks totally alive, the whole thing twists and turns and you can see its hat scrunching up as it yowls.

Cripes, is that a Tiki Bob mug he's holding???????

Never seen a mug like this one ! It's a "mugsterpiece" !

Benjamin.

Crazy! Most animated/lifelike for sure. You really have a way with animals - maybe in a previous life you were a netsuke carver? Those old Japanese dudes had a knack with imbuing their animal sculptures with human characteristics like you do so well. The aggressive pose and the way you've subtly manipulated the proportions with the body really are very clever....and you can drink out of it! I can't wait to see what you do with the "Cobra's Fang" concept....

Babaloon #2 is BAdazz!
Such personality!
like paipo said-you got way with animals
and clay!
Rock on!

Wicked cool! I think you should come up with a special concoction for him now. Howza about a 'name the drink for the baboon mug contest'?

Here's my suggestion for Babaloon III :)

Aloha Babalu!!! Holy clean out my pants from FEAR of GIANT Incisers!!! You are one VERY Talented artist my friend! You really know how to make it all work and look so real! Mahalo for sharin and Aloha your friend Mooney

Rick, I was going to PM or call but I thought maybe someone else might want to know this too. I'm working on my next mug (yeah, I've got the bug :)) and want to add something to the inside bottom of the mug (inspired by Dani's Deep Sea Rum Barrel http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25817&forum=18&hilite=rum%20barrel ). Seems the easiest way would be to add a medallion after the mug is pulled from the mold, making sure not to trap any air so it doesn't go KABLOOEY! Here's my question, can I make a push mold for the medallions? I know they use push molds for polymer clay, does it work with ceramic clay too? Can you make the mold out of plaster? Would you need a mold release (talc?) or do you let the clay set and dry a little so it shrinks away from the mold like you do with slip? I can experiment if I need to, but why re-invent the wheel.

Thanks

Oooooh....love da munkey!!! He is awesome.

Thanks for the great responses all...I have to get back to this here bowlie. Will start tonight...been busy moving out the kids into their new home, and prepping this old vintage travel trailer I have for a complete aluminum re-skinning (a big project for me)...so, I will be bouncing back into metal again for a minute after this bowl is done. A tiki time out if you will.

Mad Doggy, Love the Babaloon Scull! Sweet idea! Absolutely you can make a small press mold out of plaster if you want to...simple. And sure, you can add a medallion, or whatever to the bottom of a mug like GoGo did. Ideally, you would also want to be able to get your hand down in there to work the wet clay if you go that route...another option would be to just bisque the parts separate - glaze - then let the glazes join the 2 parts together in the final firing.

Great, thanks Babalu. The mug design is short and wide-mouthed, should be able to get inside to work the clay.

Whoa!...pull the reins...Mad Doggie - check this thread from 4 days ago..

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=28620&forum=12&start=0

C-Al beat you to the gate on your idea brother and it's a NICE one! Great minds think alike dude.

What an awesome work of art! Actually, the Babaloon 3 idea was for you Babalu, I could never pull off something like that. The mug I'm working on is much, much more simple and the skull goes inside the mug instead of on the outside. Had someone offer to GIVE me an old kiln. It has at least one element out, I'm trying to find out what it will cost me to repair it.

Hey Babs!
Any plans for a Babaloon "waterpipe"?
Pleeeeeeeeez?