Bowana's Other Crafts

More clay time!

Surfer Wahines...

and more Surfer Wahines...

Manta Ray...

Fez Monkeys...

...Sea Monkey...

...Sea Horses...

...Ku shot glasses that have yet to be fired...

...box 'o' stuff ready for Babalu's Magical Mystery Kiln!

I'm planning on bringing all this plus the everpopular more to the Tonga Hut Handbuilt Show April 11.
Go here for everything you've ever wanted to know about it: Tonga Hut
Thanks for checkin'!

Bowawa

...The drums!...The drums!...

[ Edited by: Bowana 2009-03-22 20:29 ]

Sea Monkeys! Yes, what a great idea. Nice. :D

Great, great glazing work! those early mugs that went bad with that part, seem to have teach you a lot, Lot, you are a master now!
Why no Tikis at all, some particular reason? I would like to see some too, in that medium, I mean little pendants, like the ones you've been mini glazing ..

My Space

[ Edited by: Clarita 2009-03-24 09:03 ]

Sir B.
I'm loving the Ku shots. Can't wait to see them all done.
Hope to see you at the chop gathering after, next.

• Johnny

amazing stuff as always bowana! haha I dig the sea monkey pendant

dude, love the surfer girls! you always have some creative trick up your sleeve - the sea monkey.

bd

Nice! Me like the chicks on the boards.

Thanks for commenting BigT, Clarita, Jabtiki, tikithomas, big daddy, and seeksurf!

On 2009-03-23 13:52, Clarita wrote:
Why no Tikis at all, some particular reason? I would like to see some too, in that medium, I mean little pendants, like the ones you've been mini glazing ..

No particular reason, Clarita. I'm just trying some new things. I found the little Tiki that I lost, but it got so dry that I had to reclaim it. :(

Here's a couple 'O new things:

Ace Of Spades Fez Skull Mug. It has yet to be fired and glazed.

It's hand built from the ground up, not cast from a mold.

I can't decide whether to make the fez red or leopard spots.

10" tall Yipwan, also not fired and glazed yet. Something to hang on a wall. It's too big for a pendant (unless you are Buzzy) :)

Thanks fer lookin'.

Bowie

I love the shot glasses. The skull is a little too scary for me! Your work is very nice

the motorhead skull mug! love it but what's to decide? leopard spots all the way. but that's just me.

bd

Very nice! some cool looking work there.

Outstanding work, dude ! That's awesome.

I definately vote for leopard spots.

Benjamin.

Bows, What a Great bunch of stuff, from the Surfer Wahine earrings,manta, sea monkeys and that whole line to the Monkey Fez Ace of Spades Skull Mug, they are all Excellent. You could probably sell a zillion of those, All of'em.
You are getting Way out of Control Here,,,,,,I Like that!

I have been wondering why you (Clay Jam) guys haven't been doing any wall hangings? Clay is excellent for that - a little heavy - but still excellent. I hope to see more.

Thanks for the comments all!

Grand Poobah-Being that my real job is as a sculptor/designer for a Halloween company, you paid me a very high compliment. Thank you!

seeksurf-Thanks for checking in!

Benz-Yeah, I hope I will sell a zillion of them. I'm trying out a lot of new things these days. You never know what's going to hit and what's going to miss. As with you, I like making stuff!

AlohaStation- I've been wondering that too. Where's the wall hangings?!

Benella and Big Daddy- My vote is also for leopard spots on the Ace Of Spades Mug.

...and Philthy, Lemmy, and Fast Eddie concur!

Rock out hard everybody!

Bow Wow Wowie

damn that skull is cool!!!

Thanks Tahitiki.

Here's a quick shot of the finished piece. I wanted to paint the fez with leopard spots but I the deadline for it came up too quick and I didn't have time.

Here's some of the shot glasses glazed.

Gotta go!!

Bo

that's a shame. sure would have looked beautiful with the leopard spots but it's still a gorgeous piece. somebody out there is going to be a lucky owner of that. beautiful work.

bd

A lot of nice ceramics you've made for this show, hope it all goes great!!

Too BAD ! I can see no leopard spots and it's a SHAME !
This skull doesn't look perfect at all now, he's only amazing, so you got to send it to me in France, nothing better you can expect for :lol:

Bravo,

Benjamin.

Excellent finish to the Skull Mug Bow's.
As far as your job as a sculptor , how do you live with yourself, I mean doesn't it bother you that they Pay you for Playing with clay all day? Then you come home and do it all night?
Actually I know there is more to it than that,,lots of stuff like budgets, deadlines, Quality control, design, reports, and unless you have helpers, you get to do all the dirty work too. Sounds like the Perfect Job! :D :P :lol:

Daaaaaaaang Boy!
wana!
Skull fez=WINNER!

you're special....
:)

Big Daddy and benella- yeah, I just ran out of time to do him up right with leopard spots and all. Wait til next one!

Clarita- Gracias amiga mia! The show could have gone better, but there will be more to come.

LLT- Thanks, my bruddah! You also are speyshul!

On 2009-04-12 03:50, Benzart wrote:
As far as your job as a sculptor , how do you live with yourself, I mean doesn't it bother you that they Pay you for Playing with clay all day?

No, it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I really like it!

Then you come home and do it all night?

Most nights. Sometimes I slack on TC instead.

Actually I know there is more to it than that,,lots of stuff like budgets, deadlines, Quality control, design, reports, and unless you have helpers, you get to do all the dirty work too. Sounds like the Perfect Job! :D :P :lol:

You forgot to mention the beancounters, the stuffed suits, and the Chinese factories trying to take the sculpting part away from us!

Thanks for visiting, all youze!

Bowie

Sir B,

You never cease to amaze me...Your work just plain blows me away! I can't wait til our next little clay jam.

Thanks Babalu! I've got something for the kiln already. We'll hang out soon.

I'm experimenting and banging my head against the wall with a 3D program called ZBrush.
Here's a few progression shots of my friend The Gill Man. I like to call him Mr. Fish-Face.

You start with a sphere and push it and prod it to get basic shapes.
Just as you would with actual clay.

Dig them fish lips!

Here I've divided it so the mesh is finer. More details can be added.

Pulling out some wrinkles and details on the gills.

At this stage it's been divided about 4 times.
Popping out some eyes and teeth!

ZBrush is by no means an easy program to learn. I consider myself a rank amateur compared to some of the work I've seen by other artists. You have to be a freakin' rocket scientist for some of the functions to make sense. I was afraid of it at first because I felt it was threatening to traditional sculpting, and that it and all other 3D modeling programs were going to destroy the sculpting world as I knew it. It's not! It's a fantastic tool, but very left brained. A frustration, yet enormously rewarding. A love/hate relationship. ( In other words, I love ZBrush, but it hates me)

I'll post a few more shots of Sir Fish-Face as he gets finished up.
Thanks for looking.

Bowie

Hi Bowie,

Now that you've got your clay thing even if it's on your screen, take some toolz and some notMahogany wood and go carve it :wink:
Nice work, by the way !

Benjamin.

Also your can carve your screen! :lol:

Wow Bows, That ZBrush looks Amazing and from the guy you did it looks like you have tamed it pretty well, that could pass as a photo from a real hunk of clay.
Can you now put that through a CNC Machine?
Cool.

Holy Bowana!!!!Wow never amazed at your Incredable talent,only more in awe at each piece!!!I love seeing such creative Artists like yourself,A big Mahalo for sharing,Aloha your friend, Mooney

Cool stuff Bowana! I would have never thought you'd venture into the digital realms of art. Benzart is right, once you have a digital format, you could send one off for machining. For those that want a free taste of 3D modeling, you could consider CB Model Pro, free downloads at http://www.cbmodelpro.com Probably not as advanced as ZBrush, but good for those who are PCs.

Thanks guys!

Benella- Ha! I WISH I could carve a piece of NotMahogany like this!

laojia- Carving the screen , hm? Yes, I think you've got a good idea there!

Benz- Not a C&C machine, but a 3D printer that outputs the file layer by layer. Kind of like pages in a book on top of each other going from top to bottom (or back to front)

Mooney- Thanks Bruddah! Aloha!

Mango- I ventured into the digital realms of art out of curiosity as well as necessity. Have you tried CB Model Pro? How is it?

Here's the finished Señor Fish Lips with what's called a "toy finish" texture. Weeks of sanding and polishing done with the click of a button.

Creature from Freak-Out Lagoon!

Bowie-Wowie

" Weeks of sanding and polishing done with the click of a button. "
I HATE YOU!

:D :o :lol:

Cool stuff, Sr. B.
Where and when is the next chop??
-Hope to see you soon.
-Johnny B.

Psychadelic Hei-lagoon creature! Very Kewl.

On 2009-04-24 20:03, Bowana wrote:
I'm experimenting and banging my head against the wall with a 3D program called ZBrush.

So it became true! You are a REAL carving robot now! Nice upgrade.

I was afraid of it at first because I felt it was threatening to traditional sculpting, and that it and all other 3D modeling programs were going to destroy the sculpting world as I knew it.

Not quite the whole sculpting world, but rather your personal world. Now any idiot can do what you do. Your talent is now obsolete and unecessary.

Quick question:
Can you throw a 6 foot log in that computer carving thing you got and make a tiki?

No?

Cool, at least I have job security for the time being.

If you need a job in the near future, let me know. I need someone to run the Facelogs branch of my tiki factory.
Buzzy Out!

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2009-04-28 19:33 ]

Bowana, I have toyed with it over the years, but never got any results that I was proud of. The controls are not that intuitive to my brain, so I gave up on it.

Sweet modelling! i hear z-brush is alot like mudbox- very organic interface (that's what she said. Can't wait to see more models! keep up the great work.

Really cool!

Benz- Yeah there ought to to be a law!

Jab- Thanks Johnny. I don't know when the next Chop is going to be. Looks like I missed one at The House Of Buzz!

surfin- The color combinations are endless. I could be coloring it from now until Doomsday and not come up with the same thing twice!

Mango- CB Model Pro sounds strangely familiar!

mijaba- I haven't tried MudBox...yet!

seeksurf-Thanks for visiting!

Okay Buzzmeister...

On 2009-04-28 18:45, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
So it became true! You are a REAL carving robot now! Nice upgrade.

Yes, goes to show that if enough people tell you something, it will come true.
Now I need to be told over and over that I am rich and handsome!

Quick question:
Can you throw a 6 foot log in that computer carving thing you got and make a tiki?
No?
Cool, at least I have job security for the time being.
If you need a job in the near future, let me know. I need someone to run the Facelogs branch of my tiki factory.
Buzzy Out!

Yes, it can make a 6 foot Tiki (or any other size for that matter) but not from a log, so rest assured that your job is safe (for now).
Does the SD Tiki Factory have any openings for a floor sweeper? That's the job for me!

Okay, enough of this Hi-Tech nonsense of sculpting in cyber-space. Let's get back to actual 3 dimensional space.

Here's a mug I'm almost done with.

It's called "Shaken, Not Stirred" for 2 very good reasons. The first one should be obvious. Any guesses? (Babalu, shhh!)

Thanks for visiting!

Bowie

Nice one Bowana! My guess is that there is a lid with a rubber o-ring so you can use it as a drink shaker :)

GROG hope you're making a mold of this one.

On 2009-05-01 23:47, GROG wrote:
GROG hope you're making a mold of this one.

I agree.

One of my favorites for sure!

On 2009-05-01 21:46, MadDogMike wrote:
My guess is that there is a lid with a rubber o-ring so you can use it as a drink shaker :)

Or a sippy cup! :lol:

Amazing work you are a pro!

beautiful work. sign me up for a couple once you have 3 made. gonna majke a great sippy cup for all my adult beverages. liquor inside, porn on the outside. great work sir.

bd

The secret is safe with me :)

Your such a clay stud Sir B!! You totally went all "DAVE" on this one...

Good lucky with the mold.

I don't know about the name, but very nice design! a lot more character than before, congrats!!

Thanks all!

Maddogmike: Nope! Good guess though.

4WD: Sippy cup! No, but that gives me an idea...!

Seeksurf: Thanks! I hope "pro' does not mean physically retarded oddball!

Babalu: I had to stop myself from going all "DAVE" on this one as much as I wanted to. I think I only went "DAV" on it.

leleliz, GROG, and BD: Yeah, Bowana make mold all right:

Foot placement ©GMAN All rights reserved Used without permission

It's a 3 parter. Now to see how many castings I can get from it. Should be dry enough very soon.

Clarita: No sabes acerca del nombre? Bueno, voy a decirle a todos que lo significa.
El secreto es:

I sculpted it on an empty spray paint can!
Shake it! Get it?! (yeah, I know...groooan...)

Bowana Fofana