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MadDog Mike's Platterful of Pupule - El Tiki/Ben Wilson Wall Finished

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L

I love how those shells came out . Now get to baking that dessert!

M
mp posted on Sun, Aug 2, 2009 10:42 PM

MadSkilzMike!!!!!

C
Cammo posted on Mon, Aug 3, 2009 7:17 AM

Put a slight texture on one side of those test tiles - it doesn't really work if they're just flat surfaces; they don't show the transparency, pooling, or waviness of the baked glaze. You could make a stamp out of some fired clay with your initials on it to stamp & texture all of them with...

funkee fresh!
:lol:

menu art swap earlybird!

Leleliz, I keep workin' on that dessert but all of my experiments have gone awry so far :o

Thanks MP

Cammo, you are so right. After I took the pic last night I stamped letters into the clay. IN for the Envision glazes, CY for the Courtyard glazes, etc.

LLT - Funkee Fresh huh? Back at me :lol: That Art Swap earlybird was your idea

I'm gonna have 100 menu-inspired pieces to choose from in that amount of time!

I'm only workin' on 2 or 3 pieces.

B
Babalu posted on Mon, Aug 3, 2009 9:53 AM

Lookin' freakin' GREAT Sir Mike....keep posting! Love it, love it...

MadScientistMike!

RH

Mad Scientist indeed!!

Do you have a job, Mike?

If so, how do you create all this stuff?

B

Evil Genius.

Weasel Genius.

S
squid posted on Thu, Aug 6, 2009 3:34 PM

weevil genius

My plan for world test tile domination is almost complete! Bwahahaha :maniacal laugh:

6 down, about 50+ to go :)

Thank you all. Robb, I do have a full time job (yesterday was my sixth 12 hour shift in a row) but when I remember that TV is an evil plot to stifle my creativity I'm much more productive :D

RH

No way! You can't do all this, sleep, eat, work 6 days in a row, AND watch TV!

DRATS!!! FOILED AGAIN!
Well, I'm getting my round test tiles made but can't seem to adhere them to the tops of my glaze bottles :evil: Haven't found a glue that will stick to the smooth plastic lids. Tried silicone, superglue gel, epoxy, and some E500 "stick to everything" stuff I found at Big!Lots :) Will try some Gorilla Glue next.

Any suggestions?

construction adhisive, comes in a tube you stick in yur calking gun

[ Edited by: Sophista-tiki 2009-08-10 12:12 ]

B

On 2009-08-10 11:04, MadDogMike wrote:
Tried some E500 "stick to everything" stuff I found at Big!Lots
Any suggestions?


E500? Well shoot, no wonder it didn't work! E500 is that crappy glue that won't glue nothin'
ya durn fool! :)
E600 is the one you want!
Ain't that right, Pappy?

...And sand the living hell outta the smooth plastic with coarse sandpaper.

That's even worked for me with polyethalene, which is impossible to glue.

3 words
PRITT GLUE STICK!

just went back a page ooOOOOoo shells! those are cooOOOOl

Robb - I think you're on to something there. I've got a wire wheel on a bench grinder, that should rough it up a little for the glue to stick

Dawn - 10 outfits for a 2 day event? :lol: Glad you like those shells, they were quick and turned out nice.

Bowana - I was only off by 5500! Yep, that's what I got; E6000. Do you think that's one of Rick's products?

Kinny - Pritt's Glue Stick? Have you been sniffing glue? Glue stick only works on paper! :roll:

B

On 2009-08-10 14:15, MadDogMike wrote:
Bowana - I was only off by 5500! Yep, that's what I got; E6000. Do you think that's one of Rick's products?

E600 was recommended to me by Squid as an adhesive that will stick together just about anything. So far it's worked great for me.
Maybe as Robb suggested, you need to sand the hell out of what your glueing for it to work.

Mike,
Poke a few holes in the lid, then glue it. :)

Duncan Designer Glaze (DG Series) problem -

I was working on this "test tile" for my Menu Art Swap project and the glaze kept flaking off when it dried. I wrote to Duncan and they told me they had some problems with those glazes and reformulated in Nov '08. If you have any Designer Glazes you bought a while ago you may want to consider replacing them. I had only asked about 2 colors - Khaki Canvas & Saffron Silk, here's what Duncan said about lot numbers:

"The DG207-4 Saffron Silk, lot #295597 produced 6/1/09 and DG208-4 Khaki Canvas, lot #293894 produced 3/9/09 and lot #296034 produced 6/19/09. If you go to a shop to purchase please shake the jars to be sure they are liquid enough to be thinned if necessary. Because of a raw material they will thicken after a while"

Looks like those 3 lot numbers were produced after the reformulation and should be OK.

Here's my finished mug and the inspiration


I used glazed highlights and shadows to TRY to give the effect of being lit from below like the picture. Because of the glaze problems, I ended firing this guy probably 8 times, but finally got him all covered in glaze. I had to ad lib the back, so I chose a Shaolin Monk style ponytail for the handle. The picture doesn't show too well, but I actually braided the clay. Use goldtone metal rings for the earrings (placed after firing), I guess this makes it a "mixed media" piece - somehow that sounds fancier to me :) About 4 inches tall & 5 inches wide, holds about 22 ounces.

I decided my "Hunter Becomes the Hunter" mug (aka "Gimme Head") needed a lid. So I added one with 2 bones and a blue "vein" straw.


B

On 2009-08-18 17:21, MadDogMike wrote:

Because of the glaze problems, I ended firing this guy probably 8 times, but finally got him all covered in glaze.

The 8th time is the charm! Despite that you were having problems with screwy glazes, it came out fantastic, Mike!
Scaaaaary guuuy!

Bowie

Thank you Dave :)

Here's my the start of my next menu inspired piece, I hope it doesn't get me excommunicated from the Tiki Mug Makers Guild. I don't know how to explain it, but the volume of empty space in the base probably exceeds the fluid capacity of the mug. I'm not sure it even qualifies as a mug, maybe it's a sculpture with an added fluid reservoir :D

INSPIRATION

WORK IN PROGRESS

After the final firing, I plan to cast a blue-green transparent epoxy waterfall and lake. We'll see how that works out. I've got a massive handle on the back that needs some work and need to finish the Pillsbury Dough Tiki.

NICE work, MDM! :o Super inspired Zombie Village/Skipper Kent's mug!

Now, get back in the lab and create one for me! :lol:

No, seriously! :wink:

sandz

S

On 2009-08-18 17:21, MadDogMike wrote:

The Mad Dog is on fire!!! :)

L

Nice looking pieces. I can't wait to see the volcano all finished!

As always, mate, your stuff KICKS.

Blacksandz, Squid, Lorilei & Robb, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Creativity is it's own reward, but the kind words of others are sweet too :)

Tonight, I crept back down into the laboratory tried this epoxy waterfall for my volcano. The mold is made of ceramic clay (wet) covered with Saran Wrap. After the epoxy is set, I'll pop it out and recycle the clay. The epoxy directions (I skimmed through them) said that if the epoxy components are cold, your cast will end up cloudy - maybe that would be good for a turbulent waterfall.

Here's the back and handle. The handle is stout - I don't want the piece to be visually unbalanced, but the handle needs to be sturdy enough to support the mug. Hmmmm, a dilemma.


![](http://www.mgilbert.net/tiki lab banner.gif)

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2009-08-22 22:41 ]

M
mp posted on Sat, Aug 22, 2009 10:42 PM

Awesome work Mike! It was so great to talk with you at Oasis and your
original kiln plug is the bomb. Folks if you havent Mike, he's a real softy
with a super positive outlook. I hope I get to hang with you again someday.
The skipper Kents mug is awesome. Keep on rockin!

Thanks MP :blush: It was great to meet you and your family at Oasis. At Oasis, MP asked me if I was retired 'cuz he thought I seem to make lots of crap (my words, not his) The sad truth is that I'm not a retiree, I'm a PROCRASTINATOR!!!! Here's what I should be doing instead of playing with clay:




Also - remodeling the bathroom, getting in shape to re-start Karate after 1 1/2 years off, building decorative faux surfboards for the church, helping my wife plan a baby shower for my upcoming grandson, etc, etc, etc. Instead, I'm playing with clay and epoxy! "Hi, my name is mike and I'm a procrastinator"
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :D :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

fergit all that!
your first responsibility should be to your art.
werd.
cut grass-it'll just grow back again....

Here's an example....
Albrecht Durer's wife wanted him to go mow the lawn
he decided to go out there and paint instead...
the results are one of the most beautiful watercolors of all time..

think about it....

On 2009-08-23 10:24, little lost tiki wrote:
your first responsibility should be to your art.

Thank you, now I have the Official Kinny Blessing to ignore my chores and play with clay :D

Finally got most of my glaze samples done. Thanks to Robb's sandpaper and Bowana's E6000 miracle adhesive they seem to be actually stuck this time. This will make things easier now if I will actually make tiles for any new glazes as I get them.

I gonna play piggy with Squid!!! [surfer dude accent] I'm, like, totally stoked brah [/surfer dude accent] Gonna be great fun but I'm a little nervous, I want to do this right. :)

Mike those chores will still be there when you finally get to them. I'm with Ruzic Gotta go with the creativitey while you have it.
I try to do equal time on house projects, earning $ and making art. The bills get paid,the house isn't falling down and I get to paint a little everyday.
I love that menu cover you are using for your next piece. AND the piece is looking swell too.

Thank you Dawn. And don't worry, I can always find creative ways to avoid my chores :wink:

OK, my menu inspired "The Polynesian" mug was scheduled to be finished today! All I had to do was pull it from the kiln this morning, pour some blue epoxy in the "lake" and it was done. But I couldn't sleep last night so I go up and went to the studio. I decided, since the menu had an outrigger canoe in the lake, my mug needed one too. I made the clay canoe, now I have to wait for it to dry, bisque fire it, glaze fire it to the mug, and then pour the epoxy - so much for finishing today :D My canoe is a little large for the lake, but I was afraid it would be too fragile if I made it any smaller.


I tried an experiment with a fat lava glaze to the right of the waterfall, I think it turned out alright.

B

I see the experiments are coming along. Nice contrast between the gloss and matte glazes, Professor.
Stay out of the desert heat, Bud.

Bowie

T

This has got to be the nuttiest, most intricate mug ever created! I love it! Can't wait to see the final masterpiece.

On 2009-08-29 10:10, Bowana wrote:
Stay out of the desert heat, Bud.

Bowana, don'tya worry 'bout me, my blood is radiator coolant with boil-over protection to 265 degrees! Nice work on the War Pig, I left you a comment in the Clay Jam thread but it got buried in grandbaby stuff :lol:

On 2009-08-29 11:32, Tobor64 wrote:
This has got to be the nuttiest, most intricate mug ever created! I love it! Can't wait to see the final masterpiece.

Tobor, that's got to be one of the nicest things ever said about my work. I LIKE nutty!

Seems to be a slow TC day so I'll post pics of my latest epoxy casting experiment. I wasn't happy with a few things on my prototype waterfall casting, namely the color, size, and shape. I wanted a darker, more green color, I wanted it thicker, and I wanted a better fit at the lip where the water spills out of the mountain.


I started with some Sculpty clay and molded a waterfall on the mug. The lip and the back contour were the important points. Then I baked the Sculpty clay, mug and all.


I ended up with a rigid waterfall master to make a mold from.


I wrapped a slab of clay in Saran Wrap and pressed the master into the clay...


leaving a nice mold cavity.


I poured it full of epoxy and mixed in a little superfine glitter for a some sparkle in the waterfall

In 24 hours I'll see what I've got, in the meantime the mug is in the kiln for one last firing to glaze the canoe to the bottom of the "lake"

C

very creative mug!

Thank you Clarita, I love your new bamboo drums.

OK, I finished my "Polynesian" mug for the Menu Art Swap




Detail of the epoxy pond & waterfall, glass bead bubbles, outrigger canoe, and fat lava glaze (on the right). Once the waterfall is fully cured (about a week), I'll need to take a Dremel and clean it up a bit. 8 inches tall, base is 6x8 inches :D , fluid capacity 14 ounces.

Right on Mike!
Applause!
Applause!
i'm a sucker for dioramas
and this has that vibe....
not just Incredible
it's Cornish Game Hen Incredible!
:)

T

Just insane! Great job on this unique piece. You're going to make one swapper very happy.

T
TikiG posted on Wed, Sep 2, 2009 8:27 AM

Killer M.D.Mike!

I love all waterfall imagery but to have that imagery captured into something I can hold in my hand - and fill with a 14oz cocktail? GOOD GOD! HELLO?!!!

  • stoked to be a participant in this art swap with this level of creativity present.

wow! I wish I could say something clever, but all I keep saying to myself is wow! crateive problem solving at its best. . I didnt read all the details but will the drink that goes in this mug be on fire??

Terrific mug and photos. I'm working hard on my swap mug. I'll put up photos soon on the swap thread. You inspire us all to do our best. Wendy

L

Great job....you executed that really well! But..........
2 months until the swap deadline so we know this is not the last of the menu inspired pieces! What's next?

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