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

Hilarious!

Wow! MDM you are THE diorama mug maker.

Let me say that your Queen K bar/hut mug is stupendous. I can't wait to see your next project in this format...

...but there's a natural MDM mug just itch-in' to be made - a mug with your "nice young man" image on one side and the "then he found TC" image on the other. How many self-portrait mugs have ever been made by a mug artist? If you ever attempt this idea Mike, I'll gladly swap/trade a nice TikiG painting for it (hint hint!)

Thanks for sharing Mike.

Thank you all so very much! This one was great fun, I don't know about "interlocking diorama mugs" though :) I do have at least one other idea I want to try with this epoxy "water" trick.

TikiG, hmmm - a "mug" mug? Not quite sure why anyone other than my mother would want a mug with my ugly face on it :lol:

Zaya, I hope Buzz is healing well - I'm sure he's going crazy!

I'm trying to get Amy's mug finished so I can send it out to her but I'm having trouble with the hanging Fishing Float.

Attempt 1 - FAILED! I used a 1.25 inch superball. Clear with a nice frosted finish, won't bang against the mug like a glass marble would but it's too big - it blocks Buzzy's drummers

Attempt 2 - FAILED! I poured red epoxy into a 1 inch glass Christmas ornament. After the epoxy set I tried to break the glass off, the glass is stuck to the epoxy like Angelina Jolie lip-locked to a plate glass window!!!

Attempt 3 - FAILED! I repeated Attempt 3 but used some mold release inside the glass ball, still stuck.

Attempt 4 - In Progress. I'm using latex mold builder around a Christmas ornament (good thing those ornaments came in a pack of 12). Once I get enough layer of latex, I'll try to peel the mold off and use that. We'll see.

what about using a paintball (the kind you shoot) for glass float?
not sure how long they last?

Anyway fun design! cool stuff

Thanks SneakyJack, I think I need something more permanent than a paintball :) On second thought, an emptied paintball might make a good epoxy mold - maybe that's what you were thinking. My latex mold turned out good - ball size is better but it's too dark red. Need to make a new one with less dye then net and hang it.

I saw a plain white skull mug for a buck at Dollar Tree and couldn't pass it up :D I used it as a practice piece to see how underglazes work out. It didn't turn out spectacular, but it gave me an excuse to try out a 360 degree photo animation idea.

Clay, the original and most divine art media - Genesis 2:7

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2009-10-19 12:47 ]

Pretty cool tapa skull there Mike!
Now that you got all the bugs out
they'll just keep geting better and better!
:)

I love Amy's bar idea! and all the 3 designs you made for the swap are butt kicking too :)

Mike , You keep getting better and better. You are a rad artist dude!
I love all your new work. The skull is sweet. Keep inspiring!

Clarita and MP thank you, it's good to hear from both of you. I know Clarita's been busy carving beautiful bamboo but MP, what are you doing with your talents?

On 2009-10-19 13:14, little lost tiki wrote:
Pretty cool tapa skull there Mike!
Now that you got all the bugs out
they'll just keep getting better and better!
:)

Ken, you (and others on this board) are teaching me so much about what it means to be an artist. I wasn't impressed by the way my Tapa Skull turned out - maybe it was the colors, maybe the design, or maybe the execution. Frankly, I was done with it and ready to move on. But I see that you and others keep hammering at a theme until you get it PERFECTED. I need to work on patience :) So I went back down to DollarTree and picked up a few more skulls (they're on sale for 50 cents now) and I ordered more colors of ungerglaze, I'm ready to try again! Thanks

On 2009-10-19 12:45, MadDogMike wrote:

Evil genius.

I received the mug today, And I have to say it is amazing, the colors, detail, fish, just amazing, It is truly unique and will look great it the center of my collection!!!

Mike you really did an unbelievable job, thank you so much!!

A

I'M A GRANDPA! My first one, it's a BOY - Tyler Michael! :D

I just barely look old enough to be that child's FATHER :lol: :lol: :lol:

HUGE CONGRATS Mike!!! :-)

This is where life starts to get really fun brother...

Congrats! Lookee there - you have the hair cut!

I just barely look old enough to be that child's FATHER

oooooooooookaaaaaaaaay...

:lol:

Congrats mike!
Now put the baby down and get back to work!

Hey Mike~ Congrats, Grampa! Have lots of fun with little Tyler. :)

Congratulations GrandDogMike!

Congrats, Grampy!

Congrats from one Grandpa to another! :drink:

Awesommmmmmmmmm maddog! So Beautiful. Congratulations Grandpa

BIG congrats, Mike!

Your not that old, are you? :P :lol:

Congratulations! Now you can get revenge on your kids and spoil your grandson. Maybe we Gramps should form a club?

Thank you all for the kind works to ease my transition to old-foggy grampa-dom :lol:

But now I' singin' the :music: "Can't get my Underglazes Right Blues" :music: :( Picked up some Duncan Cover Coat underglazes and some Duncan Concepts underglazes for a very important project I'm working on and they're giving me fits. GROG, I feel your pain. The Covercoats seem to work OK, can be put on greenware or bisque but greenware just seems a little delicate to be messing with. But I'm having all kinds of problems with the Concepts. To start with, it fires to a gloss - I thought underglazes fire to a matte finish? I fired them first, then put a clear over them and fired again (not sure why I did that if they were already glossy?) Parts of the Concepts Underglaze/clear glaze combo actually CHIPPED OFF, taking pieces of ceramic with it! WTF!? Any advise from the glazemasters?

EDIT - THE PLOT THICKENS!
I went out to reload my kiln and may have found the problem. My kiln uses a kiln sitter - a little bar that bends when the right temp is reached and turns the kiln off. Here is a pic of a normal used bar (top) and of the one from yesterday's firing

Looks like the bar failed and the kiln got too hot, eventually turning off by the backup timer a couple of hours too late. Hmmm.....

Clay, the original and most divine art media - Genesis 2:7

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2009-10-31 13:04 ]

Congrats on the grandson!!! he got your hair!!! you are way too young for a grandbaby, but what the heck!

I think the skull mug turned out well. I can see a lot of potential there...different glazes, different themes, personalizing for a home bar, etc. Glad you found out your kiln had an issue before you put anything major into it. Can't wait to see what you make now that you are on the road to having the kiln working properly!!!

BTW...got some molds from thrifts...just need to find artwork and I'm casting resin stuff...even got a bottle shaped mold originally from Ikea for stuff...maybe Beverly's tomorrow....I'll keep you posted...

Good luck with your kiln and congratulations on the next generation!!! I hope he gets your artistic talent!!!

:drink:
Tacky

Thanks Tacky :) Good luck with your casting endeavors!
"Glad you found out your kiln had an issue before you put anything major into it"
Unfortunately, it did have something major in it - a "top secret" project I'm working on. Hopefully I'll get it all repaired.

I decorated a new fiddy-cent skull mug from DollarTree. I have tried to make some matching shirts and mugs with varying degrees of success. Here is the mug with the shirt and a matching hat band I stamped. The colors are a little darker than I wanted, it was one of the things in the over-fired kiln. Maybe I can finally get the elusive "Buzzy's Tiki Guy Certification" :lol:

Clay, the original and most divine art media - Genesis 2:7

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2009-11-01 18:46 ]

great job ON THE SKULL!!! and congrats on the little one..

Thank you TikiGodz :)

Ooops, I did it again. I have been wanting to make a volcano for several months but I couldn't figure out what to do for a handle. While researching for the Menu Art Swap, I came across the Lake Loreen Blue Lagoon Menu. The volcano is the perfect shape for a mug; it's "self-handled" on the top.

The problem is that I misjudged the size and it's HUGE for a mug. The base is 9 inches in diameter and it's 8 inches tall :D I swapped out my 2 poured epoxy mugs, so now I can make one for me - complete with a shark swimming in the lagoon. Maybe it will be a decanter instead of a mug

Nice...it looks like a valcano bowl for two. :-)

Volcano decanter with water and shark! This I gotta see!

I'm here to tell you Mike is a stand up guy !
The kind we need more of around here.
I didn't play in this swap & I won any way.
I was just pleased you liked my carving,
had no disappointment or expectations.

Thank you very much & I'm glad Tom didn't pick this.
Will

maddog keep up the good work

Oh Mike, what a terrific photo of you with your grandson. He needs a piece of art with his birthdate that he can keep in his room forever. Hummm wonder who could make that for him. Hugs, Wendy

Mike - you are a very generous guy (maybe due to the endorphins of grandfatherhood :wink:) but I think that's just you. Congratulations and will you be passing on the "Tiki Torch"? My dad really enjoyed teaching my daughter how to carve and paint her pieces and she was soooo pleased with her work. Now she's nearly 20 and completely not interested in those things - but the seed has been planted.

Congrats on the super volcano, and super grand kid too!

wplugger, thanks - I wasn't quite ready for that :blush:

Marcus and Clarita, thank you. Beadtiki and Wendy, I plan to introduce the little fart to clay real soon :D Beadtiki, I've taken inspiration from you and am planning an embroidery/crewel project soon.

Well, my volcano project is a BUST :( My kiln malfunctioned again and over cooked it. Caused several cracks. The first time this happened, I thought I just had a bad pyrometeric bar (the one-time use bar that bends and shuts the kiln off, come in a box of 50) but now I'm thinking it is something more serious. I'm going to my local (120 miles away) clay store Friday, I'll ask what they think.

I like the design of my volcano so I'll try again next week. Don't let the buzzards get you down :)

:(

Maybe something kilt yer kiln....

hope it goes well mike!

Sorry to hear that.
Keep pushing the envelope GrandDogMike!

On 2009-10-11 08:16, MadDogMike wrote:
Her Highness Queen Kamehameha and I are doing a Low Desert Art Swap :) I'm making a mug to represent her backyard and she's going to carve me one of her awesome canoe pendants.

We've got Buzzy's two big guys in front (in the wrong positions :( ) and his drummers in the eaves. Bamboo Ben's thatched roof, Lauhala panels, and "W" shaped bamboo bar. We've even got a waterfall and some Koi.

Still need the hanging red fishing float. I couldn't find an appropriate sized clear red bead so I'm trying to cast one from epoxy

7"H x 7"W x 8"D, holds about 20 ounces.

EDIT - I didn't want to bump this mug again, I've already gotten too many kind compliments for it :) But here's a picture of the finished product

---

Clay, the original and most divine art media - Genesis 2:7

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2009-10-23 09:12 ]

HEY I was sleepin' I guess & missed this post! What a cool idea! Thats great Mike & Amy!!

Sorry to hear about your mishap, Mike. I hope you can resolve the problem as I always look forward to your posts.

Yeah, I sure hope you get that problem fixed. It's kinda like Da Vinci used the wrong materials and his paintings kept flaking off!

Thank you Kelly, I had fun with that mug.

Kinny, Jason, Tabor - thanks you for your kind condolences :) I took my kiln to the pros and got some advice. Doing some calibration and maintanance, if that doesn't do it, I know which part to replace. Doing a test firing today, we'll see what happens.

Robb, I've never been compared to Leonardo DV before! :lol:

I'm back in business. After 2 kiln failures that overfired and ruined several things, I re-calibrated the Kiln-Sitter that is supposed turn the kiln off when the proper temp is reached. I have fired it several times since then and seems to be working now. So here's the re-attempt at my volcano. 9 inches in diameter at the base, 7 inches tall, holds about 40 ounces. Hammerhead shark in the blue epoxy water, "fat lava" style glaze running down the side, palm trees are done in Duncan French Dimensions (a raised glaze that comes in a squeeze bottle)

I hope to make "smoke" out of a gray acrylic sheet and attach 2 acrylic tube straws. I made a basic form plaster mold for this so I can make more if I want to.

Mike I like how complete your pieces are...esp how you have added the koi to Amy's mug.

Great stuff!

Rolling with the breaks and breaking new ground! Awesome work mike, per usual.
I cant wait to see whats next.

That volcano piece turned out just super Mike.
Love the different textures and colors!

The volcano turned out great! the texture, the colors and the shark, i love the shark detail!

Your a crazy man Mad Doggie!! I like the way you think!

Keep kickin' it out :)

i soooooooo wanna shrink down and play on that volcano!
a friggin hammerhead!
Fat Lava!
And the newly discovered palm trees from
the Duncan French DIMENSION!

razzamatazz!