Maui Tiki Ceramics - by TikiRob

Aloha, I thought I'd better start my creating Tiki thread and stop posting my "how to/in progress" stuff in the marketplace.

As you ceramic people know Glazing can be challenging and requires lots of testing. I decided to make some small pendants to test some glazing techniques and colors, since I'm new to all this ceramics stuff. They came out great and I'm out of control, I can't stop making pendants! I'm thinking I can make them into Christmas ornaments by adding a hook and a little red bow.

I started with a simple plaster mold of some caps to vitamin and make-up bottles/jars. then made "Blanks" with a little slip. I carved the blanks with my ceramics tools and made molds from these for the pendants.

I have 6 different tiki designs a skull and a Peace sign for my daughter.

I'm playing with painting on dark colors them wiping the glaze with a sponge, then adding a lighter color over the top. It's crazy because the glaze all looks red or gray, but it's actually really cool colors.

This box is scheduled to be fired in the next couple days (I don't have my own kiln...Yet!) I'll post photos when I get them back.

Now if I could only remember the glaze combinations so I could try them on some mugs!

MauiTiki

Tiki and flower pattern Stickers http://www.stuckonmaui.com
Maui Tiki Tours & Tiki Mugs http://www.mauitikitours.com
Hippie Stickers http://www.hippiestickers.com

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2011-01-24 20:18 ]

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2013-01-28 10:36 ]

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2013-02-19 20:03 ]

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2014-06-11 20:31 ]

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2014-08-13 14:48 ]

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2014-12-15 19:42 ]

"Now if I could only remember the glaze combinations so I could try them on some mugs!"

:lol: That's the purpose of test tiles; try different things and WRITE THEM DOWN so you can reproduce them :lol:

Looks good MauiTiki :)

Hey MauiTiki thank you for sharing. One easy thing to do is buy an underglaze pencil. write the number on the back and in a binder to keep track of what you did. In your case they are gifts so maybe a photo and the number for your book. I love the pendants, they are terrific. I still don't know how Bai and now you do such perfect work. Wendy

PM me when you have some for sale

I'd treat it like cocktails if you don't write it down before you drink it you'll never remember. Good luck and they look amazing can't wait to see the final cuts. BTW are you working on a medallion for a bar in Kona? Great works of art!!! Mad skillz.......

WOW! Lookin' great! Love the diversity of the designs you've chosen, too :D

For the second set of 60 pendants that will be fired this week I wrote down the color combinations of glazes I used. I bought a few more colors so I have more different color combinations. I did as many as three layers of colors. Now it will be fun to see if I can match all 60 pendants to my notes.

Wendy, I tried one of those ceramic pencils on some earlier stuff and it works great, but these will become gifts and we may sell some at BeachBumz's shop so I didn't want to write on them.

Bryce, I'd love to make some for Okolemaluna, do you have a "signature" tiki that I could design it after?

Croe, I tried some different designs with different techniques so I can see how the glaze works in deep spots, scratches and flat areas. If you look at a the red and green one in the lower center, it's just green glaze. It goes on red and stains the clay red, but when it's thick it melts to green in the kiln. I wiped this off with a sponge only leaving it thick in the cracks and grooves.

More photos to come!

Here are the results from the second firing. I wrote down notes of which glaze color combinations I used and numbered the photos so I can make a matching list on printouts.

I'm hoping I can sell them for $5 plus shipping. I need to find some of those padded envelopes and see how much shipping will cost.

Bumatay Style:

Marquesan Style:

Hawaiian Style:

Marquesan 2:

Hawaiian Smile:

Skulls:

MauiTiki

Tiki and flower pattern Stickers http://www.stuckonmaui.com
Maui Tiki Tours & Tiki Mugs http://www.mauitikitours.com
Hippie Stickers http://www.hippiestickers.com

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2014-08-13 14:48 ]

Got a bunch more ready to glaze, what colors do you like?

The kitchen table is filling up with projects...

What about Christmas ornaments?

When I first saw these I thought I was on VanTiki's posts

One of his coins

One of his tiles

Especially since he has a whole slew of coins that double as pendants.

Is this where you got your ideas from on some of your designs--they are pretty close in style so I was just curious.

[ Edited by: leleliz 2010-10-18 22:27 ]

Nice work! The skulls are very cool!

They all look good, would make great decorations for a tiki Chrirtmas tree. I would sandwich them between a couple of pieces of cardboard in the padded envelope for shipping.

Cool to see how the different designs look better in some glazes than others! & I LOVE the xmas ornament idea, too :)

IMHO, I like the designs in these colors.....
Marq - 7, 8, 9
Bumatay - ALL of them!
Hawaiian - 6, 8, 9
Skulls - 1, 4, 3
Woodgrain - 2, 4, 5, 9, 10

Happy glazing!!!

Looking good. Nice designs, and nice colors.

Thanks for the feedback. I will order a couple more glaze colors today and hopefully fire another batch this weekend.

Hi Leleliz, Yeah I was inspired by VanTiki, I love his stuff! I had an art teacher that once said "Art inspires Art".
His are much larger and he uses press molds, mine are slip cast. His are Way better quality too, I'm just learning. I wanted to make one with a wood grain because it shows how the glaze works in cracks and seams, and the main purpose of all this was to test glaze combinations and techniques. I promise I wasn't looking at his when I made mine, but I was thinking of him.

Now it's time to try some of these glaze combination on mugs!
I'll keep you posted.

My favorite glazes for each are:
Bumatay #4 and #5
Marquesan #4 and #10
Hawaiian #6
Marquesan2 #1, #2, and #4
Hawaiian Smile #3 and #4
Wood grain #4 and #5
Skulls #2 and #8

What's with #4 it's almost always the best one. You've done a terrific job. My glaze tests are fit only for hanging on the wall. MadDogMike glues one of these tests to the top of each glaze jar then he's able to grab and use it without checking notes or a book (like yours truly).

Your work is impressive, thank you for sharing, I'll keep watching, Wendy

Mee likey Marquesean #2 - 4 & 5 - And peace sign too!
all good!

Me like them all!! Man you've been busy...
That Bumatay one is awesome though...

Maui, is there much difference between slip casting those pendants and press molding or sprig molding them? Seems like the slip cast ones would shrink a little more. Do you pour the excess slip out after 20-30 minutes so they are lighter?

Mad Dog, I'm new to all this, plus I live on a rock in the middle of the ocean so have limited supplies and resources. I have slip, but not clay. I don't know anything about press molds or how to do it. I'm just experimenting and learning as I go. How do you get the clay out after you press it into the mold? How do you press it in all the way? I think I would need more exact molds. The slip is easy to clean up.

I don't pour out the excess slip, it all dries pretty quick. they are only 1/4 inch thick. I sand down the backside to make them smooth because the slip leaves the edges taller as it dries. The final pendants are about 1/8 inch thick and pretty lightweight.

yeah, the slip shrinks which makes them easy to get out of the mold. I don't have a problem with them shrinking a little.

-Rob

Wendy, your pendant is on the way, plus I sent you an unglazed one for you to glaze yourself! Have fun and post a photo! I also sent Gecko an unglazed one, so I'm excited to see what he does with it as well.

On 2010-10-20 19:33, MauiTiki wrote:
Mad Dog, I'm new to all this, plus I live on a rock in the middle of the ocean so have limited supplies and resources. I have slip, but not clay. I don't know anything about press molds or how to do it. I'm just experimenting and learning as I go. How do you get the clay out after you press it into the mold? How do you press it in all the way? I think I would need more exact molds. The slip is easy to clean up.

I don't pour out the excess slip, it all dries pretty quick. they are only 1/4 inch thick. I sand down the backside to make them smooth because the slip leaves the edges taller as it dries. The final pendants are about 1/8 inch thick and pretty lightweight.

yeah, the slip shrinks which makes them easy to get out of the mold. I don't have a problem with them shrinking a little.

-Rob

Rob, sorry I missed your reply and question

The mold you are using for slip would probably also work as a press mold too. You just stuff the mold full of clay and use a straight edge of some sort to scrape off the excess clay. It shrinks as it dries too and the molded piece pops out.

If clay were available, it would probably be a little cheaper than slip but otherwise there is very little difference. I would imagine that the slip shrinks a little more just because it has a higher water content

Again, it probably doesn't make much difference at 1/4 inch thick, but you could probably dump the center out of the wet clay after about 10 or 15 minutes. It would make the back concave and a little little lighter. The advantage of a slip casting mold is that the slip forms a skin starting on the outside (plaster contact area) and the inside can be poured out. It doesn't have much bearing in this application but it's the MAGIC in mug making because you end up with even thickness walls on your mug. Have fun!

On 2010-11-08 21:25, MadDogMike wrote:

Rob, sorry I missed your reply and question

The mold you are using for slip would probably also work as a press mold too. You just stuff the mold full of clay and use a straight edge of some sort to scrape off the excess clay. It shrinks as it dries too and the molded piece pops out.

If clay were available, it would probably be a little cheaper than slip but otherwise there is very little difference. I would imagine that the slip shrinks a little more just because it has a higher water content

Again, it probably doesn't make much difference at 1/4 inch thick, but you could probably dump the center out of the wet clay after about 10 or 15 minutes. It would make the back concave and a little little lighter. The advantage of a slip casting mold is that the slip forms a skin starting on the outside (plaster contact area) and the inside can be poured out. It doesn't have much bearing in this application but it's the MAGIC in mug making because you end up with even thickness walls on your mug. Have fun!

Thanks Mike, I have discovered I can get clay at the local community college. I have some "hand-me-down" clay that I use when making my tiki mug molds, but it's pretty hard and dirty from being used over and over. I should pick some up and give the press mold thing a try. I'll probably need to create a few new designs.

I'm hoping to get some of my pendants up for sale on my website soon.

Aloha, Rob

Rob, I took a ceramics class at my local community college a few semester back and it was a quick introduction to techniques that would have taken me a long time to discover on my own. Also gives you local contacts for supplies, advice, perhaps a larger kiln to use. It was a great investment for me.

Mike, my community college does have ceramics classes, but they are mid day and I have a 9-5 job. I've looked into it. There was a local ceramics studio offering adult classes, but they closed a week before my scheduled class was to begin. I've hooked up with a local artist who is showing me the ropes, but the process is slow.

Next time you are in Maui I'll take you to lunch and we can talk ceramics!!

-Rob

Hi Rob, thank you so much for your gift. When I glaze in the future I will post again. Right now I wanted to post a couple of photos. One with the Islander mug and then where the pendant will hang unless being worn. I love it, good job. Wendy

Awesome to see the "Fish Face" as part of your collection!

I put a few of the Bumatay style pendants up on my site. only $6.

Christmas Ornaments too... 5 for $20

Get them before they're gone...
http://www.mauitikitours.com/postcards.html

Here is the pendant that Wendy glazed herself, she posted it in another thread, but it fits better here...

That's one crazy lipstick wearing Bumatay! great Job Wendy. I'm sure Dan Loves it.

That's about what I look like after sucken'um up all night..... ssshhhhh on the lipstick....:wink:

[ Edited by: Beachbumz 2010-11-23 17:16 ]

I got to put some of the glaze testing to good use on some bowls I'm making for Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge on the Big Island.




These three ore off to the Big Island Tomorrow. Be sure to order the "Drink for Two" in one of them next time you visit the Big Island!

I love the bowl. The glaze in the second photo is my favorite. How can I get one of those for Dan?

I didn't even think of lipstick when I did the Bumatay but now that you mention it...Dan did grab it and it's in his collection.

Cheers, Wendy

Maui, I missed those bowls when you posted them - very nice! The 2nd one is my favorite too.

Thanks, Wendy and Mike

The bowls continue to get better as I get better at making them. I re-did the mold for the triangle bowl, because the first few were a couple ounces too small. The mold came out much better than my first one. I used foam core, rulers, computer printouts and an exacto knife to make it perfect. The first bowl mold was made from a clay master. So these latest 3 are much nicer and a little larger.

I have one that had a post crack at the joint during bisque firing, that I have repaired and will keep for myself. Haven't glazed it yet. The rest have gone to Okolemaluna. These are too much work to put out there for sale, but I may do a couple special orders and may make one for my buddy eBay.

We'll see how much time I get off for the holidays.

all my glaze testing has paid off. Got these 4 out of the kiln yesterday!
I've finally gotten the "wood grain look" I've been after.

More photos in The Tiki Marketplace section. Where do I post this stuff I create then sell?? it probably needs to be here until I'm ready to sell it.

Great texturing and glazing.

Finished or in progress works can go here, stuff for sale can go in Marketplace. If you want you can create a thread in Gallery for all of your finished work.

Love the finish on these (also the sculpts), you nailed the wood look!!! Any back shots?? :D

Aloha TikiKirby,

I'm kind of stuck in the middle of two threads... Creating Tiki and Tiki Marketplace. Soon I'll need to start a gallery thread too. You can see more photos in my Tiki Marketplace thread.

BeachBumz and I were working until after 10:00pm last night on glazing of 7 more mugs. Hopefully we will fire them tonight and have more photos this weekend.

I've been watching your progress on your mugs and love your Mauna Loa designs. Will you be making molds and slip casting these designs?

I need to get one of your Kiln plugs for the guy who has been nice enough to fire my stuff for me. (I still don't have a kiln). That's a great idea.

Aloha MauiTiki,

Mahalo for the heads up, I've been avoiding the marketplace until I settle in a new house (all my Tiki things are in storage at the moment)... They look great, both you and BB are doing some cool stuff, and you're in the middle of the south pacific (green with envy).. I'll definitely cast some Mauna Loa stuff, I may resculplt some to add more detail and hopefully do a few others, problem is I'm taking a class right now and I wanna focus and building and glazing as much as I can...

I think you may be confusing me (TikiKirby) and kirby with the kiln plug though, I haven't done one... You can call me Aaron if it makes it less confusing, sometimes people mix us up... :D

Actually I think it's MadDogMike making the kiln plugs. I saw our "vertical Test Glazes" and it reminded me of the kiln plugs.

I need to take a ceramics class, I'm just winging it as I go.

Aloha Tiki People! Here are my latest 2 mugs (Carson with fingers!) that were fired along with BeachBumz 4 mugs. Beachbumz' mugs came out amazing. I'm sure he's posted photos in his thread already. It's so great to have someone to work with and try out glazes and ideas and get feedback from.

I think the next mugs I'll go a little thicker with the brown glaze and less gloss in the black. Fine tuning... I really need to get rolling with a new design, but I'm having too much fun with my new glaze techniques.

Gecko gave me the green light to create a "Big Puka" version. So that's next. Hopefully this week, then fire over the weekend!

Great glaze contrasts Maui!

I made a push mold for the kiln plugs and then just added the design to the front. PM me an address and I'll send you a blank wet one for free, you can make it into whatever you want then fire and glaze it. :D

These are your best so far! Looks like your starting to get comfortable with the glazes...Yay! I hate glazing :) ...I really do...

Babalu... I love glazing... I hate sculpting. Maybe we need to work together, because you've got the sculpting down! I need some sculpting tips. I've got three sculpts underway. One with Sculpy, one with regular clay and another with the hard oil base clay (can't remember the name). I can't get comfortable with any of them. I need a class or something.

I love customizing the dry slip. maybe I need to make a slip-cast blank Mug and just customize that for my next mold.

Thanks for the positive comments!

MauiTiki

Tiki and flower pattern Stickers http://www.stuckonmaui.com
Maui Tiki Tours & Tiki Mugs http://www.mauitikitours.com
Hippie Stickers http://www.hippiestickers.com

[ Edited by: MauiTiki 2011-02-02 10:39 ]

Since this IS the "Creating Tiki" thread, I though I'd post an "in progress" photo. This is my "Big Puka" mug in honor of my friend Gecko. I haven't decided weather to use a real puka shell, or add one with clay. I guess it really depends on if I can find a puka shell that fits the way I want it to. I'll post the finished mug in the next week or so.

Amazing... I have about 3 hours of customizing/clean-up into this already and about an hour more to go before bisque firing.

On 2011-02-03 19:31, MauiTiki wrote:
Amazing... I have about 3 hours of customizing/clean-up into this already and about an hour more to go before bisque firing.

No "instant gratification" in doing ceramics.

No "instant gratification" in doing ceramics.

Indeed! :)

Yes Grog and VanTiki, No instant Gratification... In Fact "Da Big Puka" mug is STILL in progress. It's been bisque fired and now has the first couple layers of Glaze. Still needs two more layers airbrushed on. These custom mugs are a ton of work.

Also in the photo below is some Lava cinders on the Kaikaina mug I'm going to try out. Plus I'm making a custom for a friend on Island. He's a Tiki mug collector and is building a hot rod. His car is not finished yet but has already been seen by most of you in Brad Parker's "FASTER THAN DISASTER" painting. You'll notice the Spider web grill in the painting, and now the spider web on the mug.

Here's Gecko'z hand holding one of my Geckoma's. Now you are doing one too. That guy is going down in tiki history. His necklace weighs 5 pounds. I tried to wear it for 5 minutes and got a neck ache.

Here he is with wife and baby at La Mariana.

My tribute to him.

I hope it was ok to post these with yours. It's just fun to see them all together. I want one of yours for our collection. I'll send this on to him to view. Great work, Wendy