Moai Madness Tonga Hut art show July 9th--thanks for coming

Just finished my third and last painting for the show. Looking forward to seeing all these masterpieces in person and meeting the artists who made them this Saturday!

Easter Island
12"x16"
acrylic on canvas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aswenson55/5906350945/in/set-72157623994826856/

Vintage Moai Tiki Mug
8"x16"
acrylic paint on old Hawaiian shirt
(swizzle stick and straw in pocket)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aswenson55/5883393706/in/set-72157623994826856/

Moai Madness!
8"x16"
acrylic paint on canvas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aswenson55/5858218537/in/set-72157623994826856/

Here's a sneak peek at my piece for the show. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Everybody's stuff is looking good. GROG' ceramics are in the kiln for a bisque fire along with some pieces by Trader Tom and Tobunga. Tobunga's damned bowls take up so much space GROG not sure how GROG going to fit everything together in the glaze fire. Pieces can touch each other and be stacked in the bisque fire, but they'll stick together if they touch in the glaze fire.

Here's what GROG bringing to Moai Madness art show. (If they survive the firing)
GROG not selling any of these before the art show, so no need to send GROG any PM's or emails asking to purchase any beforehand. If you're out of town or out of state, get somebody to come to the art show to purchase them for you. GROG not packing and shipping anything. These all still need to be glazed and fired again.

Anything that doesn't sell at the show, GROG will put up on the online show July 10th.

GROG miss Tiki-Kate

[ Edited by: GROG 2011-07-05 22:42 ]

GROG has seen Tobor's unfinished piece and it's looking great, so you guys are in for a treat when he has the finished piece at the show.

Oh Shit! That's this weekend!! :o

Si!

Maururu roa, GROG, for the compliment! Hope you like the finished result.

On 2011-07-05 22:40, Bora Boris wrote:
Oh Shit! That's this weekend!! :o

Thats what im sayin!! I better get busy!

Melvin the Drunken Moai came out of the first glaze firing with several glaze skips on the inside. After the second glaze firing he had just one tiny glaze skip so he's going back in again tonite. Hopefully tomorrow he'll be perfect :D

everybodies stuff is looking great..all goes well should have a one off color Mai mug and a painting for the show..see y'all saturday

Im working on having some affordable pieces at the show this weekend!!
Kon Tiki Table Top Moai(Resin moai with hand built Kon Tiki Raft)
I Believe this is how the Moai reached the mainland!!

Primitive Moai head carved from lava rock...this was my first attempt at carving lava so I kept it real simple.. I got a shard of lava in my eye and cut up my hands and feet(note don't carve lava rock barefoot and without gloves or safety glasses).So this may be the only one!

I will also have a few of my fire stencil moai

A handful of moai tiki pendants and hopefuly a new wood moaisaic!!
see ya there!!

[ Edited by: kirby 2011-07-08 07:35 ]

Night Time Moai mug for the show, features hints of purple, red, baby blue, rose and black. finishing up a painting for tomorrow as well. Working tomorrow so will be showin up to the show a little late.

Hope to see you there!

----Artists ----set up is 2:30--3:30. Show starts at 4 when the Tonga Hut opens.

Hang your own art. There's netting on the wall if you just want to bring S hooks, otherwise bring a hammer and nails. We have some lights (Thanks dibroc) but bring more in case you need it and an extension chord in case you need it also. Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. GROG will have shelving for mugs and small 3D stuff.

Bring a card for your artwork with Title of piece, medium, artists name and price if you're selling it. Contact info on back of the card if you leave the artwork hanging up at the Tonga Hut for a couple of weeks or so. Artists sell your own art, so bring your own change.

Don't bring more than 1 other person (spouse or significant other) with you to hang stuff. (But invite plenty of others to come.)

Kelly will be preparing the bar for the event, so she will not be making any drinks until the bar is open at 4.

----And to anybody else who's coming,---- there's rumor that one of the artists( thanks Tobor) will be bringing some delicious Kalua pork there to eat, so if anybody wants to bring a side dish of some sort, you're more than welcome.

[ Edited by: GROG 2011-07-09 00:34 ]

Good luck to all the artists! Wish I could be there. Have fun!

Oh no, my tar ball moai melted in the sun yesterday and my driftwood in the shape of a moai was thrown in the beach fire by some cove dweller!

Oh, I guess I'll have a new painting!

Today Saturday! Special Cocktail Menu! Come taste the Big Mo" or the "Moai Madness" and More! Menu starting at only $5 with Beer at $2 *Pizza while it lasts! Doors open at 4:00pm

Tonga Hut
12808 Victory Bl.
No. Hollywood

The desert rats are coming out to play today, This will be my first time at the TONGA HUT,I can't wait to check out the vast Witco collection on the wall and to check out some great art. I look forward to some cocktails and seeing some old friends.

W

Here's the menu...

tongatom.blogspot.com
tomdkline.blogspot.com

[ Edited by: Tonga Tom 2011-07-09 11:49 ]

The kiln is cooling down. Hopefully we've got a good bunch of stuff that survived the firing. Dr.Trader Tom made it back from France in time to bring his jet-legged butt over and glaze some Duncan Moais, and he even has a couple of hand-made mugs. One of Tobunga's hand-made bowls lost his head in the bisque fire, but the Rapa Nui Island bowl made it through fine.

GROG looking forward to seeing everybody's stuff, but especially to eating some delicious Kalua pork. Yum.

GROG wish GROG was drinking alcohol, because GROG would have one of each of Kelly's drinks. May have to cheat and have a taste here and there (just don't tell GROG' doctor.)

Se ya'll at the Tonga Hut.

Just finished this "Moaisaic" for the show... See ya there!!

Ah such a cool idea Kirby. I'm looking forward to lots of photos and of course to having the next step (on-line show) start tomorrow! Enjoy tonight you lucky southern California tiki people. Wendy

Melvin the Drunken Moai

Every place has one; that guy who has a few drinks too many and dances around with a lampshade on his head. On the sloping shores of Rapa Nui, that guy is Melvin the drunken Moai and he wants to party like it’s 1399!

Melvin is 7 inches tall and 3 inches in diameter, overall height with his lampshade is 9 inches. Hand sculpted from low fire clay and glazed with food safe glazes, the exterior in rustic orange and the interior in bright neon orange. His removable hat is a candelabra lampshade made of plastic and fabric, a straw will let you imbibe with his lampshade in place. Fairly thick sides give Melvin a good heft. With his lopsided, half-mast gaze, inebriated grin and a 45 degree twist to the left, Melvin looks like he could go down at any minute, but don’t worry - your rum is safe with him.

MadDogMike, I love him and you too, Wendy

sooo bumned that I'm missing this...

Welp, my wife and I are running behind here now, so I'm posting this up here for everyone to see before I get to the show with the original...and I'll be trying to sell off some prints of it (11X17) while we're there. Hope there's room for it.

happy Moai-ing all you Aku Aku freaks at the Tonga Hut tonight!!!

will have to kechup on the online sale gig.

i'm sure it's go'in off!!!

cheers!!

Thanks to Grog, Hiphipahula, and everyone else involved in putting on the Moai Madness show tonight at the Tonga Hut. It was a great time with some killer art.

Our new Moai mug by Grog is already fitting in nicely.

Mahalo!

kevin

On 2011-07-09 14:04, kirby wrote:
Just finished this "Moaisaic" for the show... See ya there!!

I wanted this !! Queen K. beat me to it. You snooze you lose, I guess. :(

Great show. Thanks GROG. :)

And thanks Kelly for the Moai Madness !! You are the greatest Tiki mixologist in the world. This is a Tiki fact. :)

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2011-07-10 06:09 ]

Great seeing some old friends and New Art at the Tonga Hut yesterday.
I don't get out of Palm Springs too much on the weekends so this was a special treat for me.
Great Art,Great Drinks,and what seemed like 40% of tiki central .

Kelly you looked more comfortable behind that bar then I have ever seen you before.....Great job setting the tone.

Grog Great Job setting up the show and lining up some top notch artist.

Awesome!!!!!!!

W

Thanks everybody who came out and to all the artists who contributed to the show. It was a great time, and the drinks were flowing. Thanks everybody at the Tonga Hut ---Kelly, Jeremy, etc.

Wildsville man, Queen K, and Ray, thanks for making the long trek out from Palm Springs and supporting the artists and the Tonga Hut, and Polypop and others who put some miles on their car to make it to the show. Much appreciated, and great to see you guys.

Thanks Tobor64 fro the YUMMY Kalua pork. That was hilight of night for GROG.

Special thanks from GROG to everybody who bought GROG' crap. Hope you enjoy it.

The online Moai Madness thread is up in Marketplace, so artists everywhere go post stuff there, and everybody else go check it out. Here's the link:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=40575&forum=12&start=last&0

Thank you Grog again for another great show! Sorry work made K and I get there 5 minutes before the show closed...hope to see photos of the show in full effect. Looking forward to the next concept!

I really wanted to make it to this, especially as it was one year to the day that I was on Easter Island communing with the Moai at Ranu Raraku (the picture in Tiki Magazine was taken on July 9, 2010). The 405 had other ideas, though. Everyone was rehearsing for the shutdown next week, apparently, and I was forced to abandon the effort. I hope to see some pictures.

Here's some photos from last night...

tongatom.blogspot.com
tomdkline.blogspot.com

[ Edited by: Tonga Tom 2011-07-10 15:50 ]

Thank you for all the photos it's fun to see what I've missed. Cheers, Wendy

Yea! Brent is back on his feet,good to see the Ding Dong Devils in full force
I knew those "Power Rings" are good for something, GO DDDs GO!

CTiT

I had a little too much fun...John-O is a bad influence on me :wink:

On 2011-07-10 18:16, happychi wrote:
I had a little too much fun...John-O is a bad influence on me :wink:

There's no such thing as too much fun. And I'm a GOOD influence. Here's my secret...

Bourbon > Rum

And be sure to check out Tonga Tom's pictures on the previous page. Excellent as usual !!

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2011-07-10 18:37 ]

Thanks for the photos, Tom. We had a blast as usual so thanks to all who made this show possible. And a big tip of the topknot to Senior Grog for setting it all in motion.

I had been planning on going, but I there was a scheduling conflict with my wife's annual family reunion. But I will post my meager pieces here, if somebody expresses interest I may be coaxed into putting them up on eBay.

Stylized Moai Mask
Hydrocal casting w/ acrylic paint
Approx: 12"H x 3.75"W x 1.5"D

Moai Head Figurine
Very low fire clay (bake in oven) w/ acrylic paint
Approx: 4"H x 1.8"W x 2"D

Sleeping Moai Figurine
Very low fire clay (bake in oven) w/ acrylic paint
Approx: 2.5"H x 4"W x 2.5"D

I was very sorry to have missed what looks to have been a great evening with a fun crowd. Hopefully next time I can make it.

Bear :drink:

Brudda Bear, there is an online Moai Madness show for posting stuff:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=40575&forum=12&start=last&0

Thanks GROG.

Bear

Finally a moment to sit down,

On behalf of the Tonga Hut, Thank You all for attending the Mad, mad, world of "Moai Madness" It was one amazing day! We had friends traveling from near and far in attendance from Palm Springs and San Bernardino-Riverside Counties to the Beach Cities how wonderful to see you all. Mahalo's to all the brilliant artists and craftsmen, you all had the crowd clamoring for first dibs wow! Down side for me being behind the bar is, I don't have the opportunity to view all the art on display, by the time I can sit down to enjoy it's sold.

Special thanks in my heart today, to Grog-Ernie Keen curator. Ernie, you bring pure joy to our world of art, thanks for bringing your heart to the table, we love you Grog. To my boss, Jeremy Fleener who just let's us run with ideas and is always open to our thoughts and crazy shenanigans, thanks Boss for lovin' us and all you do... :)
Thank you again for attending good friends and Thank You Artists! See you all soon!

Thanks for the pix, everyone - I wish I could've been at this one!

Great Photos Tonga Tom! Thanks!!! More pictures please everyone, I missed some moments :wink:

still thinking back to the great time I had, meeting so many cool folks, enjoying the exotic sounds and flavors as well as seeing all the beautiful art!
Thanks Grog, Kelly, artists and everyone who made it out!

[ Edited by: LushGirl 2011-07-12 12:42 ]

LushGirl, thanks for "filling in the gaps" with your photos! I didn't get as many snaps of the artwork as would have liked. GROG was a little upset with me, but half the mugs were gone by the time I got there.