Wendy Cevola - I've finished a Wish List Black Velvet. Time to post the steps.

Great job as always Wendy & Dan! I echo everyone's praises.

I especially like the MDM pendant! Very clever.

The ZeroStreet logo fits beautifully into your carving style. I know many, many words and "Wow" is the only one that expresses my thought. I repeat, "Wow."

my wendy n dan shelf is hungry...

WOW! Looks amazing Wendy! Excellent work!

LoriLovesTiki thank you so much. This is so much fun and the comments are the icing on the cake.

Professor G thank you always for your support and kind words. I haven't heard from zerostreet, I hope he likes it.

hang10tiki a whole shelf, what am I making for you? Just kidding. Ceramics take a very long time. If those Zombie Torches dried faster I might not have thrown in all these Bob's. It takes around 1 1/2 weeks for one to dry. The beginning of this week was time that we poured them.

Progress Report:

I have enough pieces drying that I know there will be 2 or 3 more times to fire just to get the bisque steps finished. So I decided to continue carving 3 Bob's that I have wrapped in plastic so that they wouldn't dry out.

We won't be pouring now just drying, sanding, firing, washing.

I did this one yesterday. It's spec tiki number 1.

Thanks for the visit, Wendy

You missed my post! I love it!

Awesome BOB,Wendy!

On 2012-02-29 18:47, hang10tiki wrote:
my wendy n dan shelf is hungry...

Mine too! And I love Robert's Bob, nice job on his logo.

Chris

Lookin good

I see a couple things for me on that table....eeeeee soooo excited! Just in case someone is reading this that doesn't already know...WENDY IS A TIKI MUG ROCK STAR!! Now you know...word! Lol

In the words of the great Samuel Langhorne Clemens "Wow!"

In the words the the great Chuck Tatum is tiki "WOW"

zerostreet we were three minutes apart. I'm so glad you like it as I like your Mystery Girl and Tarzan.
little lost tiki we are mutual fans thanks for stopping by.
WestADad thank you always, nice words from a great guy.
hang10tiki thank you so much. Are you enjoying Las Vegas?
AtomicChick you are so cute. I guess clay is ground up rocks and minerals.
Chuck Tatum is Tiki thank you. I read many of your posts on TC threads.
hang10tiki, thanks for making my day fun.

Loki Tiki spoke to me about Spy's which is the theme for Tiki Oasis 12. I decided that my next Spec mug would be a French secret agent. I still have a bit of carving to do on the glasses.

I noticed this PNG mask in our home had a mouth like a Tiki Bob so for my last Spec mug I did one similar to this mask. blacksandz has requested to own this one.

All the art is now ready to spend the next week drying. Then the sanding starts and the bisque fires will be completed. Once this is done I will start the glazing marathon.

This week is Dan's 60th birthday so we are taking the entire week off to celebrate. After tonight I won't be on Tiki Central. I will be devoting my time to Dan. He has supported me every day so I can make these ceramics now its time to show him my appreciation. He's such a wonderful man. He's my rock star.

See you all in a week. Thank you all for rewarding me with your words. I appreciate them all. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-02 10:18 ]

A well deserved break I'm sure!! Happy Birthday to Dan!

Love the start on the Spy Bob.

Best,
Chris

PNG Bob ROCKS!!! You two have a great week off

You are cranking out some Gems!!!! Mastery of the craft for sure!!!

Big, Happy Birthday to Dan! (You read my other posts in other threads) God, Sorry to waste
time more suited to doing just about anything else! yuk, yuk, I did not think anyone reads my posts. :lol: :lol:

great work like always
happy bday Dan-o
just got the new mug at Frankie's (good to be back in Vegas)
enjoy the time off...

Happy Birthday Dan!!

Thank you Wendy and Dan for showing me and my wife around your awesome house on Friday. My mind is still blown away at your collection!

I can't wait to get back over and spend more time looking at your collection.

Happy Birthday Dan! I love ya!

Quit trying to get old Dan!!! Smooches Smooches @ ya Birthday Boy!

A WEEK WITHOUT WENDY UPDATES????????

whatever will we (I) do?!?!?

J/K, I'll manage somehow. Wishing Dan a FANTASTIC birthday!!!!

I think a lot of us are going through Wendy and Dan withdraws...
Ativan for everyone

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2012-03-09 19:19 ]

How-o-lee Laa Haa-now DAN!!! Hope your having a great Birthday week!!
ALOHA!

Happy Birthday Dan! :drink:

you've shot TikiBob into the next level!
Amazed ,as always.with your attention to detail,talent,and love of this artform!
Hugs to you and a Big Birthday Hug to Dan!
Enjoy your week off,beautiful!
:)

PNG Bob ownership is on bucket list.

Mahalo

McTiki

WOW! Over 100,000 views! Great work as always, I bet I have 500 of them. The step by step instructions are always interesting and informative making this one of the best threads on TC. Congrats and keep doing such cool and diverse projects Wendy and Dan.

question: who is the luckiest dude on TC?

answer:ME

Dan and Wendy,
Thanks for letting us be apart of the B-Day vacation.
It was great to see you and spend quality time with truly amazing friends.
We look forward to another visit with you at Caliente 4.
You two are an inspiration to us all.
Now keep those update pictures coming.
See you soon,
Jon and Janelle

Dan-wendylovestikis says a huge thank you to all of you who wished him a Happy Birthday.

WestADad
Chuck Tatum is Tiki
hang10tiki
Bavtech we started off this past week with your visit to our home. It was great to meet your wife Mary and to find so much in common. Thank you for purchasing so much of my art for your on-line store on eBay. I'll be watching for fun.
SandraDee we hope your birthday was fabulous too
VampiressRN smooches back at ya
LoriLovesTiki
Beachbumz
tigertail777
little lost tiki

Here are a few photos of our fun trip to Las Vegas, Nevada.

We drove straight to Bakersfield and stopped at the Woolworth's antique store and grill. We had lunch and shopped.

My parents bought these for me for Christmas. I was too heavy to make them hop so I just kind of shuffled with weird shoes.

Then on to Barstow for the night and dinner at The Firehouse. It was good!

The next day we drove to Mohave Oasis to see Buzzy and Christina.

It was so much fun to have a guided tour of Amy's camping resort.

It was a thrill to be up close to the Clam Bar and to see in person MadDogMikes art work for the backdrop of the bar.

All the detail on the ceramics that he made inspires me to work harder.

Looking up at little lost tikis ceiling painting was like going to Italy to see the brilliant art of the masters.

Check out the rest of the ceiling with all the Kahaka lamps.


Buzzy and Christina were so gracious to spend time showing us the grounds. All you campers are going to have a blast.

Now it was time to drive off to Las Vegas.
Paris

The Mirage volcano.

The strip.

The Wicked Spoon Buffet at the Cosmopolitan, excellent.

Some art on the way to the food.

Frankie's Bar, beautiful but it was so dark I didn't really see it until I looked at my photos today.


Ethel M chocolates $30 plus a pound. Buy Dove it's the same chocolate. At the grocery outlet store you can get it for $5 a pound.

The cactus garden outside the factory. It's pretty.

Komodo dragon at Mandalay Bay aquarium.

Cesar's forum shops.

Mirage

Luxor

Out of order. Jelly fish at the aquarium.

Pampas at the Mile of Shops at Planet Hollywood for Dan's birthday lunch.


Visiting our friend Tiki Lee at his home.


Our visit with Jon and Janelle. Thank you so much for the wonderful gift you made with the Frankie's swizzle sticks and matches.


Antiquing on the way home. With the book we are ready for Oasis 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in San Diego. Spy Theme this year.

Of all we did in Las Vegas the visits with Buzzy, Christina, Tiki Lee, Jon and Jonelle were the most fun. Being with friends beats out the buffets and walk and sights. There really is no better vacation than being with friends. All the tiki events beat out all other vacations. We hadn't been to Las Vegas for 5 years so there was lots to see and do but going to Oasis and seeing everyone there is so much better. We hope to see and to meet more of you in the future.

Thank you friends for making Dan's birthday full of messages and visits. We just love you all.

MadDogMike more png's in Bob's future
Sneakytiki thank you I like them being called gems
Chuck Tatum is Tiki all your posts all worth reading
hang10tiki you and Janelle are such a lovely couple and so dear
LoriLovesTiki I'm back and the posts begin
little lost tiki your art at the clam bar is stunning - wow
McTiki png on a bucket list is better than 2 in a hand
cy 100,000 views while I was gone was shocking and delightful. The posts to my thread by all of you is even more thrilling. Thank you all for making my day and days and months and years.

Progress report. They are all dry. Next up days of sanding, air compressor and bisque fires. Got to go pick up our cat from boarding then it is back to work!

Thank you and Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-10 10:10 ]

Wendy's back!!!! Looks like you and Dan had a great time! He's looking really handsome, doesn't look a day over 34!
Glad to see my stuff is holding up well at Mojave Oasis, I was worried about it being out there exposed to the elements

Glad to see you both had a great vacation and got to link up with friends. That spy book looks interesting as well as the Frankie Swizzle Sticks...nice swag.

Looks like a great trip, How is Tiki Lee doing these days?

Glad you are back safe and sound and happy! I'm envious you went to Mojave Oasis, I'll get there one day, so cool to see that inspirational place again. I hope Dan had a great birthday!

Best,
Chris

Looks like you and Dan had a fantastic time! Love those satellite jumping shoes, those would be awesome to run around town in. I have always wanted to see the Luxor... well ANY of Las Vegas actually LOL maybe one day. Good to have you back. :)

MadDogMike Dan woke up with a bad cold. I think all the sanding yesterday wasn't a good idea. He appreciates that you think he looks 34. Your Mohave art looks fresh and new and beautiful. Although the octopus coming out of the nose give me the creeps!

VampiressRN the swizzle display was made for Dan by hang10tiki and he had to work hard to get the orange swizzle. I think he got it just in time for our visit. That was so very special.

Atomic Tiki Punk (formally Chuck Tatum is Tiki)pictures are worth a thousand words. He has shipped all the items that he was behind on and is working to keep on schedule. Life has been hard but he's on the right track. We wish him well.

WestADad the Mohave Oasis does have a special vibe thanks to Buzzy. We are not campers so its an event for the young and hardy who own all that outdoors stuff.

tigertail777 I looked at my post and realized that I didn't say the gift was when I was 7 and not more recently. Those springs in the jumping shoes were weaker than they looked. They might have propelled a two year old. I should have bought them painted them orange and given them to MadDogMike for his new outfit. Amazing!

Progress Report:

Even though we were tired and Dan was wondering if he was coming down with a cold, which he did, we went to work yesterday. We both sanded and air compressed all of the projects. I guess you all know by now that I like to fire full loads. The number of Bob's that I made to go with the Zombie Torches came out just right.

When you bisque fire the green-ware you can stack things inside of each other and touching. When you glaze your can't do this they stick together.

I started off by stacking but by the end I was able to spread them out. Here's some photos from yesterday.

I really am smiling here. I found that holding a trash can between my knees I could sand and have the dust fall right into the can. That way I didn't have to wipe up the counter over and over again.

Each time I finished one Dan would blow off the dust. We have to vacuum the kiln insides after each firing and this helps cut down that mess.

Stacking. The Zombies went under the shelf.

I put the camera under there to show them.

After the last bowl went into the kiln I had space left over.

Stacking wasn't necessary so I spread them out.

Every single project that I'm working on will have been bisque fired with this load.

Every one has been sold. I'm going to finish all my projects in the works before I take on any more. The kiln will open on Monday and then I will set up to glaze everything.

I plan to start with test glazing for the Zombie Torches. So I'll only fire a few of the Zombies to help me decide on how they will look for the run of 30. I'll post then and ask your opinion. I'll have lots of room for all the Bob's to fire with these.

Thank you for your visit and most of all for your comments. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-11 11:00 ]

Ahhhhh
Glad to see the show back on the air...

Everything is just so great looking! pins and needles, here......

hang10tiki and Atomic Tiki Punk thank you. I got a lot done today but all of it was on my own. Dan has a very bad cold. I didn't catch it so I get to do all the work alone and I sure miss him. I took photos but my tax preparer is due here and I have to find someplace we can work. All the tables are covered with tikis needing my attention.

I emptied the kiln and nothing exploded. This has been a great run so far. I do have some things that need attention. I've been sanding all day on the bisque fired mugs. Well I've got to go, I'll write more when I have put on the photos. Wendy

So are Tiki Mugs tax deductible?

Nice pictures, Wendy. It was great visiting with you two on Dan's Birthday, BUT...

MY GOD!!! WHEN DID I GET SO FAT!?!?!
That's what anti-depressants do to ya, dammitt!!

Wow, just a few years ago, I was slim enough to be in Starfleet...

These days, the Enterprise would never even get off the ground if I was aboard!

:(

[ Edited by: Tiki Lee's 2012-03-13 00:18 ]

Welcome back Wendy! Looks like Dan had a great birthday vacation! I

Atomic Tiki Punk they are when you make them for sale.
Lee what a great place to display Tiki Magazine. You looked terrific on our visit.
LoriLovesTikis Dan feels better today, it must be my cooking.

Progress Report:

Yesterday morning I cracked the lid to lower the last few degrees slowly. Fast cooling causes cracks and I don't want any of those.

Top level in the kiln.

Bottom level in the kiln.

Dan's cold kept him in bed yesterday. Boy did I miss him. I had to take each mug and hose them off, put them on the trays and carry them into the house.

Once in the house I sanded off any problems that could be corrected.

When the green-ware was sanded the mold lines were gone. However firing shrinks the clay and some mold lines came back. I spent the day sanding the Zombies arms.

I found a dent on the bottom of half of the mugs. I inspected the molds and found that one had a piece of plaster stuck on the bottom piece. So these mugs will have Magic mend painted into this dent and these will be re-fired. MadDogMike told me about this miracle product, it really works well.

Sanding can fill dents so that they are missed first time around but I'll fix them.

I picked most but not all of the glazes needed for the Tiki Bob's

Here they are all together.

These mugs are all ready to glaze after I sanded them yesterday.

These need the bottom dent fixed but the rest of the mug is fine because I also sanded them. After sanding they were all washed again to rid them of dust.

These will be checked and sanded today.

Now its time to go back to work. It is going to rain here for the next four days.
When the rain stops I'll be starting the test glazing on the Zombie Torch mugs. I'll be using an air brush for some of it and that needs to be done outside.

Thank you for stopping by, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-13 08:50 ]

What a day
Coffee
Dan and Wendy show (get well Dan)

Rock on Wendy, rock on!

Phew! Thanks so much ~ not only for the hard work of crafting but all the documentation that is going along with it. So much attention to get it consistently right AFTER the vision and art of the carving.

hang10tiki thanks for mentioning my right hand man. He is way better today.
rugbymatt that gave me energy
Haller Waller its comments like yours that make the time to post worth it, thank you.

Progress Report:

I had no skin left on my fingers from sanding so I covered them with paper tape and started sanding again. This works well and I wish I'd done it before I lost so much skin.

I identified every spot that needed attention and filled them with the magic mend.

I had the two mugs with air bubbles at the top rim and the dents on the bottoms to fix. Paint a thin layer and let it dry and add another. I did this all day.

At 9 PM they were done and dry so it was back in the kiln to fire. This patch will shrink so you need to overfill the areas and then sand again after they are cool.

My order of new glaze colors came in. Only one container was broken. I had a mug to paint this color and since three layers takes this much glaze I used it up.

I did glaze test strips on all the new colors. This is so important and useful for future projects.

Now it was time to start on all of the Bob projects. I poured glaze in the bowl and began to paint.

At the end of the day I had painted 1 layer of white on each of the faces. Can you tell? Each face will need 3 layers of white and the same for black and then it will all be covered with clear glaze. Then I start on the bodies.

Now its time to start the next layer. I'm catching up on old TV shows on tape. I always put a TV with tape player on the kitchen counter when I glaze. You know where I'll be today, where are you??? Cheers, Wendy

Lots to do at your house! I know where you'll be, I'm at work! Don't tell my boss that I'm goofing off looking at Tiki Mugs. :)

Love watching you work, I could watch it all day.

Best,
Chris