Wendy Cevola - Zombie Hut movie and Sven's new book on display.

On 2012-03-14 09:16, danlovestikis wrote:

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 knew there was a little bit of you in everything you made, but you may be taking it to an extreme adding a bit of Wendy-Dust to each mug. I'm glad y'all are back and I'm very glad you two had a great time.

WestADad I could tell you read every word I wrote and fulfilled my request, thank you. Did you get caught? I hope not.

Professor G I tried but the kiln burnt it off. Maybe there will be a fingerprint left somewhere.

Progress Report:

MadDogMike's necklace and Cannibal mug. Three coats of each color. The yellow faces barely show.

First coat of clear.

Second coat of clear.

I filled in the mug with brown glaze, let it sit for 10 seconds.

Next I poured out the glaze.

I filled in the victims body with glaze.

Next I poured out the glaze.

I painted the body color on with three coats.

I painted the bottom with one coat. I can do this as long as I fire it on spike stilts so that it doesn't stick to the kiln shelf.

Second layer of white on the faces.

Third layer of white on the faces.

Next up was three layers of black on the faces and facial hair etc.

This morning I opened the kiln. Loki Tikis dog and the zerostreet mugs are now ready for sanding and painting. Yesterday I felt like I was making snow men all day long. Today I'll catch up these two mugs.

I won't be doing my tests on the Zombie Torches until the rain stops next week.

Very soon I get to start adding color to these men. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-15 09:34 ]

Whoohoo!!! Looks awesome Wendy, lots of hard work though :)

On 2012-03-15 08:03, danlovestikis wrote:
WestADad I could tell you read every word I wrote and fulfilled my request, thank you.

Dang it. I missed the extra credit question.

Again.

Oh Oh Oh my favorite part!!! (Clapping hands like an evil little girl)

Go Wendy!
Go Wendy!
Go Wendy!

Awesome Wendy! Can't wait to see further developments! This Saturday I should be picking up your print!

That's quite a collection of smiles all lined up . . . nice! Lookin' good Wendy! On my way home today I was thinking about my Tiki Bob decanter and was mentally placing it in a home I looked at the other day in Sac :)

I hope one of my mugs has the Wendy fingerprint...

Looking GOOD Wendy! Can't Wait to add my first BOB to my collection!

Professor G I'll have to ask another question in the future.
Atomic Tiki Punk stop clapping and answer this question. Are you going to the Tiki Farm event on the 31st and the Marketplace on the 1st?
rugbymatt I went out last night. We enjoyed your texts.
zerostreet these photos are for you! We already picked up a frame at Arron Brothers 2 for 1 sale.
The Blue Kahuna you should look in Elk Grove, the deals can't be beat.
hang10tiki hummm
bavtech I'm seeing progress, one step at a time, I'll be happy when you have it.

Progress Report:

Today was a catch up day so all the Bob's can proceed with their steps.
Three layers of white.

Three layers of colors which become more brilliant when fired with the clear glaze.

zerostreets logo on the back of his Bob.

After these steps I got ready for a girls night out with Joanne and Debbie. Both are tiki collectors who attend events. They also ordered tiki bowls from me. But they'll be patient I have to finish every one in progress first.

Thank you everyone for your posts. Each one was fun and gives me energy to keep going. You are all very special. Thank you, Wendy

Hi Wendy, nope I didn't get caught by the boss! Today's update looks great, really interested in seeing Robert's Bob all done, love his logo!

Best,
Chris

Wendy, Yes we are vending at the Tiki Market Place on the 1st
Are you going to make it?

We never miss any of the TikiFarm events, but it may be hard being the night before
the Tiki Market Place.

What a bevy of beautiful babes! :D

Sweeeeeeeet

WestADad I'm looking forward to Roberts logo coming to life too.
Atomic Tiki Punk see you soon.
MadDogMike Tiki Bobs are not babes they are handsome guys.
hang10tiki and non-toxic too.

Progress Report:

Time to sit in the nook all day with my glazes and TV shows on tape.

I painted on the first coat of clear glaze being very careful not to go over the edges. MadDogMike asked me why I did the three layers of white rather than just clear glaze over the white clay. I have done glaze tests and the white glaze adds depth and really looks better. You are all worth it.

Second layer of clear glaze added.

At last its time to start adding the color to the Bob's bodies.

These three are WestADad's, Professor G's, bavtechs and today I'll be adding hang10tikis mug to the Blue Bob's Group.

After one layer is done.

After the second layer is done.

The last layer will go on these today and then its off to the next mug or bowl.

Thanks for keeping me working, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-17 09:03 ]

Wendy, it's becoming pretty obvious to me that there's not much difference between building rockets and building tiki mugs as you do it, relative to the multitude of steps to create and assemble, and the required precision / attention to detail for a successful outcome! That's an impressive array of Bobs, nearly ready for launch!

-Tom

U are a machine...

Are you vending at Don's next month,Wendy!

On 2012-03-17 08:57, danlovestikis wrote:
MadDogMike Tiki Bobs are not babes they are handsome guys.

I was talking about these ~ :D

Every step of this still fascinates me, Wendy, and the fact that I get a mug out of the deal makes it even more fascinating-er. In a perfect world we'd get fezzes (fezzi?) made for The Brotherhood of the Blue Bobs.

We be the real Blue man group!

Tom - Ten, nine, eight...I really do hope to have them fired and out of the kiln within 10 days if I can keep up this pace. Thank you for that comparison, terrific.
Atomic Tiki Punk we be shoppin.
MadDogMike ahhhhhhhhhh
Professor G a little enamel when it's out of the kiln and it will be yours. One extra step just for you!
hang10tiki I will always think of you four as the Blue Bob Group. Maybe you can all meet one day and have a toast with the Bob's.

Progress Report: First off I apologies for the blurry photos. With the small screen it's hard to tell if the photo was OK in this case not.

I caught up the last Blue Bob and then added the third coast to all four.

Next I glazed the inside of each mug. All done!

I had a request from blacksandz to do a PNG Bob and to age him. This is the first time I've tried to do something like this. Beachbumz gave me some tips. First off a coat of Duncan cy122 my very favorite glaze for Bobs.

Next a coat of a off white.

Last a coat of walnut brown. I used a tooth pick during each coat to scrap out some glaze to expose the off white in the face designs.

Added more off white to the shell eyes. This will be a surprise mug. When all these glazes melt who knows what this will look like. I spilled glaze during this time. All over the floor. I love that glaze comes up with water on paper towels. Brawny of course.

I started on the zerostreet mug.

Fished off the PNG and zerostreet with more walnut glaze.

Next up Loki Tikis dog Tiki Ba.

Three layers of yellow/brown and some highlights that may or may not show up.

At this point I had worked from 8am until 5pm. I was done for the day. Dan and I had dinner and put on the TV to relax. Well why not start on Atomic Chicks mosaic Bob. I started at 5:30 PM. three layers each color.



I outlined each tile with black.

This will need the clear glaze and the inside of the mug painted.

I got this far by 10 PM. 4.5 hours to paint the outside. So about the same amount of time as a super carved mug requires for carving.

I'm behind in my Spanish lessons so I'll do one before I start to paint this morning.

I'm not yet half way through the Bob's but that's my goal for today. It is supposed to stop raining by Wednesday. I'll glaze some Torches if that's true and have my tests ready for the kiln with the Bob's. The timing for all these projects has been perfect. Thank you all for keeping me busy during the rainy season.

Thank you for all your notes. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-18 09:26 ]

I spilled glaze during this time. All over the floor. I love that glaze comes up with water on paper towels. Brawny of course.

VS

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2012-03-18 20:38 ]

hang10tiki brawny wins again look at all that brain cage space. I really like smart men who can clean up all my messes.

Progress Report:

Less blurry photos of Atomic Chicks mosaic Bob.



Covered with 2 layers of clear. Then I glazed the inside black.

For my 60th birthday Dan gave me a coupon that said he would help sand one of my projects. I had filled all the dents with Magic Mend then re-fired and now he sanded those areas flat.

I began to glaze Tiki Tom D's Fu Manchu mug when Dan came to say the rain had stopped.

We hauled the Zombie Torch mugs to the backyard.


Dan wearing his brawny man shirt squirted water into the mug. Shook it and poured it out.

Next he hit the outside with water. All this is to remove dust. One speck will cause the glaze to crawl and leave a "glaze skip".

Now all of the Zombie Torch mugs are together.

The rain came back. We avoided the rain so Dan wouldn't get drenched.

I finished the 3 layers on Fu and began the French secret agent for bavtech.


Filled them each with glaze let it sit and poured it out.

Another break in the rain so we hauled out the mugs whose glaze had dried and filled the bottom of the kiln. I put each one on a stilt so if the glaze ran it wouldn't fuse the mug to the bottom of the kiln.

Next I glazed the South of the Boarder Bob for The Blue Kahuna.

Inside and out.

Next I filled the top of the kiln with hats this mug and glaze test strips.

The kiln started to fire this morning. It will open on Wednesday.
I have started Psycho Tiki D's bowl.

First glaze coat finished last night. Two more to go.

I have all the mugs in the kiln. Now I will finish all the bowls. When the rain stops I will do all the glaze tests on the Zombie Torches to figure out how the run will look.

Wednesday is the big day for mugs. Some may need glaze touch ups but we'll hope they come out just fine. Cheers, Wendy

Thank you everyone for checking in day after day. You all mean so much to me. Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-19 09:12 ]

Thank you 2 for working so hard and letting us have the pleasure of watching it all...

Can't wait til Wed.!

Fingers crossed :)

I was afraid this would happen: the maniacal giggling has started again.

hang10tiki thank all of your for your notes that make this posting so fun.
Atomic Tiki Punk I wish I could open the lid sooner.
MadDogMike every day is one closer to Mohave so I hope this worked.
Professor G I wish I could hear that giggling!

Progress Report:
The kiln is cooling down. One more day of waiting.
I am still doing my Spanish lessons so when I went to work on Marone Tikis bowl yesterday it dawned on me that Marone is Spanish for brown. Brown Tikis bowl is finished and drying. Here are the steps.

I glazed the inside with Firecracker Red. It's a spotted glaze and that's why there are so many chunks. They melt flat leaving brilliant colors.

Three layers of marone.


Al done and drying.

Next I did the last two layers on Psycho Tiki D's bowl. Where are you Duane?

Next up was the bowl for hang10tiki. He requested an inside like the old Bumatay or Gecko bowls. This is something I've never tried before. I don't know if it will work here but I've tried.

Three layers of yellow.

Three layers of orange and then some touches of yellow to blend it in.

Next up the red.

I finished the blending of the three colors.

Being very careful to not have it run into the center I poured in red glaze and rotated the bowl. This needed to also cover under the lip.

Around and around.

Now not only is it kept upside down to dry I also run my finger around the lip to removed excess glaze. If glaze is too thick it will boil in the kiln and make pock marks.

After it dried I cleaned off the top.

Somehow I forgot to take photos. I also did the three layers of brown on the outside of this bowl. Today I will drool red and yellow over the sides like lava runs as requested. I've never done this before so once again, fingers crossed!

Back to work. Cheers, Wendy

Ummm...did someone mention me?

Wendy, of course I have been here all along and have admired every post in this thread since day one. I am so proud of the two of you and how far you have come in such a relatively short amount of time.

I sent you an email and will hopefully see you soon!

Duane

OMG Wendy those mugs (especially mine) are looking so amazing...I can't wait to have them on my shelf!

Very cool glaze technique there Wendy, very creative! Hope it works out well.

Me right now ... think Peter Lorre rubbing his hands together ... hee-hee, hee-hee

WOW
Did I say WOW yet?
WOW
If I forgot to say something, then WOW...

Wendy, I totally agree... WOW! Those are spectacular!

expletive! expletive! Yea!

It's Wednesday lets open that kiln....
Oh, sorry, it's only 1am

On 2012-03-21 01:21, hang10tiki wrote:
It's Wednesday lets open that kiln....
Oh, sorry, it's only 1am

:lol:

Psycho Tiki D it does amaze us that our first ceramic mug was made here only 19 months ago. We are happy that we didn't just buy all the stuff and then let it sit. You started it all by asking me to make the Zombie Hut/ Coral Reef mug, thank you forever. It's hard work but we are so happy making new friends and having our "children" go to good homes.

Atomic Chick glazing is not predictable and there are glitches. See below ):

MadDogMike I learn more every time I lift the lid.

hang10tiki people say that all they can think of to write here is the same thing each time. I have the same problem, I want to say thank you over and over. But without these simple words I'd never feel the love and I'd stop posting. So wow means a lot to me. Thank you!

Kele I'm so happy to see you here and to know you are nearby.

Atomic Tiki Punk and hang10tiki the photos are coming up after I show you what else I did yesterday. I hope you can scroll slowly.

ebTiki wrote me a very nice PM. Eric I'd love to see you post here too.

Progress Report:

OK people yesterday I worked on projects and yes also opened the kiln. Here are the photos of my day. I wonder if you will look at them all or skip ahead.

First off I examined each Zombie Torch mug and looked for five that were not as perfect as the others. I made 35 so I could do five tests and then these become ours. I will let you all help me decided what the run of 30 should look like.

These are the five. Those are the Missionary Downfall women waiting for bowls. If anyone wants one and has an idea for the bowl to go with it let me know.

I then glazed the Bumatay Bowl.

Next up hang10tikis bowl with red lava. I made it thick but my best guess is that it will melt into the brown glaze and be flat like the photos you sent.

Tall Bob Bowl with the glaze test for the color choice.

The four Bob Bowls drying.

Into the bottom of the kiln which was still at 100 degrees from the firing.

Now I glazed my small Super craved Tiki Bob statue.

Top Shelf of the kiln.

Bottom shelf of the kiln.

There are so many glitches with glazing that I will detail here how your mug turned out and what I will do to fix any problems.

South of the Boarder Bob for The Blue Kahuna. It turned out beautifully. Now I need to just enamel paint all the hat designs. If you have a photo of a sombrero you like send it to me or post it here.

MadDogMikes Cannibal mug and necklace - perfect. Loki Tiki's dog Tiki Ba has several little streaks of brown that I will glaze over with more yellow today.

Tiki Tom D some of the black satin glaze was not thick enough so I'll add more today.

bavtech same here. Three coats of the black satin wasn't enough so I'll glaze it today.

blacksandz your mug is a challenge. I will add some more glaze in red to the body and some more pale off white in the cravings and if you don't like the improvements with glaze I can enhance it with enamel or Dan's ready to add it to his collection. Let me know what you think. I do need to add the black to the mouth because I forgot to do that.

zerostreet it's perfect PM your address so I may send it to you.

Atomic Chick. Not one single crack showed up. Dan loves your mug so if you want to wait for a few months I'll try again. On the front of Mosaic Bob in the green tile there are black dots. I will sand these off and re-glaze this tile.

Blue Bob Group. There are small pale dots of blue on the faces that I need to glaze over.

So here is my work for today. My goal is to finish the fixes and get these into the kiln tonight or in the morning.

Overall I am super happy with how they came out. There's always something to fix.
Professor G I should have taken a photo of the back. It's a beautiful night scene. I'm looking forward to adding the stars.

Well what do you think? You know I love your comments. I'm off to work, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2012-03-21 12:52 ]

WOW!!! They all look great to me. Robert's logo is very cool and Mike's Bob is great!

Thanks for the update Wendy! Always look forward to your posts. I feel pretty lucky to own some of your work already and I can hardly wait for my Blue Bob!

Best,
Chris

Looks awesome Wendy! Gonna PM my address to you now! Everything looks awesome, especially the Blue Bobs!

Amazing...
Everything looks great...
Was worth the wait...
Love em all...

For the record, Wendy, I didn't skip ahead or speed through at all. I scrolled slowly while listening to smoky saxophone music. I savored it.

I still say, and will continue to say, that this is the happiest thread on TC.

It's like CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!!

Everything looks great ~ of course I think the MadDogs are best :D

I need a cigarette now, I don't even smoke!

It's like magic Wendy.