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

Awesome pics Wendy! Looks like a great event!

It was great seeing you again Wendy if even for a moment as well as Mike & meeting Teresa in person, & getting a few moments with Jon.

Wendy, thanks for posting the TC pics. Hopefully I can make it next year. Looks like a great party!

If those golf carts keep following you around closer to home, you and Dan should start thinking about some kind escape route- they don't move too quickly, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. :)

Great pix, wendy - thanks for posting them!
e.

It was great hanging out with you guys in the pool...
Great pics (except the one where I lost my shirt)...
I have to get on the Grog diet...
My Wendy and Dan-O MUG area is growing...love the SH MUG...
Thanks for the fun

Thanks for the fun pics Wendy. I can always count on you to make it feel like I was there. One day, I promise!

Jon, you are going to have to knock out that wall to the right if you keep adding to your collection. :)

• Dale

MadDogMike we voted you and Teresa had the best tiki smiles of the whole event. It was so good to see you both.

Professor G no fires on the way home. We also never saw an accident or anyone getting a ticket. That's great for a 900 mile drive. See you wished us well and it happened.

zerostreet glad you liked them. I like your RockaHulaBilly painting in progress.

Atomic Tiki Punk so many tikis and people and so little time. See you soon at another event.

TikiAno I hope to never see those carts again. It's on to the next coincidence.

ebtiki maybe one day you will come to this side of America or we will travel to your side.

hang10tiki this was our best visit with you and your lovely wife. We look forward to more visits. Did your Zombie Torch flame get broken? I don't see it on the mug in the photo.

Progress Report on the 8 new Bobs, the crawl mug mold is still too wet to pour. It's in the sun and wind slowly drying.

Bisque Fired and ready to come out of the kiln and to be washed.
Top Shelf

Bottom Shelf

I was complimented by a lady bug. It couldn't believe that the flower didn't contain nectar. I took a dozen photos until I took the bug and moved it to a real plant.

Mrs. Tiki Bob

Then Dan filled the buckets and I washed it all from the kiln.

Set to dry, glazing is next.

Thank you for the visit, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-21 08:23 ]

Thank you Wendy
... :D ... :D
Mike Teresa

That's hilarious that the ladybug thought your flower was real :lol: Good sculpting job!

Love the opened kiln pics. :) The ladybug on the flower is priceless. I used to like ladybugs until I opened the attic of the new house and found THOUSANDS of them living up there. It was pretty creepy. Seems we have had invasions of them lately.

Ok, enough buggy stories...you have lots of glazing to do. HAHA

• Dale

Thanks for the travelogue, I almost feel like I was there!
Love the ladybug on the flower. How perfect!
~kele

I always love your travelogues Wendy, thanks for sharing the Tiki Caliente trip. One day I hope to make it there. :D

:lol: That is hilarious that you confused that poor little lady bug.

The Wendy and Dan show has been wonderful as usual.

W- look at you two, right back at it.
Good eye on the torch flame, I almost knocked it off twice, so it's in a safe spot.
Again it was great spending time with you guys.

Jon

MadDogMike it sure seemed that way to me. It never left the flower to walk the rim. See you and Teresa in August.

littlegiles I've seen packages of ladybugs for sale in nurseries but never thousands. I hope you have a photo to share.

WaikikianMoeKele it was fun to watch, did your head arrive?

tigertail777 I love sharing because you are all such a wonderful audience. You keep us going. Are you going to be at Tiki Kon in Portland? Maybe the bug likes white flowers?

hang10tiki the visits are the best part. Photos too. I'll have to see what you post on Tiki Finds.

Progress Report

This summer will be focused on the Sacramento Crawl mug, the painting for Tiki Oasis and always Bob's here and there. We will also share our tiki events too.

Yesterday I found that the bad mold was dry and then in the afternoon the hot dry wind made it possible to also pour the good mold.

First up the bad mold. The sides are open.

Inside the mold it looked good except for the areas that had broken off. When that happens you end up with more clay on the cast that you can carve off and repair.

We tried to pour in a little slip and to rotate it to seal the leaks. Nope it just poured out.

So I packed all the space between the mold pieces with clay to prevent the slip from getting out. Dan poured it in.

I hammered the sides to get out the air bubbles that get trapped.

My first test was to let the slip sit in the mold for two hours. Then we poured it out.

As it poured out I watched the insides with a flash light to make sure that no excess was hanging up. It poured out well.

It was placed on boards to drain and later in the day when the good mold was dry we poured it too. The good mold didn't need any clay on the sides it was leak free. I pulled off the clay from the sides of the bad mold. It is easier to get it off wet and having sat for those two hours there is no slip in liquid form so nothing will come out.

Today I will open them both and see it I have a couple of tikis, one in good shape and one that will need detailing.

So Dan's waiting it is time to go to work. Cheers, Wendy

Those monster molds do look heavy
Easy on your back Dan-O
Good luck

Jon

Wendy, yes my Severed Head arrived in all it lovely, bloody scariness. I love it!
My family can't figure out why I would want one. But it has been suggested that I should take it to work to keep my co-workers in line! lol
I will see if someone will take a picture of me with it this weekend.
~kele

That must have been scary driving next to those flames!

Glad you and everyone had a great time! It looked fun, I wish I could have gone. Someday...

But you guys are back to work super fast! Never mising a beat. Wendy and Dan are the BEST!

Looks like everyone had a great time at Tiki Caliente! Thanks for letting us "be there" with you.

I am new to Tiki Central and have been on overload of all the awesome stuff going on here! Thank you so much for posting pics and descriptions Wendy. I just found out about the Sacramento crawl and am interested in going, where can I get info?

Also, would love one of those mugs your working on for it!! Great work! Hello everyone, hope to jump in the fun with you all!

Wendy, thanks (once again) for posting the slip pouring photos. I'm amazed, as everyone else is, by the ladybug- your skills are now appreciated by different species- wow. Love it!

Love all your amazing pics and posting Wendy. Got to get crackin on our new trade!

WaikikianMoeKele wonderful, I will love a photo of you with the head. It is a strange thing to want but I've been there.

lunavideogames as we passed the flames we could see how close they were to homes and businesses, we did a lot of praying for those people and firefighters.

Back to work feels good. I really miss posting and reading comments here, its an important part of my day.

LoriLovesTiki that's how I feel when I see the Hukilau and Luau by the Lake photos. It was a wonderful time to visit with friends.

Woodtiki I've added you to the Crawl mug list. Are you in Woodland, CA? Here is the link to the crawl. It is found under California Events and the author is VampiressRN. It is an event of 3 days and taking a day off work is worth it. This is the best site for tiki that exists. Enjoy!
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=44787&forum=17&start=0&37

TikiAno it would be fun to have that happen again after glazing. We will be pouring every day that we are home from now until I have enough done.

mp (Got to get crackin on our new trade!) - no cracking or hairlines just work hard!

Progress Report:

Last summer as I worked my cat was bombarded by a bird couple. They became so bold that they flew into the garage to attack her at the door into the house. Well they are back. Sherry was in the backyard and one was after her.


She moved to the front of the house and then both of them were after her. They squawk really loud. But thanks to the birds I always know where my cat is located.

We opened the molds. I am super happy they both worked. The bad mold requires a lot more clean up but when I finished Dan couldn't tell which one came from which mold. Here's the progress.

Opening the mold.

For a multi piece mold it is important to figure out the order to remove the sections. For this one I started with the bottom. After the first one was apart I decided that it should all be taken apart with the mold on its side.

Mold #2. On each mug's bottom I will carve Sac Ohana Crawl c 2013.

Freed from the mold I found that I had chosen where to make each piece very well. I'm a happy mold maker. You can see where the bad mold left excess clay that will be removed.

A brush is great for smoothing.

I couldn't make the nostril in the mold so now I will carve them into each tiki nose.

MadDogMike, I keep tubs of the clay I cut off the casts and on this clay I have poured more slip. It is a mushy mix and I add it to casts to thicken thin parts. I do this to the rim of most mugs.

Before and After.

The mug is 12 1/4th inches tall. It will shrink 10% as it dries and is bisque fired. It is big and heavy.

Where the part broke off from the mold there is more clay on the cast. So first I whittled it down with my label scraper.
Next I carved the detail back into the mug.

I still need to make the jewel shape on each block but that can wait until it is firmer.

Here's where I left off. I will still fine tune these and sand them. So more imperfections will be smoothed out before firing.

Last night we poured #3 and #4. This photo is Dan pouring out what's left after sitting for 2 hours.

Twice a day Dan has clean up chores from pouring. He's working for tikis.

I may have set a record for the number of moldy posted photos! Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-23 09:09 ]

Those look awesome Wendy, glad your molds worked out.
Mockingbirds are very territorial and can be quite vicious when they have eggs in their nest :lol:

The crawl mug looks fantastic! He's huge & gorgeous. Can't wait to see him glazed. And I still love his tushie!

GROG' mold would've been more like this size:

But, GROG also not pour GROG' mugs as thick as you. You may have to have the plaster thick in order for the mug walls to dry to release from the molds.

There was a good segment last night on the tv show "How It's Made", about cremation urns. Exactly the same process, making a mold, casting slip, etc. They make it look so easy! No problems!

MadDogMike I saw the Mocking birds peck her butt yesterday but she didn't seem to mind. The birds are her TV. I'm super happy the molds both work too or a whole day would have been lost.

LoriLovesTiki thank you, me too.

GROG with them this thick I am able to pour each night, take them out in the mornings. We dry them in the sun and wind. It's a lot of carrying them piece by piece but we need to walk. You are brave to make them thinner.

Woodtiki the show must have done a lot of editing to make it look easy. Also I bet the show was 1 hour long and it takes more than an hour for each side. Squid made an urn for Tiki Kate. She designed it before she passed away at a very young age from breast cancer.

Our favorite restaurant is in San Mateo. The Fish Market Restaurant on the river. We stop there on our way home from Santa Cruz every few years.

You must know I love coincidences. I read National Geographic magazine Wednesday night. Then on Thursday I took Dan shopping for a swimsuit. He had a bunch to try on so I sat down in the men's department.

Here is the article that I'd read about bugs.

As I waited for Dan the bug in the article crawled right up to me. So I took him through check out and put him in a garden in front of the store. How about that!

Progress Report

I do have some ceramics to report on too.

The mug is just over 12 inches.

The weight is just under four pounds. So we'll see how much it shrinks and loses weight as it dries.

The bad mold which is OK still gives me a lot of clean-up to do.

But in the end it's all fine.

I have #5 and #6 waiting for me to get them out of the molds so I better get to work. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-24 08:35 ]

im sorry you probably posted but where do i sign up for the crawl mug :)
It looks so awesome such a wonderful work of art.

Holy monster mug, that's HUGE...

:)

I'm not going to the crawl, but you know I dig that mug!!! I might hafsta get me one.

Yes, Fish Market is pretty good! I haven't been in awhile. I am in San Mateo, but we make it up through Sacramento a few times a year, my aunt and sister live there and my parents live in Grass Valley. Next time we come up I will have to check out the Mahalo Tiki store!

The birds seem very brave this year, there are two blue jays that dive bomb our cat every time she goes outside. They are so loud!

anthonymaye thank you for adding on to the crawl list. It's gonna be a blast attending.

hang10tiki it so huge that it's more than twice the slip and glaze to make this monster.

Hale Tiki when you decide let me know.

Woodtiki the Mahalo Tiki store is wonderful and fun to see and to shop in with abandon. Our birds are loud too. I enjoy it.
Please start a thread like this one. I saw your tiki on MadDogMikes thread and it sure is better than my first tiki.

Progress Report:

The only way we can tell one day from the next is by counting tikis.
Pour.

Finish the tiki and put it in the shed to dry.

Dan does clean up.

If we don't put the mold pieces off straight then I have to repair the damage.

I keep a tub of sticky clay ready.

Two more to clean.

6 in the shed.

They are actually 12 1/2 inches out of the mold.

Pour.

Clean.

8 in the shed and 2 in the mold. Now we are getting someplace. Check out how the first 6 have begun to shrink.

Tomorrow I'll have glazing photos of 8 Bob's to share.

I hope you are having a good weekend and that it is three days long. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-25 18:14 ]

Wow...coming along nicely. You two are a dynamic duo!!!

Awesome line up
:)

Jon

Wendy, THAT is a lot of tiki. Curious how heavy they will be once they're all dry. They look great, excited to see the next steps.... and more Bobs! Great seeing the slip cast molds next to each other to show the shrinkage- very cool. Are you and Dan heading down to the Tiki Marketplace at Don's in June? As of now (work-wise) I plan on heading up there....

VampiressRN thank you so much. We look forward to the crawl each year and to making the mug. I hope everyone is happy that I've chosen the Coral Reef tiki. Thank you for running the crawl and arraigning a terrific schedule as you did last year.

hang10tiki that made me think of the Chorus Line.

TikiAno we love to go to Marketplace but we have family that weekend. Here come the Bob's. I started with a weight and height and when that mug is completely dry I'll weigh and measure it again for comparison.

Progress Report

This time around I decided to skip the white faces of the Bob's and to do them in colors that go with the body colors. Here's the first five of the eight Bob's.

Peanut PNG inside

and out. Yep his eyes and mouth are white.

Lightning Bob. I did some of the strikes in orange and red

and blended them in with yellow.

Same on the backside.

Bob Woody all in red brown.

Underwater Bob is all streaky blue green. I like to shake up the glaze that has chunks and pour it into a shot glass. That way I can reach the chunks that sink. I get them placed all over the mug.

Rum Barrel Bob also has a brown face. His bands will be metal.

I hope you are OK with Bob's face being yellow and brown and other colors. He was ready for a change. More tomorrow.

Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-26 09:35 ]

I cannot wait to see how those Bobs all come out. Great creativity Wendy.

Thanks for sharing all the great pictures

This is going to be good

:)

I'm excited to see how these Bob's turn out.

It still amazes me that some of those glazes look so horrid before firing yet turn so beautiful. That Underwater Bob is a good example. Poor thing looks awful sitting there covered in chunky bits of poo colored glaze, but I know he will be lovely after a good trip through the kiln.

• Dale

Chippy guess what now I'm going to make a Deputy Sheriff - Detective mug for our best friend who has had a rough time health wise. He just sent me his badge. His number (he retired) was 999 and when asked to show it by criminals he flipped it around to read 666. He said they would get really quiet.

hang10tiki I hope so, could be that without a white face no one recognizes Bob, ya think?

littlegiles dark red turning to green is always a surprise for me. I've started to learn what you should and should not use on a mug with detail or add-ons.

Progress on the last of the Bob's

I wanted Mrs. Tiki Bob to be cute so I changed her eyes, nose and mouth.

After painting her completely I scrapped off the glaze on her eyes and mouth.

I then added under-glaze to these areas.

Her best side.

Clam-Up Bob was just a wild fun mug to make.

He was inspired by a shell I bought in the 1960's in San Francisco.

I also added seaweed

and a seahorse.

He's got clams!

Ukulele Bob had lots of hidden spots so I ran glaze down behind the Ukulele on purpose.

After he was all painted I scrapped off glaze on the instrument so I could add a different color.

I couple of flowers and he's all done.

I put them out back to dry.

I hope you are all off playing. Dan and I celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary today. He is taking me to a surprise lunch to celebrate. I have a few tikis for him so it will be a fun day.

Cheers, Wendy

Happy Anniversary!

Happiest of Anniversaries to the wonderfully creative duo, Wendy & Dan!
~kele

Congrads
Have a great day you two.
You deserve it.
:)
:)
:)

Here's to many more happy years!

Congratulations!

Chris

Happy Anniversary! That is an accomplishment making it that long, you two look like you have lots of fun.

Happy Anniversary to Dan & Wendy...our Sacramento super stars!!!!

Happy Anniversary, Wendy & Dan!

Wendy, you are clearly the world's premier maker of artisan Bobs... I never realized how many outstanding and beautiful mug designs could arise from a Bob!

-Tom

Happy Anniversary to the two of you from down under.

Have a great one! stay out of trouble you two....