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

Oh My Gosh so many wonderful notes. I'll reply tomorrow. Right now I wish you all a very

Happy 4th of July

I found this in todays newspaper. Too bad for me it didn't go through!

Cheers, Wendy

I'm guessing the very cool look of that glaze is specifically because it is so runny, that it just blends together and drips and makes those cool streaky patterns?

Hope you are taking a break today Wendy, Happy 4th!

I just can't stay away from all of you here on Tiki Central the happiest place on earth! We went for a holiday special 2 for 1 at Macaroni Grill and now we are hanging out until it is time for fireworks with all our neighbors. I did get some work done early this morning so I'll share.

Atomic Tiki Punk I shed a few tears, so much work down the drain but I always call failures a learning experience.

LoriLovesTiki thank goodness we can look at all the event photos after they happen. I loved the photos of Crazy Al swimming with the Mermaids at Hukilau.

GROG yes but remember that since that time I found out that overheating can cause this and Aquanet hairspray can fix it. So I have to make sure I fire right and Dan hasn't run out of his favorite hairspray!

lunavideogames Dan's jealous too he wanted the mug. I told Dan to think up his own and add it to the next Wish List. I like happy endings.

Hale Tiki all the fun of posting now is almost worth all the horror of those many weeks.

hang10tiki it's a funny thing but once you do the work you "forget about it" and just keep on truckin.

Philot thank you. His mug went through without a hitch. Hers was a disaster. If the octopus had enough glaze after the first firing then I wouldn't have fired it so many times causing so many areas to pop off. So it was my problem.

littlegiles I love cliffhangers. I feel like I have a new one coming every time I glaze. Thank you for the thumbs up.

VampiressRN you be so funny. Thank you I like the word gorgeous.

TikiTacky you are exactly right. What I didn't know and learned with this mug is that each time you fire it runs again. So by the end of the 4th firing the runny glaze on the mug was really thin. I'd used it on inside of the mug and so the bottom of the inside was super thick.

Atomic Tiki Punk thank you for thinking of me today. I'm going to work on the Tiki Oasis painting as soon as I finish here. There are always so many projects that I have to fill in all the time with something important.

A Report on the morning of July 4th. Kind of like a report on summer camp.

I just un-loaded my camera and found photos from a couple of days ago. I unloaded a filled kiln of bisque ware and carried it outside.

I set up to wash it all so that it would be ready to glaze.

I got it all done in spite of 107 degree heat. I splashed water all over myself too.

If you are watching the Ohana page, topic Infirmary, author VampiressRN you will see that GROG has some serious things coming up. I'm making him a commemorative Tiki Bob mug. If I get it done in time he can take it with him when he has the big time surgery. Once he has it I'll share photos here.

This morning I spent a couple of hours sanding projects. This is the bowl that will hold the volcano.

Even though the texture on the outside of this bowl looked good I still sand it because glaze doesn't like to stick on sharp surfaces.

I decided it was time to make a bowl that was nipple-less and kid friendly. So here is with...

and then without those little bumps. Dan was not happy about the change. I want to see how much detail I can do with under-glaze. These will have a moomoo or mumu??? so I can paint patterns.

The bowl has a mini volcano in the bottom of the bowl.

So I gave out after 6 items.

I have three left for tomorrow morning and then I'll have Dan blow off the dust and I'll fire.

I have nothing left that needs to be made after this load is done. That means I'll be glazing
non-stop load after load until I finish them all.

I better get to that painting. I hope you all have fireworks in your future. Many hugs dear friends, Wendy and Dan

Dang! I really don't know how you have this much patience...I would have cussed the skies blue if I had something like the octopus mug mishap happen.

On another note: you have committed tiki sacrilege by erasing those nipples! :wink:

Hope you have a wonderful Independence day! :)

Leave the nipples and paint a dress over them—everybody happy!

Thanks for keeping us all entertained Wendy :D Happy Independence Day to you and Dan

If women did not have nipples, would there be any kids?

ATP- always thinking :)

Wendy- like the update

Jon

On 2013-07-04 21:43, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
If women did not have nipples, would there be any kids?

Yes. They would just be mal-adjusted because no one would be able to breastfeed.

I also think it would make for some mal-adjusted adult males as well. But men, well, I'm okay if we get rid of our nipples. Totally useless as far as I'm concerned.

You're a tiki machine, Wendy. And I can never express enough gratitude for your work.

Oh, by the way, I showed off your Ren Clark mug as part of my presentation for the cocktail!

tigertail777 we had a wonderful evening with our neighbors. From sparklers to silly string (which is flammable, beware).

We ran out of fireworks at 10 PM other neighbors kept going until midnight. With 40 people cleanup was super fast. All these were put in a barrel of water (not rum).

When things go bad I just try to learn from them. The problem was I could fix a spot where the glaze popped off but firing it made new areas pop off, I was chasing a moving train and not catching up.

I think that I can make you men happy and build up a hint of nipple with under-glaze. Dan is insisting that I try.

TikiTacky will do.

MadDogMike my pleasure. You all give back to me with your posts.

Atomic Tiki Punk I think so because there are also butt and leg men.

hang10tiki its a man thing.

Hale Tiki just what Dan said. I love seeing one on my mugs being used. That's a wonderful photo. I wish everyone with one of my mugs would post them here. You are welcome Hale Tiki.

Here's another episode...

McTiki's tiki is going to be red with a hint of blue. It was blending into the sky so

I added more black plants behind him.

I added paint in four colors from dark to light.

Where you hang a painting and how much light hits it makes a huge difference.

All I did hear was open a window. I can't seem to get a good photo with this camera.

I will post Maddy's second mug tomorrow. Now we are returning to work. Cheers, Wendy

Wow, a lot to catch up on- got caught up w/ work and family, fun to catch up on the Wendy and Dan show. Wow, the Hale mug collection is exciting stuff- amazing work- and makes me never want to carve again. Or, maybe time to come up for carving lessons, Wendy. We can throw some things on a wheel when you come down for Oasis. :)

Love the T.O. Art Show piece, too. Look forward to seeing it in person.

Hope everyone had a great (and safe) Independence Day.

Wishing Grog the best, too.

On 2013-07-04 12:55, danlovestikis wrote:

I'm making him a commemorative Tiki Bob mug. If I get it done in time he can take it with him when he has the big time surgery. Once he has it I'll share photos here.

YAY!! Unexpected pleasure. Maybe GROG should have open heart surgery more often!
U da best!

GROG miss Tiki-Kate

[ Edited by: GROG 2013-07-05 18:28 ]

The painting is looking sweeeeeet

Jon

TikiAno going slowly is the key. I think you can do anything you want with clay. Example roll out a piece to a small diameter, dip it in slip which acts as glue and attach it to your mug. You can make designs and rims around eyes this way. Remember a paint brush is a wonderful clay tool. You can move clay and smooth surfaces with it. Never give up. If you are in our area stop by for sure.

Did you see my potters wheel pot? it didn't get much better when I used a real one. I'd love to try again.

Taking photos of art in progress shows more than looking at the original. These photos show me that the nose is not right so I'll have to start over in that area next.

Wishing Grog the best, too.

Repeat mug lookin good (love the puffer)

Jon

Fingers Crossed!!!!!!!

I love that all the sea creatures are smiling! :)
~kele

http://www.eichlernetwork.com/article/paradise-found#.Udg1AggsP7Q.facebook

A picture of Sven with one of my mugs was in a newspaper article.
Thank you LiddleLola and Mahalo Tiki for letting me know. Wendy

hang10tiki by the way Dan wants his TC name changed to hang11tiki and I told him he's stuck with wendylovestikis because they only change names to protect the innocent.
AtomicTikiPunk isn't that right ATP?
Kele Hale Tiki knew that Maddy would like her creatures smiling. He knows a lot about Maddy.

The weekend continues and I've been painting. Cheers, Wendy

On 2013-07-06 17:34, danlovestikis wrote:
AtomicTikiPunk isn't that right ATP?

Atomic Tiki Punk aka Chuck Tatum aka Bong. :D

[ Edited by: GROG 2013-07-06 17:55 ]

Amazing as always Wendy & Dan!!!

I keep wanting to wish you luck, but then I remember that you did this over a month ago. I'm loving the layout on the second mug. Same general idea, but the flow on it is great.

I meant to tell you yesterday how much I was enjoying the painting. Love all the reds!

• Dale

GROG I bet that made him smile.

VampiressRN I hope you got the secret message. Thank you we keep trying.

littlegiles thank you I was really happy that the sea horses were a pair since traditionally the are sets of 3 and 2 is better than 1.

I worked all day on the painting. The publicity man for Oasis wants finished works today. Oil Painting works better for skin but I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll finish today. I also need to wash a kiln load of ceramics. A busy day is ahead of us.

Painting for Tiki Oasis 13

I've always found copying harder than just making one up. I have fun using McTiki's tikis for my paintings each year so I keep working to copy them. Photos help me identify errors. Here the eye on the right is all wrong and so is the nose.

The best part about these paints is that you can cover your errors and do it again. I save all my plastic can lids and use them as disposable pallets.

I covered over the bad parts with the background color and worked forward.

This time I used tape to mark the center of the nose.

Not done but better. I'll come back to the tiki later today.

Now it was time to start on the hula girl.

I just keep doing layers of different colors or the same color with others added.

The fire is behind the girl so I have to work out another light source for her.

It is a woman, I have not started on the chest yet!

Maddy's mug design by Hale Tiki

Once Maddy's mug was dry I sanded it.

I didn't want to fire up the kiln for only one mug so I made a few more Bob's while hers dried. They all went into the kiln together.

Fired.

Two days later I was able to wash them and examine each area to make sure nothing had cracked or come off.

At every turn there was success!

Now the mug must dry and then it would be time to glaze.

I'm running out of time! I'm referring to finishing my painting today so I've got
to sign off here and squeeze out those tubes. Cheers, Wendy

On 2013-07-06 17:55, GROG wrote:

On 2013-07-06 17:34, danlovestikis wrote:
AtomicTikiPunk isn't that right ATP?

Atomic Tiki Punk aka Chuck Tatum aka Bong. :D

[ Edited by: GROG 2013-07-06 17:55 ]

Bong & I were seen together yesterday, but Chuck is still dead, sooooooo.....

Soooooo how come you enter the secret witness program and they have to keep changing your name?

Truth is I was in Tiki Prison.....then had to use an alias to clear my name
at which point I was then granted the right to use my actual name again of ATP

But I met other exiles like "Tiki-Bong" in the Tiki wastelands
a struggle that left us scarred & opinionated, yet still standing

So wherever you find indifference & mediocrity, you will find us, bad attitude and all....

But if it is improper use of English & bad spelling, well that will be Grog, standing just over your shoulder
pointing out your mistake......in the night.

All of us say nice mug Wendy!

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-07-07 15:18 ]

Wendy ... your painting is amazing ... And, you sure have perseverance ... doing a mug twice is real dedication .. I would have been looking for an easier way like under-glazes or doing the background with a matte glaze that wouldn't run so much. You are a good friend to Hale Tiki ..... I can't wait to see the final mug ...

Atomic Tiki Punk aka Chuck Tatum aka Bong. You left our your tiki prison number.
Hale Tiki and I both thank you, his vision my hands.

Gene S Morgan I'm so glad that the response to the painting has been good, thank you.
For Hale's mug I did as requested and from now on I'll do what is going to work as you'll see your suggestions would have saved me lots of work.

I have to leave for two appointments so I'm going to just post a photo of how my painting looks right now. It is far from finished. I lost all the in progress photos from the past two days so this is all I have. I still need to figure out a light source for the woman.

Dan wants a vote. He wants her topless. I say she'd have a better chance of selling at Oasis with a lei over those points. I need your opinions.

I'll be back this afternoon with glazing photos of Hale Tikis mug for Maddy.

Cheers, Wendy

It should be noted at this juncture that upon completion of mug number 1 for Maddy, which failed on a few grounds, Wendy had a new mug sculpted, and photos emailed to me in the blink of an eye. Before I even got the first mug, or knew there was going to be a second mug, there in my email was photos of a second mug!

Wendy is a tiki MACHINE. And the mugs are in a very, very good home where they will be treasured for ever and ever and ever and ever and...

On 2013-07-08 08:11, Hale Tiki wrote:
And the mugs are in a very, very good home where they will be treasured for ever and ever and ever and ever and...

Or until the cat jumps on the shelf and knocks it to the ground breaking it into a thousand pieces.

I think most Tiki Oasis goers are mature enough to handle an uncensored hula girl (with a few exceptions). In my opinion, you should leave it uncensored. But I do understand if you think it should have a lei on her. I can see if someone wanted it for their dining room, they might want it censored. Most home tiki bars are not meant to be "kid friendly" or at least not catering to children. Not that kids shouldn't be taught about nudity in art at an early age...

I think it looks great and it will be a perfect addition to the Oasis, no matter what you choose!

You know where I stand on the matter.

On 2013-07-08 10:12, GROG wrote:

Or until the cat jumps on the shelf and knocks it to the ground breaking it into a thousand pieces.

AAAAAAAAAND that's why there's no cats allowed in my house. Ever. Plus I don't like cats. Unless you put a cute cat in front of me, then I'm it's new best friend, and I'll pet that thing down to the skin. But in my house? No cats, no way, no sir. I love dogs, LOVE, but even then, I'm not happy about having a dog in my house eventually. Too much fur, on everything. But I love dogs too much to resist.

But these mugs, no sir, they'll have a place on honor way up high, to be taken down for special occasions with the wahine and I. So used, just not all the time. Well loved.

And as far as the lei goes, I always laugh when Dan votes for nipples. That man isn't afraid to say what he likes, I'll tell you that. :) Personally, I'd say lei. Not because I don't love nipples, I do, but the lei (and nothing but the lei, and a grass skirt) is part of the allure for a hula girl. Barely covered, and ripe for the picking. Or at least, that's what I learned from watching Tiki Archaeology. Okay, and because if I saw an exotic woman in just a grass skirt and lei, I'd go nuts too.

Such a tease!

Hale Tiki it is posts like yours that keep me working long hours and doing my best at all times. I'm having a blast sharing all that we went through for Maddy. It will be fun when you take over the story. The last post on Maddy's second mug will be tomorrow and then it's your turn.

GROG our cat is allowed in Dan's jungle room and since her birth in 1999 she has never broken a mug. We love cats but only have her a SPCA rescue. I bet you have a cat.

lunavideogames maybe a short lei. You made some very good "points".

Atomic Tiki Punk I am reading your mind!

Hale Tiki after I'm done here with mug #2 I hope you'll post lots of photos of those mugs in use.

Tile tests
#1 is the new background glaze that I picked out. It is not designed to run. The spots in it flower out into brown spots. I thought that would tie in the brown tiki.
#2 is the runny choice that Hale Tiki made that didn't work for the outside. I decided that I would use it inside the mug and spot it on the outside.
#3 Octopus, #4 Puffer and #5 sea horses.

So first up #2 on the inside.

My choice #1 on the background with Hale Tikis #2 spotted here and there.

#3 Octopus

#5 Seahorses

Espresso glaze, brown, for the tiki.

#4 Puffer

I let it dry outside and then into the kiln to fire.

Finished photos tomorrow. Thank you for following this story. Your comments and visits make it so much fun. Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-07-08 17:49 ]

Maddy's mug #2 looks beautiful already. Can't wait to see it finished!

Wendy, you & Hale Tiki make a good team!
~kele

Maddy's mug keeps getting better and better...

i think glaze 1 and 2 are going to be great compliments.

Wendy, looking great (for all). I'm ready for Hale to finish the tale of two muggies. Seeing the Uke Bob next to the second Maddy mug gives a definite time frame for when you were furiously working on these.

Wendy, love the painting (as does everyone else). Since you can't please all of the people all of the time, why not split the difference: one nipple exposed, the other covered by a lei? Please just think of me of a peace ambassador. A problem solver. You can also use some coconuts up there. Perhaps a red "censored" bar? Pasties? Should I keep going? (Probably not).

I look forward seeing whatever way you're going with the painting. I imagined the light source being a fire closer to the viewer- a fire, most likely.

Belated thank you on the carving advice- each one gets better (for me), and watching your technique helps immensely- thanks for continuing to do so.

On 2013-07-08 15:02, danlovestikis wrote:
GROG -----I bet you have a cat.

GROG not have cat. GROG did share cave with cat for short while in 25,365BC. Him try to eat GROG one too many time. Him make good coat in winter and nice rug in warm season.

GROG! Your Kitty was just trying to show how much he loved you and wanted to be close to you.

Wendy, again you have such patience I really don't know how you do it. As for the painting, I unabashedly like nipples, however part of the allure of the hula girl as was pointed out is also the costume and some of it being left to imagination. I like the suggestion of leaving one exposed and perhaps the other just barely covered.

Can't wait to see how Hale's second mug turns out.

I didn't think it was possible but I think Maddy #2 is even better than the original. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - practice makes perfect! The sculpt is flawless and I predict the glaze will be so too!

Can't wait for Hale to take over this tale.....

I better get my photos in order, and be ready to type!

You're the best Wendy & Dan!

I have a huge smile because I have so many fun notes to respond too. Thank you. Today I hit 480,000 views and 240 pages. 350 makes a book. I wouldn't be here without all of you. Wendy

WaikikianMoeKele that's why the Wish Lists are so fun. I've paired up with a lot of you who had great ideas.

dartharnie Ahhh, you are right they did work out together.

TikiAno you are a smart detective. I'm going to do a glaze experiment with the Uke Bob. I wished I'd done his face in white so I'm going to see if I can do that on top of the glaze that's already there.

One out one covered, I didn't think of that. Maybe everyone will be happy that way.

I was thinking a volcano bowl gone crazy or a short torch?

There's so much wonderful advice on TC for artists. I love it here.

GROG I'm glad you survived your kitty. Your mug survived the kiln. Now you must survive the 16th to keep us all happy. Lastly you'll need to get that ticker fixed and party on...

tigertail777 so many good ideas. I love reading them.

LoriLovesTiki I liked it better too. I was surprised that when I copied it I had left over space.
I just realized that I was putting them as close together as they were on the fired mug. Well the mug shrunk as it dried and it shrunk when it was bisque fired. So the first mug had greater separations when sculpted which I didn't do as I copied. I hope Maddy liked having a set of Sea Horses.

(Can't wait for Hale to take over this tale.....) me too because I haven't heard if Maddy liked her mugs or the story yet.

Hale Tiki I'll be reading from hotel computers, get busy!

Dan and I were watching an old episode of Fringe. The agent was sneaking through an old house and as she was passing into another room we saw these fuzzy things in a closet. We think they look like Moai lights that hang from the electric wire. Possible?

Progress Report on the Sacramento Crawl Mug and misc. first.

Here's the volcano paired with its bowl. Soon I'll experiment with lava.

The crawl mugs have all been poured, bisque fired and washed.

Next up I'll be glazing them.

Dan's afraid our table will collapse. There's around 300 pounds of tikis on this table.

I cover them with these plastic table clothes to keep the dust off until I get back to work.

Here comes the last edition from danlovestikis of the Hale Tiki Mug saga.

All done and out of the kiln.

Dan boxed the mug and off it went to Hale Tiki and his big event.

OK Lucky (Hale Tiki) your turn. I hope you'll post here as well as on Ohana. I'm leaving for Tiki Kon and you could keep my thread alive.

Thank you all for sticking with the story of this man's love for Maddy. These mugs were only a small part and I was happy to contribute but wait until you see the rest of the story!

Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-07-09 12:54 ]

On 2013-07-08 23:27, GROG wrote:

On 2013-07-08 15:02, danlovestikis wrote:
GROG -----I bet you have a cat.

GROG not have cat. GROG did share cave with cat for short while in 25,365BC. Him try to eat GROG one too many time. Him make good coat in winter and nice rug in warm season.

Ha! Grog one funny caveman. Glad Grog had warm coat and something plush to curl up on.

Wendy, love the picture of the (eye level) Tiki Soldiers on the Independence Day tablecloth. They look like they're ready for something big. (Glazing?)

FYI, I'd like to leave the painting up to the artist- I was just joking around giving suggestions- Iooking forward to your choice and where you head with it. It's very cool watching artists work- we're very lucky here at TC to watch so many talented folks show their steps along the way.

That being said, perhaps a neon tube top for the hula girl? :wink:

I knew you would pull an amazing mug out of thin air. That second mug for Maddy is amazing!! A pure joy to see.

Have a great time at TikiKon. Safe journeys.

• Dale

Wendy ... I think you came up with a perfect background glaze .... I also really like the glaze you used on the octopus .... This mug is outstanding in so many ways ..... Gene

The mug is great! I agree that the octopus glaze is perfect.

Your creativity is boundless...literally. We keep throwing crazy, amazing and bizarre ideas and you BEAT all expectations!