MadDog Mike's Platterful of Pupule - El Tiki/Ben Wilson Wall Finished

You used all your considerable know how on that sign Mike, it looks great! The spear heads are very cool, nice work.

Don't get your Venus near that fly trap

:)

Are you just too cute for words? We should clone you and make some tiki spending money. I can't remember did you make a chest of gold for the pirate ship? Wendy

Thank you Cy. I don't think Disneyland will come to my door offering me fistfuls of cash but I'm having a good time
Jon, thanks for the warning :lol:
Wendy, you always make me smile :) I have a treasure chest in the pirate ship full of plastic doubloons. But one of these days I want to upgrade that. I had cast some zinc pirate coins years ago and have just this one left. I bought a couple pounds of zinc and have a plan to use my kiln for casting some new ones. Zinc melts at 780 degrees, well within the capabilities of a kiln. If I remember right I did these with sand casting so they don't have much detail, I think I can do better.

You have you're own Loot Mint? I thought you were bad ass but now it's confirmed :D

Wow I'm glad I asked because I don't remember seeing the casts before. Over the top!

hang10tiki good picture I hope he isn't arrested now that it is known.

Hugs, Wendy

Mike,

You're so clever! Love the headhunter sign!!!!

That Head Hunter sign is so many kinds of awesome! Love it Mike! That paperclay stuff... does it have to be fired? I was under the impression it was air dry stuff... or maybe I am thinking of some other clay?

Can't wait to see what your fertile imagination comes up with next!

Thanks guys :) Just want you to know that I am still alive and kicking. Been burning up my spare time on some non-tiki, non-ceramic projects. A Gala fund-raising dinner, a chili cookoff booth, and a parade float all for the hospital to start with. Working on a secret tiki project that has turned into a long-term challenge, will be done in a few weeks and should be able to post some pictures.

Speaking of "not tiki", I am working on a couple of diyas for a Hindi friend. Ceramic oil lamps that are lit during the upcoming Diwali, the Hindi Festival of Lights. They were both made by laying slabs of clay over Styrofoam forms.

This is a representation of the Sanskrit word "Om", the meditative mantra. About 12 x 12 x 1 1/2 inches with holes for 7 wicks. The diyas get filled with oil and the wicks lit. Wendy you are right about how photos help you see things you have missed. There is a lump on the middle leg of the "3" (left of center) I had missed. Ready for a bisque firing today.

This is the Hindi god Ganesh (Ganesha). About 8 x 8 x 1 inches. The trunk holds the wick, I am worried that the oil won't soak up far enough into the wick to sustain a flame. Still got some cleaning and drying to do, hopefully ready for a bisque firing tomorrow.

Very cool work Mike! Impressive!

Mike,

Those are completely awesome- love watching you create new pieces, non-tiki included. :wink:

Look forward to seeing them glazed (and lit up?)

Nice non-Tiki work...looking forward to seeing it done.

Hope that Ganesh lights up good, that's a great piece.

I can see all the work that went into those pieces. You are so good at this. Yep photos really help. I'm looking forward to your glazing and any other news??? Wendy

Thanks guys but Ganesh go BOOM! :(

Got a little impatient and I think I put him in the kiln before he was completely dry. Diwali is this Sunday so I'm not sure I can make a new one in time? Maybe if I use paper clay and force it dry in the oven. I will probably test the wick on this one before I start another.

Dang. It seems that's been going around recently.... (one of mine went boom, too). Looking forward to seeing the other pieces move forward!

When I had my last kiln repair the man (who is a ceramicist) said he always does a 10 hour preheat to completely dry out his work before he fires. I've started doing that with my pieces what took far too much labor to let them shatter. So over all I fire my work for 23 hours with the slow ramp.

I'm so sad to see this loss. Wendy

Thanks David and Wendy. It was just a matter of firing a piece that I had no business firing :D At least there was nothing else in the kiln to get ruined. As it turned out, it was too far to wick oil up the elephant trunk. Had it not exploded, I would have spent time to glaze it and it would not have worked. I have a plan to modify the next one, have to get it done before Oct 23, 2014.

The "Om" Diya (oil lamp) worked out fine, she chose Butter Toffee glaze. The bottom is inscribed "With the gleam of diyas, may contentment fill your lives"

Beautiful photograph. Great job, Wendy

Way cool bruddah

Nice, may contentment fill your live to Mike! :)

Excellent work MDM.

Thanks guys. My Hindi friend said the oil lamp added a gleam of contentment to their Diwali celebration :wink:

OK, here a project I have been working on for a while for Amy's Palm Springs Tonga Hut. She hasn't given me permission to post it but I figured it out in public view and there are other PS Tonga Hut pictures posted so it's fair game. If I suddenly pull this down you will know why :lol:

The Palm Springs Tonga Hut has an outdoor display window that faces the sidewalk about 4 feet wide x 5 feet tall x 1 foot deep. She wanted an animated display in a Witco-esque style, kind of a "Small World Meets Witco". This is what I came up with ~ a Drummer, a Fire Spinner, and 2 Hula Girls all made of burned and brushed wood. the background is a volcano with a red glow behind it and flickering flames on top. Red lava rock covers the floor.

Since TC does not allow video posted, here's a small animated GIF that sort of shows the movement (not so much on the Drummer)

This has been a fun project but rather challenging. The Drummer is about 24 inches tall, operates with wooden levers and cams. The Hula Girls are about 18 inches tall and are based on heavily modified plans for a dancing Santa. The left girl is driven by a motor, the right girl is linked with a Plexiglas bar so they are always synchronized in their dance. I had part supply issues with the dancing Santa that really delayed this project. The Fire Spinner has a rotating shaft with LED lights, a two contact brushes, pulleys made from wood, and a vacuum cleaner belt. They have lots of nylon bushings so hopefully they will run for a long time with minimal maintenance :D

That's amazing Mike. You never cease to impress.

You Rock Mike!

hmmm... the animated GIF doesn't show unless I'm signed in to Photobucket, I have to find a way to fix that :(

Wow wow wow, now I see it. That's just terrific.
I want to go see it right away. Wendy

So killer! Nice work!

Sorry to hear about your Ganesh, Mike. At least contentment turned out well.

That Tonga hut assembly is simply AMAZING. What kind of motors did you use and where did you get them? I can't tell in the GIF...is the volcano lava part working yet? You really nailed the Disney Small World feel. :)

Matt, Lance, & Kahaka - thank you so much
Wendy - it's ready for your next visit, we can try out the restaurant too.
Tiger - the motors are 110v geared reduction motors from The Winfield Collection The Drummer and the Hula Girls run on the #MOT9, the Fire Spinner has more friction and required a bigger #MOT. The volcano is static, just red rope lights behind it and the flicker bulbs on top.

That is awesome!

The talent of the one called "Mad Dog" never ceases to amaze...

Awesome bruddah

:)

Mike, amazing work. Can't wait to see a full size version for XMas decorations...?

Have you been playing around with motorized displays like this for a while? Impressed. Thanks for posting.

Thanks Jon.
No David, this was my first attempt.

So awesome! and in the first try :D

Great work Mike, you do it all!

Totally cool Mike! Love it

Fantastic!!! A man of many talents.

Beyond words.
People are going to begin to expect
this kind of stuff from you.

You are truly a renaissance man!

AMAZING!

Now you've added Moving parts to these Creations......

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge.........

:)

Saw your work for the Palm Springs Tonga Hut last weekend, Mike!
looking good....

Love that Tonga Hut piece my friend!

Mike, congratulations!

Thank you all for your kind comments on my animated Tonga Hut PS project, that was a lot of fun. Been busy with some extra-curricular activities but did manage to get a piece made for the Album Cover Art Swap. Based on this Sam Gambino painting for Waitiki 7's "New Sounds of Exotic" CD.

The mug is approx 9 inches tall and glazed in about 10 shades of browns. The background is painted on a 12x12 inch canvas.

Another kick ars project by the MadDog

And congrads on the catch
:)

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2013-12-12 15:10 ]