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

I love it Wendy but I wanted a mug, so we'd each have one. How the BLEEP did I mess that up that? I never realized you were saying statue, my mind was reading mug! Can we fix this? Drats! I really like the statue though but can you open the top? But then it must not have a bottom.......

Ay-ya-yi! Please advise. I may have hit a new low for stupidity.

Edited to add this:
I went back and reread to see where I screwed up. In your thread my request was phrased as a "Bob." No mention of mug vs. statue. In your personal message you said small Bob statue, which I completely ignored. I had Bob mug in my head the whole time. So if you can't turn this into a mug I'll take him anyway cause your carving rocks and it was my mistake.

:)
Lori

[ Edited by: LoriLovesTiki 2014-12-12 16:12 ]

Hi Lori, this is not a problem. Clay is very easy to change before it dries. I will just fill in the part that says Jeff Loves Lori and super carve it. I'll then make you a mug just like this but full size. Did you like the way it was carved or was there any of it you would like to look differently?

Mess ups can be fun to read about so this just made my thread more entertaining! Cheers, Wendy

Hi Friends, this past Thursday I received a call that it was now time to release photos of a TOP SECRET mug project that was completed during a past WISH LIST. I'm going to share photos of the making of this mug from start to finish.

I am also going to put it on facebook so that these photos can be shared. I hope to create some buzz that will eventually lead a manufacturer to my client. Only a few people have seen this mug so far now it's your turn.

It is my pleasure to present you the tiki version of Homer Simpson.

I will show you how it progressed from my clients drawings to the huge mug made in ceramic clay.

I started by casting a cylinder mug shape. I turned it over and carved in the name of the person responsible for Homer.

Later down the line I took another photo of the bottom and had an optical illusion occur. The carving into the bottom had not changed.

This shows the shape of the mug that I started with.

I cut and added pieces of clay to shape the head.

This is going to be a very big mug!

Wrapped up so that part of it can dry a bit to firm it up.

===================================================

Now I'm off to work on the Wish List #5 projects.

Wendy

Homer.....
Awesome

Wish u guys were here

New Doug Horne print up in Frankie's

Me- Zombie
Wahine- 3 Rum Scum

Then my lucky lady hit a royal flush
Sweet

Worst sound ever, slurp of an empty tiki mug through my straw!!!

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2014-12-13 18:42 ]

Wendy, you are the best!

On the mug, if possible could you make the LOVES LORI a little thicker? And on the sides can you carve a more tapa-like pattern instead of the semi-circles?

Mahalo!

hang10tiki I hope we can see you around March 2015 or will you be in Hawaii?

hang10tiki excellent print. We all love Vincent and Doug.

hang10tiki did you scream?

LoriLovesTiki tapa it is.

I started your big mug today.

When the clay is firmer I can make the LOVES LORI better. I can make it larger to fill the space under JEFF.

================================================

Twice in one day, how about that! Cheers, Wendy

Hey Wendy! Nice Homer mug! Were you working on that a year ago when I was up there? Excited to see how it turns out!

MadDogMike it was already in the clients hands by then. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your flower cookie cutter. Clay cutting? Very clever.

===================================

I went to pick photos of the Homer Simpson mug as I progressed and found that 20 photos were the kind that turn sideways here. I posted those on facebook and I'm posting those that work on here. So a lot of steps are missing in this post. This mug took a long time and at the end weighed around 5 pounds!

I would look at the mug and then at the photo and then I would add clay in sheets.
With this one I needed the top rim to lean out like his head.

With that accomplished I moved down to the next piece.

I cut a piece for the center of the forehead.

This is where facebook has more photos of the work. Just go to Wendy Cevola if you need to be friended just request it.

So many weeks later this is what has been accomplished.

My client also sent me a Chi pet and a statue of Homer to work from.

I continued to fine tune and to smooth all the parts that were added.

More tomorrow.

======================================

RVICTOR I've made a lot of progress on your design. When I finish off Homer I'll be posting your mug photos.

Cheers and Happy Holidays, Wendy

On 2014-12-13 21:31, danlovestikis wrote:

Whoa, in my early-morning-just-woke-up-have-not-had-coffee-post-zombia-hangover state, I thought you were making these for me...lol :wink:

Love them Wendy!!!

How funny is that, I didn't even think of the fact there are two Jeff's and Lori's in the tiki world. Well the small one is for sale. I sent you a PM. Wendy

5 pound mug
That's AWESOME....

Worst sound ever, slurp of an empty tiki mug through my straw!!!

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2014-12-14 11:34 ]

Homer Simpson mug is looking good Wendy!

Obviously Wendy and Dan can accomplish any mug. I am thinking a King Tut mug would be fun!!!

Blue Nile (cocktail)
~1 part Cruzan White Rum
~1 part Patron White Tequila
~1/2 part Blue Curacao
~juice of 1/2 lime
Serve over cracked ice with mint garnish and blue maraschino cherry

Wow, that picture makes the mug look HUGE! Not Homer HUGE but pretty big. Thanks so much for making the mug. And it's super funny that you might have a taker for the "Jeff loves Lori" statue as is!!

Wow, that picture makes the mug look HUGE! Not Homer HUGE but pretty big. Thanks so much for making the mug. And it's super funny that you might have a taker for the "Jeff loves Lori" statue as is!!

Wendy- we should be around then
Hope to see you guys

Vamp- that would be cool

hang10tiki and that's with it empty. Drink and get a workout at the same time.

RVICTOR thank you for your patience and comment. I want to keep these Homer photos close together. Yours will come up when I finish.

VampiressRN I would love to make one of the boy king.

LoriLovesTiki the mug was huge. I don't know what I was thinking. My client was very happy with the size so it worked out.
I've know Jeffery and Lori for many years. The fact that I don't call him Jeff stopped me from thinking about the similarity.

hang10tiki Vamp has an Egyptian master bedroom and so do we. When we met for the first time it was a surprise to see that there were two homes that were tiki and Egyptian. We sure hope to see you two.

===========================================
Next up for the Home Simpson mug was to add the logo to the back of the mug. Copying is such a hard thing to do.

First I added a layer of clay. This time the letters needed to stand out.

I printed the photo of the word until I had it in the right size for the back of the mug.

I cut the added clay to the right size and

then I pressed the paper in place.

I used a razor blade and a lot of different tools to remove the excess clay.

I had to go slow so that the paper didn't move skewing the letters into new shapes.

Once I had the basic outline down I removed the paper.

All the paper has been removed here.

I sat back to see if it looked OK.

Now I used wet paint brushes to smooth the letters.

Now it's all done and that was a relief.

====================================

Thank you for watching the progress in the making of this 1/1 prototype. Wendy

The letters look great...

All of the new Lori pieces and the Homer Simpson mug look great. So much patience- and such perfection in your carving of the letters- I've tried that once (on the "Rum DMC" mug way back) and decided to never want to copy text again. Ha! You, of course, are able to show off. I love learning by watching your carves (and seeing what tools you use, too). Hopefully we can see a photo with the (final) recipient, too.

Since I hear you're traveling in early March, you might be interested in the San Diego Home Bar crawl on March 7th? en route to Vegas?

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=48560&forum=17&3

(Jon, that goes for you, too). Wendy, Tiki Ari might be there for one of the bar stops.... :)

Lori, you better check your mug when it arrives- Wendy sent me a photo text that there was a little visitor trying to hitch a ride. Dan caught the visitor, and (as predicted), added it to his collection. That Dan....

[ Edited by: TikiAno 2014-12-15 10:27 ]

TikiAno - is that a headhunter coconut mug????

LOL

I do the same thing for adding names to my mugs. But I wet the paper, and then poke pin holes around the letters to give me an outline of the shapes, then I peel off the paper before I begin to remove the excess clay. I find cutting through the paper slows me down and the paper doesn't always cooperate.

The mug is looking amazing!!

LoriLovesTiki sure looks like it.

MauiTiki thanks for writing that up. I tried and there were so many dots I was connecting the wrong ones. Then I tried to just press in the outline and I couldn't get it deep enough to see. In the end I just used the razor blade first and dug it out after. Whew, copying is a bear.

I love your new lava mug.

==============================

More photos of the Homer Simpson Tiki mug in progress. It will be back to the Wish List #5 when I finish off Homer.

The sculpting is almost done. I had to go back and enlarge his eyes then add the tongue and tapa designs to his head and shirt. Next I will turn him into wood which I'll show tomorrow.

Here are the step by steps.

He's a big guy. Cheers, Wendy

Fantastic artistry Wendy, Homer looks great!

Wendy- u are amazing

Today marks the 25th anniversary of The Simpsons! I'm enjoying watching the progress of the mug. It's so cool that you were picked to honor such a milestone.

25 random facts about The Simpsons:

1. Creator Matt Groening named the characters after his own family members but substituted "Bart" for his own name.
2. The characters' distinctive yellow hue was chosen in part to make the show stand out when someone was flipping through TV channels for something to watch.
3. It took Danny Elfman three days to compose the show's opening theme song. He's called it the most popular piece of music of his career.
4. Its town of Springfield was named for its generic Anywhereness (there are Springfields in 30 U.S. states). Over various episodes, the town's geography has contained rivers, deserts, farmland, mountains or whatever the story requires.
5. Time magazine named it the best TV show of the 20th century.
6. Bart is voiced by a woman, Nancy Cartwright. In an opening sequence during the show's second season, Bart wrote on the chalkboard, "I am not a 32-year-old woman" (Cartwright's age at the time).
7. Dustin Hoffman had an uncredited speaking role in the show's second season, playing Lisa's kindly substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom. Hoffman wasn't sure he wanted to be identified with a cartoon show at the time, so he chose the name "Sam Etic" in the closing credits -- a play on the word semitic, alluding to the fact that he and Mr. Bergstrom are Jewish.
8. An official version of Duff beer, Homer's favorite brew, is sold in three variations near The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios.
9. In the show's early-'90s heyday, school principals around the country banned Bart Simpson T-shirts, fearing he was a bad role model.
10. Of Krusty the Clown's resemblance to Homer, Groening once said: "The satirical conceit that I was going for at the time was that 'The Simpsons' was about a kid who had no respect for his father but worshiped a clown who looked exactly like his father."
11. The University of California-Berkeley has offered a for-credit course on "The Simpsons."
    The 'Simpsons' comedy tree
12. During a speech in 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush said, "We are going to keep on trying to ... make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." In response, the show's writers rushed out a short segment soon after in which Bart said, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
13. Harry Shearer said he modeled the voice of wicked tycoon Mr. Burns in part on that of Ronald Reagan.
14. In an episode that aired in 2003, Homer gave his email address as [email protected]. The episode's writer, Matt Selman, signed up for the ChunkyLover53 email address beforehand and within minutes of the show's airing found his inbox packed to its 999-message limit.
15. The show earned guest star Anne Hathaway a Primetime Emmy for outstanding voice-over performance.
16. Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" was used by conservative columnists in 2003 after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq.
17. An episode during the fourth season featured guest star Elizabeth Taylor voicing a single word: Lisa's first word, spoken during a flashback. The word? "Bart."
18. Michael Jackson guest-starred as a mental patient during a third-season episode, "Stark Raving Dad," in which Homer Simpson is sent to a mental institution. For contractual reasons, he was credited as John Jay Smith.
19. In 2010, elusive street artist Banksy created a darkly subversive montage for the opening sequence that showed children and animals slaving in a hellish underground sweatshop to produce "Simpsons" memorabilia. Of the bold move, "Simpsons" showrunner Al Jean told the New York Times: "Well, I haven't been fired yet, so that's a good sign."
    Is it time for 'The Simpsons' to 'g'oh'?
20. Veteran actor Hank Azaria supplies the voice for 16 recurring characters, including Moe the bartender, Chief Wiggum and convenience store owner Apu.
21. Exiled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange guest-starred as himself on an episode in the show's 23rd season. He recorded his lines over the phone from the Ecuadorian embassy in Britain, where he has been granted asylum.
22. At one point, "The Simpsons Movie," a hit in 2007, was planned as a musical.
23. Homer's signature "D'oh!" has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, and an expression he frequently uses has inspired a much-quoted toast: "To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."
24. Among the celebrities who have turned down guest-starring roles on the show, according to creators' comments on the DVDs, are Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Caine, Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Hopkins, Quentin Tarantino and Prince.
25. Showrunner Al Jean told The Onion's AV Club in August that if the series ever ends, he would like the final episode to end with the arrival of the Christmas pageant from the first scene of the pilot episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," making the whole series a continuous loop.

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2014-12-17 08:41 ]

cy thank you. This is why I do the Wish Lists. You never know what someone will want made and its fun to give it may best shot.

hang10tiki ahhh you all are so good to me.

tikilongbeach you are so right. It was fun to be asked and to keep it secret has been hard. But now it's out and my client is waiting to see if there will be another step forward.

Thank you for letting everyone know about the anniversary. I didn't know that or any of the facts you shared. Thank you.

======================================

I carefully added the wood grain to each part of Homer trying to match the clients drawing.

I believe this finished off the sculpting part of the project.

NOW HOMER HAD TO SIT FOR MORE THAN TWO MONTHS TO DRY. I WOULD TAKE HIM OUT OF THE PLASTIC FOR AN HOUR AND THEN PUT HIM BACK IN. THIS WENT ON EVERY DAY, DAY AFTER DAY. I WATCHED FOR CRACKS.

I carefully sanded all of the mug. If that removed any of the wood grain I carved it back into the clay.

Into the kiln to fire. I had added so much clay. Would there be an air bubble that would blow him up like in the cartoon?

As I lifted the lid I hope he was in one piece. Success he was in one piece!

I scrubbed him really well and looked for cracks or missing pieces. So far so good.

After scrubbing all the projects for the Wish List were left to dry out a bit. You can see the other projects I was working on at the same time.

==========================================

Next up will be the glazing. Cheers, Wendy

Wow, that is really awesome! I just LOVE when you can turn something2-
D into 3-D… it is a VERY difficult process, and takes huge skills … I've tried, could never get close…WOW I am just blown away! the Homer Tiki is the BEST !!

Wendy - Let me reiterate the sentiment that the Simpson mug is one of your finest to date. You are super talented and an inspiration to the rest of us.

Ahhhh... you HAVE been keeping this secret for a while, Wendy....

I've finally came up with a good (for me) idea, so I am putting a reservation in for NEXT year's Wish List. Hopefully I remember this idea. Ha.

Homer looks awesome. Has the final product been delivered yet?

Tikilongbeach- love the

Wendy- Homer came out great
Can't wait to see the final product

Great idea. great drawing & totally awesome sculpting. Wendy you really out did your self.

I have seen this Homer mug in all of its glory and splendor. I was lucky enough to see it in person, but after that I had to keep it a secret too. Wendy has been quiet on this project for quite some time. It is an amazing mug, but that's all I can say because I don't want to give anything away.

Wendy is a great secret keeper!

Tiki Shark Art my client really made a great Homer design. I was so relieved to be able to pull it off. Please keep posting the videos of you drawing on facebook. Those are such fun to watch. Thank you for the visit and kind words.

RVICTOR thank you. I'm just the hands when it comes to Wish Lists. Unless my Homer client says to let his name out of the bag your tiki mug will be posted in a day or two.

TikiAno by the time the next Wish List is up you may be able to make your idea without any help. If not I'm here for you and Tiki Ari. I've been keeping this secret since 2012. My client has had the mug for years!

hang10tiki here is your wish, the finished Homer mug.

TikiPops thank you. The drawing was by my client. I just did the sculpting from his drawings. Check out the table photo to see more of them.

lunavideogames this may be the longest secret I've ever had to hold but it's so much fun to share it now. Holden of Tiki Farm saw it too but the photos of him seeing it have my client in the picture. So for now those are still hidden away.

=====================================================

This is how my instructions were delivered! I was now an undercover secret agent.

I'm all set up with glazes and detailed instructions. Most of the mug will be in pale flat buff glazes. Only the tongue, eye balls, the word Simpson's and some of the tapa will be shiny and bright.

I started by doing the interior glaze in dark brown as instructed.

Next a medium brown was placed to cover the mug. Remember every glaze is three layers deep. So you see very little of the actual work in these photos.

Next I wiped off the areas where only the wood grain detail was to show up in this brown color.

Wiped off and drying.

Side view.

Now I had to do 3 layers in the flat pale yellow without covering any of the brown wood grain. Under glazes do not allow color to bleed through.

Once the yellow was completed a lighter brown was applied over the medium brown on the lips etc.

Now Homer is just posing for you.

Back and the

other side.

Next the under glaze was covered with a gloss glaze so that Simpson's and

the tongue will be shiny.

Here are most of the glazes used. Only the red will be as bright and shiny as the strip on the left side.

Into the kiln to fire.

After the firing.

My client took these photos of the finished mug after it was hand delivered to him in Southern California.

I took these photo of Homer inspecting his monument!

He looks happy to me.

Thank you all for watching the making of this mug. This is why I do the Wish Lists. I get challenged to make things that I never would have even thought of, this next one is the same. More challenges. Even a mug larger than this one!

So tomorrow I'll be back to posting the progress of Wish List #5. Meanwhile your comments mean a lot to me and to my client as well. Your support of his idea just gives him the momentum to see this become a real project.

Cheers, Wendy

Wow
Did I say wow yet?
Wow

Outstanding Wendy
:)

Ditto what Jon said: Wow. Wowzers.

Wendy, ha- well, sure, I can make Tiki Ari pieces, but would be more fun to have you create something for him. Will try to remember the idea when the next Wish List comes around... :)

Look forward to seeing all the new projects....

hang10tiki I love it when you talk tiki.

TikiAno Tiki I bet Ari's daddy is going to teach him the love of clay. Don't start until he knows not to eat it!
I'll make whatever you want when you want it.

Thank you men for liking my clients idea and my rendition.

===========================================================

Wish List #5 in Progress

LoriLovesTiki did I fulfil your Wish?

I started with the tapa on the nose.

I matched it to the bottom of the mug.

I searched for tapa designs in these books.

I carved everywhere on the mug except where the hand and coconut mug would be attached.

I first made the little coconut.

Then I cut out a hand and attached it to the mug.

I put the coconut in the hand.

Once the hand was finished I carved the tapa designs around the hand and finished the mug.

Tiki Bob is such a ham. Here he is posing again.

I look forward to my critiki's. Cheers, Wendy

I'm sure Lori will have the same reaction I did

:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

Wendy you are the Super Carved Tapa Queen
Simply awesome

hang10tiki well thank you and what does that make Dan? I will continue to work to resemble that remark!

==================================================

Another Wish List #5 progress report.

RVICTOR requested a mug that looked similar to the Tiki Modern book cover. He drew a beautiful picture of the mug for me to use as a guide. Sven I hope you like it.

Earlier this summer I carved and molded three new fogcutter shapes. From these I can make a lot of requested designs.
RVICTORS will be the first time I have cast and used one.

I started by adding clay where the face will be placed.

I smoothed and sharpened it up. Next it sat in plastic to firm up for several days until I could carve it.

Using the drawing I started with the eyes then

the nostrils and

then the mouth.

Next I did the lip designs.

I checked it against the RVICTOR drawing.

Used a flash for this one and

for the side view.

Now I started carving the tapa.

I did some of it while the mug was upside down.

Getting closer.

Done and Posing.

I told RVICTOR that the drawing could be done in a couple of ways. I told him that I would do one and if it didn't meet his expectations that Dan would be happy to take it and I would start again with his tweaks.

RVICTOR please check it over and let me know if you had ideas that I missed or if this is the mug you want.

=============================

Look what I found at Goodwill for $0.97. I love to pet him. My cat likes her back scratched with the beak.

=============================

5 days until Christmas. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2014-12-21 10:46 ]

Wow
Another great one from da Tapa Queen

Dan-0 is the King of collecting

Wendy - I really like the carve. Look forward to seeing you accomplish the glazing as there are so many alternating fields of color.

hang10tiki (:

hang10tiki I'd forgotten I made that bowl. I like how the tikis eyes are looking up at the kiwi as it sips his nectar. I appreciate your additions to the "show".

RVICTOR cool now I can start the carving on another Wish List mug while posting things I made a short while back.

=====================================

When the big storm was due to hit our area on December 10th Dan and I prepared our yard so that nothing would blow over or away.

We even took our concrete tikis and put them on their sides on the ground.

After the storm we went to lift them all back in place and dang it, this one snapped in half. We'll try to repair it by first drilling a hole top and bottom and putting a dowel in place. Is there such a thing as cement glue?

=====================================================

Hawaii is such a diverse landscape that there is even cactus. We've seen it. So in honor of Hawaii I've made a Cactus Body Bob.

I started by cutting out the shapes for the hands.

More detail.

I attached a hand and gave him a little

coconut mug to hold.

Now like the classic cactus statues of the past I attached his other hand/limb higher up

and gave that hand another little coconut mug to hole. Now he sat to firm up for a couple of days while in a plastic bag.

A cactus has a rounded head so I cast an ornament to use because it is hollow and

started to form the rounded lid. I smoothed the surface so I could add clay and not air bubbles.

I made the inside thicker first and

then I began to build up the clay on the top to the same thickness.

I checked out the size keeping in mind this clay is not as dry as the mug so it must be larger to start out.
Now this lid/top of the head is put into a big plastic bag with air so that it can slowly firm up.

Now I carved the little coconut mugs. In the Hawaiian language I carved Cactus on one and Body on the other.

Here I'm trying to figure out how I want to make the cactus thorns.

Now the lid/top of the head has firmed up and I'm carving to make it fit into the mug's body.

I added a hole to the top.

Bob not only has a lid he has thorns on his body.

Next I added them to the lid.

Now it is time to let him completely dry out so that I can fit the lid.

A couple of weeks later Bob is dry and I can see just how much clay to remove from the lid.

I used a sharp chisel and sand paper (I wore a mask) and carved it to fit.

Hopefully they will shrink the same amount in the kiln.

Side view.

I'll show a few more Tiki Bob's over the next few days while I get some photos going on Tyber Tikis Wish List Project.

Happy Holidays and Cheers, Wendy

Cactus Bob
A 2 fisted drinker
Good idea
Like his lid
:)

Worst sound ever, slurp of an empty tiki mug through my straw!!!

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2014-12-22 07:45 ]

hang10tiki Cactus Bob A 2 fisted drinker is a better name. I've always needed help with that. Too bad it's already dry )o:

==========================

Heeeeeeeeere's Bob.

It occurred to me that I'd never seen a Tiki Bob where his rings went across his white face. Why not?

So I started carving first with the tool with the V shape.

All done with that one.

Now I used the wire brush to add surface detail.

His face will be white and smoother.

His body a coconut tree color.

==========================================

I needed to make a few more flames for mugs.
I started with a mold for ornaments.

I carefully cover them with clay.

A picture to show the progression. Oops I missed the bisque fire step.

Once the flame is leather hard I can go back and add more detail.

=====================================

That's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow. Cheers, Wendy

Omg
That new Bob is killer.....

Cheers to you 2

hang10tiki you sure do post fun photos. I also sneek a peek at the background to see how your collection is growing.
Thank you always for keeping the fun going on here.

===================================

I had a Tiki Bob in my hands and I wondered what it would look like if Tiki Bob lost his head. So let's see his body and head is made of rings. So if the rings began to slip and slide...

I started by cutting a bunch of rings and then I began to offset them into the slip.

Next I had some slip off. All done.

The view into the mug.

The challenge will be to glaze the inside of the mug and the inside of each ring.

So either Tiki Bob's lost his head or he's just into modernism or??? Cheers, Wendy