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

This is really cool to watch you CARVE

What Jon said, plus the fun of seeing the psychedelic colors through the clay bodies... wooooooooooohooooooooooo......

On my "to do" list:

a) Find one of Wendy's "label scrapers"
b) Learn from da best... :)

Looking great so far Wendy! Thanks for taking up another huge project for me. I am excited about this.

Hang10tiki already reached out to me and maybe TikiAno might want one as well. I am making these for my home bar in SD. If you have been to my bar (Tiki the Hut) and would like to purchase one of these when they are ready, please let me know. I am taking orders for them, although Wendy will get all the profits, she deserves them! Bamalamalu, might be something you or Ted might be into?

hang10tiki I like to watch you chisel.

TikiAno I bought some kids oil based clay (looked like it was from the 1050's) at a garage sale and added it to my Romo clay to soften it. It is fun to see.

Don't buy a label scraper. I'll send you one as a thank you for the carving tool and hot chocolate.

hang10tiki Dan's favorite.

lunavideogames I'm glad you like it so far. Dan says it is his favorite crawl mug that I have made. For yours I will alter a hand to hold the chain and then add the name of your bar. I haven't even thought about starting the girl yet. This is the largest Wish List so far with your Wish the most complicated being in two pieces.

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

The article for the Elk Grove Citizen came out today. Here's the rest of the story.

Our mail hasn't been being delivered until 8 PM now that Christmas is near so I drove to the newspaper to see if it came out and to get some extra copies.

What a surprise to see my face in the window of the news rack.

I went inside and bought some for myself and for Buddy of the Jungle Bird.

I came home and took these photos.

I added some in color where theirs were in black and white.

Here is what the article by Raina LeGarrita said:

Elk Grove artist Wendy Cevola created a signature mug for the new Midtown Sacramento tiki bar, the Jungle Bird. Photo by Keri Wood.
There's something about tiki culture that takes you to a joyful and peaceful state, whether or not you are well familiar with it.
The genre inspired by 1930s-1950s Hawaiian and Polynesian pop culture has been used, mostly in the United States, heavily throughout the 20th century in many restaurants, bars, homes, and more.
Tiki culture has been a popular genre in many classic movies of the 1950s and onward. The culture is still very popular today after having a resurgence in the late 1990s; it seems as if each new generation since then catches on to its blissful traditions.
Many tiki purists will gladly sit down and educate you on the origins of the Mai Tai beverage, whether a tiki bar they notice is authentic or not, and the beginnings of Trader Vic's restaurant chain founder Victor Bergeron, whose restaurants popularized tiki culture.
When you think about tiki culture you think about the beverages, food, music and of course, the artwork and furniture that has shaped it.
That being said, Elk Grove's very own tiki enthusiast Wendy Cevola has been an admirer of the culture for many years; creating art that displays it in all its glory. She was inspired by her husband's love of all things tiki.
And as profiled in the Citizen in 2011, the painter's home itself could perhaps be called a tiki haven, as it is decorated with tiki paintings, art and is filled with many multicolored, ceramic tiki mugs that she made.
At the time, Cevola was commissioned to design and produce 110 of the signature mugs for the Forbidden Island tiki bar in Alameda. She insisted that she wasn't concerned with selling her pieces, saying, “I’m not a business person, I’m a hobbyist."
Since then, many more individuals and businesses have asked Cevola to design and produce custom mugs for them.
Though she doesn't offer the service of producing a mass amount of mugs like Forbidden Island, she does create a "wish list" for individuals and businesses each year for those who are interested in having a handcrafted tiki mug or two made for them.
More recently, the newly opened and instantly popular Midtown Sacramento tiki bar and restaurant, The Jungle Bird is the latest to display Cevola's work.
The artist was commissioned to make a signature mug for the bar that is slated to be released to its patrons at a later date.
"What I did for co-owner Buddy Newby was actually on the last wish list I made for 2016," Cevola said. "He asked me to make a one of a kind mug for the Jungle Bird. Right now he has it displayed in a glass case, but he's holding on to it until they raise enough profit to be able to produce more of them and offer them to customers."
Newby, who owns the new tiki bar with Tyler and Melissa Williams, is also a tiki enthusiast who started the very successful "Tiki Tuesdays" at the Williams' other restaurant in Sacramento, Tank House BBQ and Bar where he is a bartender.
"I met Wendy through a Sacramento tiki pub crawl and asked her if she'd design a mug that would be specific to our bar. We're hoping to be able to release it as a celebration of our one-anniversary next year," Newby said.
You will also notice additional mugs and bowls, along with two pictures Cevola painted, showcased at the new tiki bar.
"The Jungle Bird, it’s very reminiscent of the tiki bars that opened at the end of World War II. It’ll remind you of Trader Vic's; it's really wonderful. All of us in the tiki community want them to thrive." Cevola said.
Now retired, Cevola creates tiki art almost daily, and she and her husband, Dan regularly attend events that cater to tiki culture across the country.
She recently displayed her acrylic on black velvet work at the Tiki Oasis Art Show in San Diego.
The artist shows much of her work at http://www.tikicentral.com. For more information about The Jungle Bird, visit http://thejunglebird.com.

I'm sure grateful for all the fun tiki has brought my way. Dan is amused. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2016-12-09 20:07 ]

Wow
Outstanding
That's Kool to see your picture in the newspaper stand
Great article Wendy, CongraDs and u deserve it and more...

hang10tiki MadDogMike said he didn't know I had been a Citizen of Elk Grove since 1909 and if not I should sue for slander. It's always fun to be in the paper.
Thank you.

hang10tiki I'm reliving our trip and that's just so much fun. Thank you for another Christmas cheer day.

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

Here are some more steps on the Sacramento Crawl mug for 2017 and lunavideogames Wish although it's only half of his Wish.

On this day I smoothed the clay that was added to the top of the head.

I worked on the arms and then

I flattened the back where the word Tahiti will go.

Next I did the mouth and started the nose.

Photos are a help. I can see the nose is off center. I will correct that.

To make the eyes match I do them together. Once they are done I

pull them apart and stick them on.

Next I smoothed the clay around the eyes to make them stick.

I used this tool to carve into the clay.

He looks content so he can now take a break until the next step begins.

It's fun to work on tikis. Everyone should find a way to make some. Even cookies are good. Wendy

Wow
Looks great........

hang10tiki you sure make these look real. It also feels darn good to have nice comments about the crawl mug/wish.

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

More steps on the Sacramento Crawl mug aka lunavideogames Wish.

I always ask Dan what he thinks. He said the base was too wide. So I whipped out my BIG knife and cut off some slabs of clay.

Now it was time to add the ears.

I still needed to build up the size of the head. So I made tiny snakes and started adding them.

I used this took to press and shape the clay.

I added more clay and then

I added even more clay. The tiki has a cap and now this tiki does too.

Now it looks like the old Tahitian Tiki.

Here is a better view of the ear.

Cheers, Wendy

That's going to be a real "Big Boy" tiki mug!

He's huge!!!

MaukaHale and hang10tiki he is large but shorter than the pineapple.

hang10tiki this is our favorite so far. Thank you for making me look so young.

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

More steps on the Sacramento Crawl mug for 2017.

Now it was time to put the name of the restaurant on the back of the mug.

I made each letter to match the ad in the phone book.

Next I lined them up on the back of the mug.

I used this tool to attach them.

Then I compared what I had done with the phone book ad again.

Then I tweaked those that looked too small by adding clay and smoothing it into place.

OK now I'm happy.

I took a look at him and then turned him over to

add Sacramento CA to the bottom.

Now I added to clay that makes the opening in the mold where the slip is poured into the cavity.

It's far from done but getting to this point is always a relaxing moment.

Cheers, Wendy

Makes me want to go back to Tahiti
:)

LOVIN THE TAHITIAN MARQ,Wendy!
and Congrats on all the wonderful things that are bringing you and your work
to the eyes and hearts of many more!
Merry Christmas to you and Dan,sweetie!
May the new year allow you even more time and creativity and energy to
make even MORE incredible works!
:)

hang10tiki that's neat but Hawaii is so much better.

hang10tiki I think Dan needs to suntan his neck and to do a jig!

little lost tiki ah thank you. On your thread I asked if you had prints of one of your paintings with my favorite bird. I love your birds.

hang10tiki Oh, thank you so much for these. I am looking forward to putting them on fb all at once. I put up the ones you did last year already.

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

Tiki Tuesday at the Jungle Bird.

We rarely go out after dark so this was a treat to meet up with so many friends.

We came an hour early to have dinner with Bullet and Sandy and

Rachel and Gregory. Guess what children can be in the bar until 10 PM so come on down it's a wonderful place.

Gregory got his 2016 crawl mug.

Everything we ordered was delicious. The Bao was the best we have ever had. We used to drive to San Francisco for Dim Sum but these are the very best. The salads were beautiful as well as excellent.

It took a long time to deliver Keith's Molikai Mule which was his wish from the 2016 list. But it was so fun to see him show it off.

Polynesian Paddy and Moai Mike I kept looking for you!

Cheers, Wendy

Progress Report on lunavideogames wish which also became the Sacramento Crawl mug.

It was now time do do some design carvings. The entire time I am thinking of where the mold seams will be located. This will be a 5 piece mold. I used a wooden tool so that it would cut too deeply.

There are a lot of areas to work on so I just started and kept on going.

The seams will run down the corners. One side started in this photo.

The front is done. I took this photo to eliminate the top which is only to make an opening.

The next step is to make it look like stone. I took huge grained sandpaper and pressed it all over the tiki.

The design at the very top above the work Tahiti will be changed before I mold the mug. It didn't fit. I forgot to take a photo.

Now I have three things to mold. I wondered if I could do it all in one day. In the background of this photo you can see what Dan is making for breakfast.

Here it is all done. Brown rice, salsa and egg whites. Yum.

I hope lunavideogames wish is coming true and that everyone will like this as the 2017 Crawl mug. It all came together. Psycho Tiki D suggesting the Tahiti and lunavideogames wanting a Tahitian tiki mug for his bar. Having been to Tahiti this year was also a good reason for me to make this mug.

Like it?????????? Wendy

Wendy, wow! Love the Tahiti mug- look forward to seeing Treg's Wish when it comes to San Diego- and look forward to seeing how the Crawl mug turns out.

Very neat way of arranging the letters (and pressing them into place)- great idea!! (And noted!)

Looks like a great visit to the Jungle Bird- it's definitely on my list whenever I make it up there.

Agree
It looks great
Can't wait to get 1
:)

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

Dat food Lookin good too...

[ Edited by: Hang10tiki 2016-12-15 19:12 ]

TikiAno thank you. His wish has a whole second part that is much harder to pull off. The scraper is on the way.

hang10tiki should I put you on the list?

hang10tiki you sure made Santa's lips look kissable.

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

Now it is time to make the mold for the Sacramento Crawl mug.

First we set up all the things we would need for the day.

I had changed the design at the top so now the sculpture is done and ready.

I lined the bottom of the box with my blocks from Toys R Us. and put the tiki in place. I put blocks under the head until the tiki was level.

Then I surrounded the tiki with another layer of blocks. These blocks are easy to cut with a serrated knife.

I made a big piece of clay and put it at the top. This will make a huge opening for pouring out the slip when I cast the mugs.

Now I put a layer of clay over all of the blocks and ran a wet paper towel around the edged and up against the tiki to make a good seal.

I pressed into the clay to make the locks.

I added snakes to all the seams of the box and made the seal better with a wet paper towel run along where the clay attached to the box.

For the rest of the day we will wear face masks. I don't want any plaster hardening in our lungs. It floats in the air a long time.

Once the mix is like buttermilk in consistency we pour it into the box.

About 45 minutes later it is hard enough I can carve into the plaster to label the mold. CM for Crawl Mug and the year.

More steps tomorrow. Cheers, Wendy

Wendy- Pm sent

Love these mug maKin steps

9 more days

hang10tiki PM sent back! This Santa is one I love.

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The next steps on making the mold for the Sacramento Crawl mug 2017. Also lunavidogames wish.

Once the plaster is hard I remove the box. I then scrape the edge so that it is rounded and not sharp.

We put on straps so that it can be turned over without falling apart.

This is where Dan comes in very handy. I make big thick molds that really test his muscles.

Once it is over I removed the straps, the blocks and the layer of clay. I am very careful to not move the sculpt. I need it to stay in place in the mold slab.

Now it is ready for some fine tuning.

I use this tool and I scrape the plaster so that it is very flat and up tight to the sculpt.

I do it all the way around the sculpt.

More steps soon. Wendy

Glad u like

Love this part of your craft

8 more days

hang10tiki and I love it when you post photos. This one makes me feel so special!

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More steps in making the mold for the Sacramento Crawl mug which is also lunavideogames wish (maybe).

I've made one slab that was the front of the mug. Now I am going to make the two side pieces at the same time. Since I want to pour in the liquid plaster I don't want it to come up past the sides. To make that work I put the tiki on the slab at an angle.

I added clay to build up the opening at the top where I will eventually use this to pour in the slip. Then I did 4 layers of mold soap so that the new pieces will not stick to the first slab.

Now using blocks and clay I built a bottom. This will be removed when I pour the last piece of the five piece mold.

I made the box around the tiki, then I had to adjust the clay so that it reached the box. The angle effected everything.

Next I added the snakes at each box seam and then I covered the tiki with a wet paper towel so if the plaster splashed it wouldn't mess up the sculpt.

Now we mixed the plaster and poured it in until it was up to the place on the sides that I wanted it. The wet plaster also covered the clay at the top.

No problem at all. I just scrapped it off as it began to set.

After the plaster set I again fine tuned the edges that are up close to the tiki. Then 4 layers of mold soap.

Now we poured slab number four. We pour slowly so that all the detail is filled in.

4 out of 5 pieces are now done. One left to go and that is the bottom.

It is really easy to work all day every day making tikis. The reason is that there is just so much fun in doing that. Cheers, Wendy

Exciting

7 more days

hang10tiki thankyou for my morning smile.

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More steps of making the mold for the Sacramento Crawl mug 2017 which is also lunavideogames Wish (maybe)

I had the mold on it's side exposing the bottom. I carefully removed the blocks and the clay.

Now I righted the mold and I painted on 4 layers of mold soap. This is dangerous and a face mask and gloves should be used when applying.

The mold is a weird shape so I had to build a dam to hold the plaster in place.

Back when we were in the middle of this mold I set up the boxes to make molds of the other two wall hangings.

First I put down clay and then pressed the sculpt into it. This will prevent plaster from getting under the sculpt.

Snakes were placed at the seams and rubbed with a wet paper towel so the seal is better.

We mixed more plaster and poured it into the box 2 inches deep.

These are just one piece molds.

Well this was a great day with three molds made. It was a long day and there's still the clean up to do.

Dan is such a good sport posing for me when he is exhausted.

Tomorrow we will open the molds to see if they worked. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2016-12-18 12:13 ]

Can't wait to see what's next

Love Dan-0s outfit
:)
:)
:)

6 more days

hang10tiki he likes to say he is cuter than he really is.

hang10tiki now that's a cute Xmas photo. Only thing is that it isn't my hand. Where did you get the hand?

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

Progress Report on making the Sacramento Crawl mug 2017.

I made a weird bottom on this mold but it will work just fine.

Poor Dan he does my heavy lifting and this is another big heavy mold.

I used my vegetable chopper to take the pieces apart.

First one came off easily.

They are all fine but I had one undercut that I corrected by removing some plaster.

If I hadn't fixed the mold all the crawl mugs would have been castrated.

I set all the piece out for drying. Even the two one piece molds.

These two fans ran 24/7 from 10/27/16 until 11/17/16. Then I declared the molds were dry.

I will mention that during this drying time each day I rotated them front to back and onto a different side.

Cheers, Wendy

Where did I get the hand? It's a secret :)

The mug looks great
Except for the, ummmmm
Missing part

Great detail Wendy....

hang10tiki Poor guy! But not you. With your addition you have posted the 8000th message on my thread.

I am going to make a one of a kind necklace for you during this Wish List #7. Once I work on it I will post photos.

Thank you all for posting messages and photos, you never know when I will have a secret contest. While hang10tiki was doing
the Christmas countdown I was doing the post count up. Cheers, Wendy

Wow
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaa
That's awesome
Thanks Wendy
Can't wait.......

5 more days

Hey Wendy, it's been a while! Hope you and Dan are having a great Holiday Season!! Enjoyed your pictures of your trip to Hawaii. Great stuff!

You're progress pic's are crazy. So much work goes into it and I can't believe the scale and your designs. Just amazing.

Funny, you said that while your making these you love it and you can do it all day everyday. I look at your pictures and think there's no f#*€ing way I want to do that!! You're detail, eye and patience is so evident. I'll leave this to the professionals.

Congrats too on your feature in the paper and your art shows. I always look forward to seeing your creations.
Keep them coming!

All the best and very
Merry Christmas!!
Mahalo,TabooDan

Jon, 8000th post, of course!

Wendy, congratulations- and many thank you's, for creating the inspirations for all those replies.

Jon, when you're done, please send my dog back his hand. Thanks in advance. :wink:

:)

4 more days

Ha, good one Jon... and Dan!

hang10tiki you won it fair and square whatever that means. I will have fun making you a surprise.

TabooDan thank you so much for one of the nicest posts I've ever received. I have fond memories of doing business with you and it's so nice you are still with me.

TikiAno I love numbers and watching them.

hang10tiki I'm going to be sad when this ends.

hang10tiki are you sure it's not 14?

TikiAno Dan is the star of the show here and at home.

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

It was time to take an evening off and to enjoy it with friends at the Jungle Bird. I can't believe that I got Dan out of the house when it was dark out.

It happened because our dearest friend Mike Remmel aka Tiki Hula was in town from Florida for the holidays. We couldn't miss seeing him on this quick trip.

Mike and Jeremy.

Dan.

Also Terry.

Fun food and great conversations in our favorite place, The Jungle Bird.

Tiki Hula in Town!!!!! Nice
Looks like fun was had by all

3 more days

hang1tiki you sure know where to search out photos.

Tiki Ano your dog was nice to let hang10tiki use his hand. After Christmas I'll be sure to have him return it.

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

Progress Report on the Sacramento Crawl mug and misc.

It's time to pour the first crawl mug the date is 11/17/16. This is the earliest start I have ever had. It's also the longest list of Wishes I've ever had to make. So as you can see I didn't wait for the new year. I started everything plus extras in October.

I carve into the mold so I can keep track of how many I've made without counting the mugs.

We lined up the three molds. The Maori wall-hanging, the crawl mug, the Tropic's tiki wall-hanging or huge necklace.

Filled them up to the top.

After 2hours the slip was poured out of the Maori wall hanging.

The next day I was able to tip it out of the mold. It was firm enough to stand up.

I put it on a hard placemat and cleaned it up.

Then I carved it all over.

The next day the same thing.

I try to always change the way I carve these so each will be unique.

Poured out the slip after 2 hours and let it sit overnight with a baggie over it so it wouldn't dry out too much.

The first one didn't come out of the mold and tore to pieces. I fine tuned the mold where I thought it was catching the clay. Looking back at my photos I wish I had kept his head and made a necklace but he went into the garbage can. Oops!

The next day I did it all again and after it came out of the mold and I cut away the excess clay it was right on!

Empting out the slip from the number 1 crawl mug.

After the slip is poured out Dan flips the mold over and puts it on the 2 x 4's to let it finish draining and firming overnight.

One down many more to go. One mold, one mug a day. Cheers, Wendy

I'm jealous, I want a Dan to help me with molds :D

Great stuff as usual.

Wendy
Wow the detail on both of the Maori pieces is amazing
No really
Amazing

BaddTiki-
I think I figured out Wendy's secret to getting Dan-0s help,
She straps him to the mold...

Edit because I just noticed something
Wendy- I understand why you mark the mold every time you make one,
but what I don't understand is why do you mark Dan-0 every time he pours out a mold?
I had to zoom in to see it.

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

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2016-12-22 18:00 ]

Jon,

Hahahaha. I didn't notice that, thanks for zooming in- I'd think it would be easier to keep track with tally marks (using that slash across), no?

That Wendy, her attention to detail has no bounds...

Badd Tiki thank you. I couldn't handle the work load without him.

hang10tiki I brought Dan in to see your photos. The fun part was he couldn't resist looking down at his arm! I love to carve designs and doing these took a long time but I enjoy every minute.

TikiAno thank you too!

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

Yesterday was fun. The Sacramento Bee newspaper sent a reporter and cameraman over to talk tiki and to tour my workspace and of course Dan's collection.

Our article will be in the newspaper on January 1st 2017 if all goes well. The cameraman is going to request to come back to make a video to put in the on-line version. If OK'd he'll be back next week to film. Fingers are crossed.

Here's our morning.

We cleaned up my usual workspace. I haven't seen it like this in awhile.

Then he asked me to recreate my workspace again. There's a sneak peek of Bullet's K-Zap cat which is on Wish List #7.

Once the crew was gone I spent the day working on the cat to improve it's imperfections. I finished it but photos are a long way off.

So let's get back to the Progress Report on the Sacramento Crawl mug for 2017.

Opening a mold in the proper order and technique is important. We pulled off the first piece with the mold on it's side.

I looked and thought about it and decided to take hold of the two sides and to lift it straight up and set it on it's bottom.
Then without letting go of the sides we pulled them straight off.

There's a lot of plaster dust on the first few that we pour. I just ignore it but if there are any chunks those I will remove.

No undercuts or castrations! The mold is good.

Then I put my hands under the extra clay on the top and lifted the mug onto a board.

The molds are really good and clean up wasn't more than 5 minutes. One mug a day and in-between the fans dry the mold pieces for the next day.

Happy Holidays. I wonder what our Christmas countdown photo will look like today. Wendy

1st one out
Sweet

2 more days