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

hang10tiki a truly beautiful couple who are just adorable. The flowers pale in comparison. I'm so happy you are my friends.

Day 5 on the Big Island of Hawaii and our last full day at the Fairmont Orchid the best hotel of my life!

I just can't rave enough about these breakfasts with the stunning views. A real event for us.

Little birds are all around us posing for photos.

After breakfast we took a grounds walk. I never gets old.

I take photos non-stop of plants that will look good in my black velvet paintings. I love these colors.

Exploring we found a path that took us to our car.

It was now late enough for lunch so we got in the car and drove this road 1 mile to the shopping center.

I love bamboo and this gate will someday be in a painting or on a mug.

Our last meal at Tommy Bahama's. We used three coupons for a total savings of $60!

We went into the market and found my new favorite fruit. Dragon Fruit, pretty inside and out.

The next day we leave for 5 days in Hilo. It's been 12 years since we have been on this island so we will again be looking for changes since our last trip.

The Big Island Trip 2005.

Cheers, Wendy

Where did you get your coupons from?

MaukaHale when you turn off the highway to go to the Fairmont Orchid there is a place called Shops at Mauna Lani.
Coupons for the 4D rides came off a map we were given at the Enterprise car rental. The coupon for Tommy Bahamas can be asked for at the shirt shop. The restaurant is on the floor above. So each time we asked for a coupon and then went up to lunch. I always go through the coupon books from the airport or hotels too.

Wendy

Day 6 includes packing our suitcases to leave the dry Kona side of the island and to drive for 2 hours to reach the Hilo tropical side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

We sat down for breakfast and looked left to where our dream room was located just on the other side of these tropical plants.

Our last terrific breakfast that we will miss.

We got into the car and headed off between two volcanos on a road that wasn't there 12 years ago. This is the shortest route and it was a wonderful new road with lava flows on each side. I stopped the car after the first hour to stretch and to take photos.

SHOCKER!!! As I took my photos I saw an area that had caved in and just beyond, can you see it?

A ceramic FU dog.

Of all the places along the road I could have stopped and I found a special place.

Because the lava had already caved in I used my zoom to get these photos. I just hope that it wasn't there because someone had fallen into this crater. There were no markings on the road and nothing else just the dog. We left it in peace.

We continued our drive and the closer to Hilo we got the more tropical the landscape.

There was still lava but now

flowers were blooming through it.

We arrived in downtown historical Hilo. It hasn't been kept up. Empty storefronts and our favorite hippy restaurant

is now Cronies and a sports bar.

Hamburgers and sandwiches.

Now it was time to travel to our next hotel.

We used the GPS and it led us to registration. We parked and I went to check in.

However as I got closer I could see a chain link fence and looking past it a deserted building. OH OH.

However right next door was the NEW lobby and we checked in.

I knew that we were going for the ultimate hotel to an older one so I chose a room with an ocean view.

From the balcony we would watch the changes in the days go by.

This day has just begun, more tomorrow. Wendy

I was just directed by Brooks Rownd on fb to view this thread on the hotel we stayed at. Bummer, I wish we had read this when we were still there.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=40838&forum=2&start=0&17

Continuing Day 6 of our trip to the Big Island Hilo side.

Imagine this we ran into our friends a day early. They didn't know this was our hotel. They are staying in a town down south. We were to meet them tomorrow. Instead by accident we found them now!

We had some fun posing for photos around the ocean side of our hotel.

We were on the 8th floor facing the ocean. We liked our room.

We decided to take a walk to a nearby park so we left the hotel grounds.

The park is Japanese style and lovely.

In a pond we found a puffer. It was moving but only because tiny fish were eating it. The puffer was dead!

I don't know the name of the park. We walked all the way around it. Lovely.

Chuck is our thrill seeker. He was standing on lava and just daring the ocean to knock him over with a wave. It didn't happen.

After our walk we went back to our hotel for dinner.

After waiting more than one hour for our food they apologized and we were given deserts for free.

Chuck celebrated with a tropical cocktail.

A wonderful end to our day. Cheers, Wendy

Great photos

Did Dan-0 hide the puffer in your suitcase???

:)

Morning

Vegas not Hawaii
:(

hang10tiki check out my flower photos. We both had good luck finding beauty on our walks.

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

Day 7 of our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. On this day we traveled to Pahoa a town famous because of lava flows that have threatened to cover it 3 times but stopped just in time. A hurricane last winter did a lot of damage but it looks good now.

First on the agenda was breakfast.

This is main street.

The Mayor of Pahoa wouldn't move and we had to step over him to leave the restaurant.

Next we went to a free park where there are upright lava tubes where trees were caught in the lava flow and the lava made a replica of the tree it burnt.

I love geckos.

Another tree turned to lava.

Next we visited Chucks cousin who lives in this town.

We had fun with her cats and

just hanging out.

She has these lava tubes in her yard.

All these photos were taken in her front yard. This is paradise.

This day has just begun but now it's my bedtime. Goodnight and Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Wendy

All your pictures are making me want to travel

hang10tiki thank you for the flowers. They are lovely. Mi casa es su casa if you want a quick trip.

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

The drive to Isaac Hale park was an adventure too.

When we came out of the jungle this was our view.

The ship is called Ohana and is new. The company is Kalapana Cultural Tours.

I tried to take a photo of all four of us but missed Dan so

I took one more to include him.

As soon as we started out we were joined by spinner dolphins. We even saw one jump out of the water and spin.

It is a long bumpy ride. We will end up around the point of land you see jutting out.

We got to see lava tubes along the way.

I liked watching the waves hit the lava cliff.

Here I liked seeing how the water at the base ran out of all the small lava holes.

While watching the waves pound the coast a rainbow appeared.

It got even better and then it was gone. A special moment in time.

We arrived at a red hot lava spot.

Polynesian Paddy had me take a photo of him with the hot spot and he did one for me.

Very interesting but nothing was moving.

The sun is setting and time for a view of lava flowing is running out. We head home at 6 PM.

Polynesian Paddy is checking this off his bucket list. He was so right to go at sunset rather than during the day.

Photos with the boat bouncing sometimes look like this photo.

At 6 PM the lava started to flow. The captain didn't head home. We all tipped him after the ride.

He stayed overtime 30 minutes and let us enjoy the run. I posted a video on my fb page.

The ride back in the dark was fast, bumpy and fun. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2017-11-24 20:25 ]

That's great! The lava is the number one thing I want to see if we ever get to Hawaii ourselves. Yeah yeah, beaches, Tikis, palm trees, sure, but being a geologically inclined person, it's the volcanoes that really do it for me :)

EnchantedTikiGoth

https://www.facebook.com/wendy.cevola/videos/pcb.2168612026498301/2168608986498605/?type=3&theater

This is the link to my video showing the lava flowing. It's hit or miss. You could spend all the money to go and the lava is not even showing up on that day. We were within a couple of minutes of missing this entirely. Our lucky day for sure.

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

Day 8 on the Big Island of Hawaii.

We woke up to a beautiful rainbow over Hilo.

I couldn't see the pot of gold but as long as I have my tiki buddies I'm good.

We drove North to the Waipi'o Valley Lookout.

Then on the way back to Hilo we saw a sign for a 4 mile scenic route and took it. Worth the slower speed limit.

12 years ago we went to a tiny zoo that wasn't much more than a hillside with a few cages. We hiked up and back and left.
This time the zoo is managed by the government of Hawaii and in 12 years has grown into a beautiful garden with walks and fun benches. Not only that it is free. They accept donations. We gave one as we arrived and had to top it off as we left. One of our best stops on the whole island. It is located just South of Hilo on the main highway.

It is the type of garden space that is worth re-visiting over and over again. There were animals but I didn't take photos because of the cages.

Stopping to sample mac nuts is a must. I came home with one bag that didn't last long.

This was on their property.

Sunset from our room. Another great day in paradise.

Wendy

On 2017-11-25 09:11, danlovestikis wrote:
EnchantedTikiGoth

https://www.facebook.com/wendy.cevola/videos/pcb.2168612026498301/2168608986498605/?type=3&theater

This is the link to my video showing the lava flowing. It's hit or miss. You could spend all the money to go and the lava is not even showing up on that day. We were within a couple of minutes of missing this entirely. Our lucky day for sure.

Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, it appears to be friends-only, so I sent you a friend request :wink:

EnchantedTikiGoth we are now friends on facebook. I wish I could post videos here but it takes a lot of space.

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

Wow our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii is nearing the end. We are not going to make it to all the places but that's OK we have seen so many new ones that are just as special.

Day 9 of 10.

I forgot to mention that breakfast was also included with our second hotel. It was just a fine ordinary breakfast. It is really hard to find good food on the Hilo side of the island. We had an OK meal at Pizza Hut and a icky meal at Taco Bell. However the breakfast at our hotel had a magnificent view.

Before breakfast Dan said he was itching to death. I checked his back and he had a big bite and it looked infected. So we got in the car which was parked in paradise and drove

here. We got in line with all the locals needing help. The weather is changing and a storm is on the way.

The clinic staff were fast and efficient.

The doctor wiped away the pus and then it began to drain lymph fluid. Typical toxic spider bite. Bandaged and sent to a pharmacy. This is a typical vacation experience for us.

Two antibiotics were prescribed and while we waited we looked around Wallgreens. A fun find. Dan confessed to sitting on our balcony without a shirt on. No insect repellent either but that might not ward off a spider.

We drove to the Volcano National Park. It cost $25 to enter. We decided that we had seen enough lava already and the money would work better on lunch. We had seen this place on the way through the town of Volcano so we went back.

The front door doesn't do the insides justice.

We were sat down right away. I didn't know these Anthuriums come in so many colors.

The view out the window was another perfect jungle.

The room really did look like a lodge.

This Portobello mushroom sandwich $13 was the best meal of our entire time in Hilo. Dan had curried rice that was as good for him as mine was for me. We highly recommend this place.

After lunch we walked around the ground to photograph plants.

I collect photos for doing my

black velvet paintings.

Now it's time to head on the road back North. Cheers, Wendy

Have you been to Cafe Pesto in Hilo? It's right downtown in the old Kress Drug building I believe. We had dinner there a number of years ago the food was good they had a mango-chili glazed chicken I remember liking a lot.

Thanks for the friending! And wow! I'm sorry/freaked to hear about the spider bite. Thanks for the heads up to never go shirtless! :wink:

tikicoma we should have gone there. We passed it a couple of times but not the right time.

EnchantedTikiGoth Dan was in our garage today sorting record albums. Now he has a new bit on his neck. Hopefully it was a harmless insect. Another bite to watch. He had his shirt on but it wasn't covering his neck.

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

Here is the rest of Day 9 on the Big Island of Hawaii. These photos are the drive back from Volcano.

We stopped here to check it out and found a free event. We wandered around rows of beautiful flowers.

Here are my favorites.

There is still a storm brewing. Tomorrow is our last day here. Fingers crossed.

The first trip to the Mauna Loa nut factory I saw this stump and regretted not photographing it. So we went back. Free nuts and a photo op.

I found a ceramics shop but it was all for High Fire clays which I don't use so I wasn't tempted to buy anything.

Still in Hilo we found an antique shop.

It looks fancy but the prices on tikis was fair enough. Dan no longer collects anything except what I'll make for him so it was just to look and drool.

A few flowers at our hotel.

I mostly wear Jams World shirts and this is one of my favorites so that's why I'm showing myself at dinner.

This trip has been so much fun. Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2017-11-27 19:09 ]

Our last 2 days on the Big Island of Hawaii. We have rarely seen any rain which is a miracle for Hilo.

Just walking behind our hotel.

Why is Dan back Spamming it up at Wallgreen's?

Because the antibiotic made him sick all night long and now after a visit to the clinic we are back to fill a different prescription.

I finally got my classic view of downtown Hilo.

Next we drove to Rainbow Falls. If you go in the morning you have a chance to see a rainbow. Overcast and later the view is still beautiful and FREE.

We did the short hike to the top.

At the top of Rainbow falls there is a trippy walk into this rain forest.

So you walk carefully looking down but

for the view you also look up.

On the way to the car the jungle was beautiful.

Next we drove to boiling pots. To see them boil there needs to be more rain. The water stirs up the dips in the rocks and makes it look like boiling water. That we didn't see.

But I love big leaves and there were plenty of those.

We have been so lucky with the weather. We never had enough rain to interfere with any of our excursions.

I found this one flower all by itself.

These old trees lead to our hotel.

Impressive.

We walked from our hotel and found

a bridge to a small island.

From there I took this photo of our hotel.

Too bad we didn't find this sign on our first day in Hilo.

Our last night the fog rolled in and the view was lost.

Day 11 the view we will miss.

Our last breakfast at our hotel.

This was the big Hawaii news during our entire trip

and then we watched this ship sail into port. I'm so glad I looked it up. It is very special.

http://peaceboat.org/english/?menu=46

On Day 11 we drove to the airport in the rain. The storm came as we were leaving.

Our plane was an hour late. But that just cut our wait at the Oahu airport. We got home at the same time as scheduled.

Long ago when we were tiki hunters people requested to see our tiki haul after each trip. But now Dan finds a few records and CD's and I look for shot glasses.

In Hilo at Ben Franklin's I found these tiny "key chains" that I can write on the labels. I will use them to state what is on each of my thumb drives. I use the thumb drives as an extra back up of my photos. I also have back up hard drives. Obsessive.

When we were home I put all of my new shot glasses into COLD water to soak off the impossible to remove price stickers.

Two of them had the paint come off. Bummer. Now it will be just GooGone from now on. Display only!

I also found one Couroc tray. I use these easy to stack trays as I do my tiki projects.

I was very happy with my treasures and Dan loves his new albums.

Our trip could only have been better if Dan didn't get bit. Other than that perfection. Cheers, Wendy

Wow
Great trip
Tons of flowers and 6000 lbs of spam
Thanks for the fun

Looks like a very fun trip! I wish I would have known you were heading to Hilo, my friends lived there for awhile and I visited them a few times. Most of the good restaurants are off the beaten path and you likely will not find them unless you are with a local. Looks like a super fun time anyway!!!

The ship is called Ohana and is new. The company is Kalapana Cultural Tours.

The boat looks way more civilized than walking out across the volcanic glass and then walking back in the dark, in the rain..

awesome looking trip.. so jealous

Thanks for sharing all the Vacation pictures! I haven't been to the Big Island in a few years, and not to the East side in much longer; it's fun to see it again.

Hope the spider bite and complications are all cleared up!

hang10tiki my pleasure.

lunavideogames this was such a great trip that it all worked out.

rum on the Rideau the boat was the very best way. We tried the hike but it was so hot out and we had forgotten water that we gave up. Then on another trip we did the helicopter but we only saw steam and also the fact that the walk wouldn't have gotten us close enough to see the lava. There are poisonous gases at play too. From the boat at sunset is what our traveling companion Polynesian Paddy said was best and he was right.

If you friend me on facebook you can watch the video of the lava flow. It was such good luck and a patient captain of the boat that made it possible.

bamalamalu Dan is well but the bite is still bright well. They doctor said it would go away in the future. It doesn't bother him any longer. Thank you.

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

https://tomthunderadventures.weebly.com/

My cousin is writing some fun stories. If you read on your computer then check them out.

Tom Thunder drives my dream car. I had a hard top version in college.

PS I actually started some Wish List Projects by casting the parts and going to work in early October. Progress reports to start soon.

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2017-11-29 19:16 ]

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2017-11-29 19:21 ]

I'm baaaaaaaaaack! I've been working on Wish List #8 since October but don't tell anyone it's a secret.

First projects sculpt is completed and ready to start drying. This is for Anthony Vela.

He asked to have the hair look like his wife's so over the eye it went.

===========

If you made it onto the list please send me your detailed instructions. I will be contacting everyone after I run out of projects already turned in.

Cheers, Wendy

Welcome back. I was going through Wendy and Dan withdrawals, and since I’ve only been around for the past year, I decided to get my fix by going back to the beginning and seeing how far you’ve come. I’m up to page 175 and Wish List 3, and even more excited to be a part of Wish List 8.

Love the latest Veronica Lake peekaboo hula girl look.

Hamo- have fun on that Wendy trip
I’ve gone over the entire post more than once myself
:)

Hi Wendy- welcome back
Can’t wait to see more

Hamo thank you so much for one of the nicest comments. I love it when people look back through my pages. I do it myself now and then and it's always fun. I'm very happy to be missed.

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

The next Wish was for a Hot Tub Hula Girl with a lei for Sean Smart. He lives in the evacuation zone for Ventura where the fires are raging. We pray his and other homes will be spared.

There are so many steps in ceramics. I cast and cleaned up the hula girls but when it's time to start on putting her in a coconut I have to prep one first.

I start with this cast.

I cut the top off at the water line for glazing the inside of the mug.

Then I make the three dents.

I put the girl inside and add her hair. Then I carve the texture on the outside of the mug.

To make the lei I make discs of clay and place them in the right spots. Then I go back and carve each one.

Two down 13 to go.

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

We no longer send out Christmas cards, too much work and so little time. But I do thank each person who sends one on-line. So thank you Woo Hoo Wahine, Soccer Tiki, Chippy and Tikiman Willis. I appreciate each one that has arrived. Holiday Cheers, to everyone, Wendy and Dan

Roger Scott went to an island for photos and ended up finding the love of his life.

Married for decades I met them at Tiki Oasis 17. He requested that I make a Hot Tub Hula Girl to look like his wife.

I hope I can make this dream come true he already got his first one!

I am so lucky to get so many wonderful projects to work on. Thank you all for watching me work, Wendy

Those hot tub mugs are great! Though I imagine that if I tried to get one of my wife, the mug would become all I'd have left to remember her by :D

Oh, Wendy, looking back at previous pages (I’m now up to 242) combined with your most recent posts are giving me ideas for Wish List #9. Keep up the great work (keeping Dan busy...).

EnchantedTikiGoth you are not alone. I have made several of these mugs with shells or a swimsuit top to tone them down. The size was dictated by my husband as I was sculpting the original.

Hamo this is really fun for me. Since almost my entire tiki life is posted here day by day you'll know me so well by the time you finish.

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

After doing the custom Hot Tub Hula Girl mugs I moved on to making the classic versions for those on Wish List #8.

I've shown all the steps to making these mugs in the past so I just went to work and didn't take photos of each mug in process.

We started pouring for Wish List #8 at the beginning of this summer.

I lined all the coconuts up in the kitchen when I was ready to go to work after the first week in October.

The customs were done first. They are in the front. I'm sure I will make more as those on this Wish List tell me what I am to make for them.

Then I did all the classics on the list.

Since we lost our car I now have the benefit of using this garage stall. So this photo shows the mugs covered. Every day they spend an hour uncovered and then one or two covered and then uncovered again. This will go on for a month or two. I'm not sure because it's winter and I've not dried mugs in the garage before.

So now I'll move on to other projects on the Wish List #8. Cheers, Wendy

That’s a loaded garage
:)

hang10tiki the whole house is tiki loaded.

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

Mark and Debbie Whitehead sent Dan eleven Hawaiian shirts. So over the last couple of weeks I photographed Dan each time he wore one. Thank you both very much. Dan is very happy with his new wardrobe.

I like the fashion statement Dan makes!

Looking good, Dan. I especially like that third shirt. Where’s the Magnum PI mustache?

Up to page 300. You’d just let Dan start to tikify the dining room. I see he’s really taken it over in the intervening years....

Funny
When I read
“11 Shirts”

I could picture Dan-0 singing
“The 11 days of Christmas song”

With all the different shirts on
:)

MaukaHale not as good as you in the crawl straw hat!

Hamo Dan's hair is staying brown but his sideburns, eyebrows and his mustache were turning white. So far he hasn't shaved off his eyebrows!
Thank you for looking at all the past pages. It's fun to get an update of your progress.

hang10tiki it would be fun if he could have modeled them all in one photo. It was a fun gift.

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

A helpful hint:

Whenever I'm doing a project that could stick to my turn table I put down layers of plastic wrap as shown in this photo. It gets messed up and thrown out after a time or two.

Sometimes I just forget. I cleaned up this bowl and then left it right side up on the turn table overnight.
It stuck and was ruined.

When this happens I just cut up the project and use this "slip" clay for custom pieces.

Then the light bulb went off. Why did I waste time making a cover that got thrown out? So I got out a plastic table cloth and outlined every size of turn table I have.

I cut them out and now I have reusable covers that are perfect.

I can even lift projects off the turn table and onto the storage table without even pulling this loose because I made so many.

I wish I'd thought of this sooner. Cheers, Wendy

Great tip Wendy! I usually just use a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper but this is better :)

On 2017-12-11 07:56, danlovestikis wrote:

Dan's hair is staying brown but his sideburns, eyebrows and his mustache were turning white.

Then it sounds like he’s looking more like “the most interesting man in the world“ every day.

Page 373: 2014 Sacramento Crawl, glazing Bobs, and you had a contest to guess the odometer number on your PT Cruiser.

MadDogMike ah, the best part of these is I clean them up between mugs and I think they will last for years.

Hamo Dan loves the most interesting man of the year when he was the older guy. Too bad they replaced him with a newer addition. I need to have another contest. I'd forgotten I'd done a few of those. You are way past the center now and catching up with my posts. I better work harder to put up more projects. Thank you for the update.

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

The very first time using the new Moai mold.

First off let me say that this mold is not conventional. I originally made it for a one piece to cast a necklace or wall hanging Moai. I made it with the Moai kitty-corner. So now I have made the second piece and I have to deal with the weird opening.

If a mold leaks or needs help you can seal or build with clay. It sticks better if first you use a spray bottle and lightly wet the outside of the mold. I did that then I built these clay walls.

I don't like to come out and top off the slip so I like to use a funnel to hold extra so the mold can just draw from it.

You must have a good seal where the clay joins to the funnel or it will all leak out. So I just add water to clay to make it sticky and it works great.

Once done I full up the mold and funnel with slip.

After it has sat for 2 hours. Yes I like my casts to be thick and heavy Dan pours out the slip slowly making sure there is no glug which indicates suction. This will collapse the cast inside the mold.

After it started to drain to a trickle I pulled off the funnel and the clay holding it in place.

It looked good because it emptied well and none of the cast ripped off when I removed the funnel.

Now it is left upside down to continue draining for at least 8 hours of if I'm busy overnight.

Now it was time to open the mold. Did it work? Yes, I'm so happy. I cut off the bottom and rocked the cast back and forth a bit to loosen it and then I removed it.

One down.

I will need four to make the first bowl for Dan. I always pay him well for helping me out.

If you are thinking of working with clay let me tell you it is hard work and that is over powered by all the fun.

Cheers, Wendy

Continuing on with the new Moai bowl. This first one is for Dan. It's payback for all his cleaning and heavy lifting. I really couldn't do all this work without his help.

I cast a bowl and cleaned it up.

I cleaned up all the mold lines and reduced the width of the ears by half.

I did four and now it is time to assemble the bowl.

I cut a hole so that I won't trap any air bubbles when I press the Moai into the wet clay.

The clay is very limp and sticky. Just how I like it. I wet the clay with slip not water.

Now it is in place.

I couldn't show it while taking a photo but I support the bowl with one hand while pressing the Moai into place with the other. Then I clean up any clay that squeezes out to the sides.

Top view of all four in place.

Front view.

Dan chose to have a woodgrain. So once it dries I will sand it and the fuzzy look will leave.

All done. See what the bowl is sitting on? I buy these hard placemats at thrift stores. They are easy to use.

I also buy lightweight plastic table clothes to cover the work for slow drying. This bowl will take a month or two to dry.

There are lots of ways to use this Moai. I have another project to show next. Happy Holidays, Wendy

Nice to have seen the origin of the moai mold, and now see you complete it with the back. Up to page 390. One of Dan's shirts served as a painting inspiration for the aloha shirt swap.

Wow, that's an impressive bowl. A month or two just to dry - I don't have that kind of patience!

I may be goofy, but when I saw the topic heading, I expected to see Dan modeling all 11 shirts at one time. :)

Holy cow
Never seen a 600 lb Moai Bowl
Dan-0, fill er up!!!

Question?
Will the new Moai work as a mug??

Just a note to friends who make molds and do ceramic art. When I made the mold for this Moai I also had a few things to fire that were glazed. My kiln has an arrow-vent that circulates the hot air from the top of the kiln and out the bottom. This helps keep the firing temperatures uniform throughout the kiln. Anyway it occurred to me that I could use this hot air to dry the thickest piece of my new mold. I set it under the vent. I always use a slow ramp of 13.5 hours minimum so I really got a good start on drying this one piece.

Hamo thank you. When you tell me the page I go back and look at where you left off. I saw where I had put one photo on twice saying the second was a close up which it wasn't. I need to go fix that soon. I'm having fun, thank you.

bamalamalu goofy is Dan's nick name for me. It would be fun to see him as a group but I don't photo-shop. I had to learn to be patient so that my art doesn't crack. Ceramics are so much slower than painting.

hang10tiki it is a large bowl. More like 400 pounds.

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

Another Moai bowl. I cast four more from the new mold and cleaned them.

I didn't take enough photos but I'll tell you what I did. I cut a slot in the arm on one Moai and than put sticky clay on the arm of the next Moai. Then I pressed them together.

I did this so that all four Moai were connected at their arms. Then I clean off excess clay or added clay according to what was needed.

I turned them over and cleaned up the center.

Here you can see how the arms are connected.

I used the end of a paintbrush to make pits in the clay looking like porous lava.

One down three more to go.

By the second day I had the four done. Next up will be the bowl.

Happy TGIF. Wendy