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

Thanks MDM. glad to see you working with mud.

Swizzle just jealous of GROG' kiln. :P

GROG, I'm not as active with clay as I once was but still do several projects a year. Some of them are not Tiki so they don't get posted but I find clay (and being creative in general) to be good for my mental health :D

I am DETERMINED to get this Krakatoa mug technique worked out. Working on two more now, so far I've figured out about 5 ways NOT to do it :lol:

This is so much fun. I love watching you innovate! Wendy

The snake hut looks great - really fun. Now we just need a picture of it occupied!

I absolutely love that Krakatoa idea. So clever.

I have no artistic talents whatsoever outside of music so apologies if this is a stupid question. I was wondering: would it be possible to create a base that the two pieces attach to so that it's all one piece? This way it's more of a glass holder, which would make washing up much easier with constant use - just slide the glass out, clean, and slide back in.

I recently saw a mug that acted as a sheath for an inner glass that actually held the cocktail, which is what gave me the idea. I don't think it's quite as nice of an idea as your current one, but was thinking that it might be easier.

Thanks HopeChest. My first one I tried to make as a sleeve/glass holder but it is really difficult for me to control the amount of shrinkage- too many variables. This first one turned out just a little smaller than I planned and luckily I was able to find a glass that was just slightly smaller so it fit.

Now I'm making the pieces separate and gluing them to the glass, but the whole thing can still be immersed for washing. It also gives a bigger space for the "lava" to shine through while still maintaining the look of volcanic rock

EDIT - HopeChest, do you remember what the mug was that served as a sleeve? I'd like to see how it looks

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2018-01-04 12:19 ]

Could be this?

http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=8063

That's the one!

Cool, thanks guys. They used a plastic inner glass which is smart. Keeps the glass and the ceramic sleeve from rattling against each other.

Love anything volcano oriented, looking forward to seeing what you come up with Mike.

On 2018-01-05 12:11, hiltiki wrote:
Love anything volcano oriented, looking forward to seeing what you come up with Mike.

Looks great!

So long as it does not turn into Mr. and Mrs. Krakatoa Mug, Star wars Krakatoa Mug, Tapa Krakatoa Mug, Mini Krakatoa Mug, Froger Krakatoa Mug, Krakatoa Mug Blue, Krakatoa Mug red,
Krakatoa Mug AP, Limited edition Sarasota Krakatoa Mug, ect.....

I built a Kocktail Kahuna in a box. When I let him out he makes me cocktails :lol: It is actually the Perfect Drink app, check out the link if you are interested and I won't have to explain it again :D

I never claimed to be a painter. He turned out pretty much like I envisioned except for his feet (edit- I worked on the feet a little and updated the pic above). :o I apologize for the "Tiki devolution" colors, but I needed something to stand out against the multi-shade brown torched wood.

Mermaid; the original Surf 'n Turf. Long Pig on top and Ahi below.

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2018-03-09 16:24 ]

Good 1 Mike

The Tiki Snake Hut has 2 new inhabitants

TU and his wife drove out from Las Vegas to pick up the Snake Hut. We had dinner & a few drinks and had a great evening

Mike,

How'd you do the inlays on that table? (Do I just need to scroll back to find out?)

very nice!

Thanks Lori, yes I did a few that years back (could be a lot of scrolling :lol: ) The grey tiles are commercial tiles that I cut to fit and there is a small fire pit in the center of the table

Great photos. It's fun to see TU and his wife too. The hut is on it's way to Las Vegas? I wish I was. Cheers, Wendy

They love the hut!! You all are welcome to stop by my place any time!

Mike...the dinner and drinks were amazing and the company was even better!!

So glad they like it TU and that you guys had a good time. I don't make it to Vegas very often (it's been at least 10 years) but one of these days...

For many years we have enjoyed these pieces of art work by MadDogMike. Dan is downsizing his collection and decided that these two pieces should be in the home of our dear friends Whylee Raven and Eva.

We met them for lunch and surprised them with this mug.

Here it is displayed in their home.

Today we met them again and did the same thing.

Here it is displayed in their home.

It's really fun that these mugs are passed on and going to be enjoyed again for many years. We can also visit them.
We are hanging onto our MadDogMike monkey, airplane, gun and kiln stopper. Have I missed any other pieces? If I have we
are keeping them.

Lots of love Mike for making so many people happy. You are a special friend, Wendy

On 2018-04-02 20:08, danlovestikis wrote:
...We are hanging onto our MadDogMike monkey, airplane, gun and kiln stopper. Have I missed any other pieces?

You have more of my pieces than I do. But then again, I don't keep anything :lol:

So glad they found good homes, thank you my friend.

I could see that they had the same excitement over the pieces that we felt when they became ours. I look forward to the day you visit us and we'll take you two to visit them as well. Hugs, Wendy

I cross posted this in Home Tiki Bars (don't tell the moderators :o)

I did some experimentation with making my own lava landscaping blocks. There were a couple of things I didn't like about the ones at Lowe's/Home Depot; boring texture (I wanted lava) and boring color (I wanted black). So I made a mold from some metal and wood and cast a few. The mold worked fine but they weren't exactly what I was looking for; I added black concrete dye but they weren't anywhere near lava black. They were also pretty time consuming to make. So now I have a new plan. I'm ordering some black concrete acid stain and will see if the commercial blocks and my blocks can be stained black. Then I can use about half commercial blocks and half custom textured blocks. I'm got some lava textured rock stamps to experiment with and plan to incorporate some glazed ceramic "oozing hot lava" and some real lava rocks and/or obsidian into the concrete. Will keep you posted on outcome

Quick fun craft for the day, suitable to do with the kids or grand kids - Kraken tentacle drink garnishes, suitable for any drink containing Kraken Rum. These are made of Sculpty polymer clay, it is listed as non-toxic but I wouldn't use them daily.

Materials needed. 1 pack of polymer clay for each tentacle (I used black), 1 pack polymer clay for suckers (I used pink), a chopstick or bamboo skewer, a cookie sheet, an oven.

Take one package of black clay, knead it a bit to make it soft and roll it into a tapered tentacle. Poke parts of holes in the tentacle with the skewer or chopstick. Knead the pink clay and roll little balls of various sizes, sort the balls by size.

Roll the ends of the pink balls to a point

Starting with the bigger balls in the fat end of the tentacle, stick the point of the pink balls into the hole in the tentacle and flatten them into a disc. Use the chopstick or skewer to make a hole in the sucker.

Continue to fill all the holes in the tentacle with suckers. Place the completed tentacles on a cookie sheet and shape as desired. The top one stands straight up and holds an umbrella. The bottom one loops over the edge of the mug and gets a maraschino cherry or other fruit skewered on it. You could make one that sticks up with a loop to hold a straw or whatever.

Bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes, allow to cool. Enjoy!

Well done. It looks great. Wendy

Those octopus tentacles were a fun project, Thanks Wendy

The Chief Lapu Lapu is one of my favorite drinks:
3/4 oz Light Rum
3/4 oz Myers' Dark Rum
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit Puree
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Chief Lapu Lapu is a national Filipino hero, the first to resist Spanish Colonialism. He killed Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan 5/27/1521. The mug will be Magellan's skull, still wearing his morion or conquistador helmet.

I started by casting a skull and mixing a Chief Lapu Lapu drink :lol:

Lid is gonna be tricky

That's going to be wonderful. You are so creative. I love it when you get going on a project. Wendy

Thank you Wendy

I struggle with symmetry but this is not too bad :lol: Still plenty of cleanup to do as it dries. Anyone know of a good low fire verdigris glaze?

I know it seems odd to have Lapu Lapu's name on Magellan's helmet but I wanted his name somewhere and it was the only good option. I originally envisioned it on the back of the skull but this style of helmet covers (and protects) the back of the head.

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2018-09-01 19:04 ]

On 2018-09-01 19:00, MadDogMike wrote:

I originally envisioned it on the back of the skull but this style of helmet covers (and protects) the back of the head.

Doesn't appear like it helped Magellan. :lol:

Looking good Mike. But what's a verdigris glaze?

Wow, this looks great. I like where you put the name too. Wendy

Oh dang
Good one Mike
Making me thirsty for a CLL

I almost forgot the straw hole but I got it in before the clay died too much :D

Thanks guys. Swizz, you're right, that helmet didn't seem to help :o Magellan's local allies tried to pay to have the body returned but Lapu Lapu wanted to keep it as a trophy, presumably to drink from the skull :lol:

Verdigris is the blue-green color of copper, bronze, and brass. Like the color of the Statue of Liberty. I have found high fire glazes in that color but so far no low fire. Looks like I'll have to do the Mayco Aged Bronze for the helmet.

Thanks Mike. I've never heard of that word before. And yes i agree, it would be nice if there was a low-fire glaze you could buy straight off the shelf that looked like that. No doubt you could probably come up with something close by layering different colours but it would take a lot of experimenting.

That was a new word for me too. On my divers helmets I use Duncan metal glazes and then painted a Caribbean blue on top.

I am still experimenting. Wendy

Oh, I like that! Thanks for the tip Wendy.

Update
Update
Update

:)

Sorry, no update to post Jon. It's just drying slowly, may be ready to fire this weekend?

I am working on a couple other projects including a technique I have wanted to try. I did a sgraffito on your Swap bottle where I painted red clay over white clay and carved it when it was partially dry. This time I'm letting it dry completely then I'll try to etch it with a Dremel. Yes Wendy, I'll wear a mask :lol:

I'll post some progress pics soon :D

I can't wait to see the finished product. I'd never researched Chief Lapu Lapu, only enjoyed the drink, but this concept is awesome.

and eye protection

I used a dremmel today. Ears protected, eyes protected but I'll probably die because I grabbed Dan's facemask!

Hugs, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2018-09-06 19:09 ]

Cool stuff, Mike. Can’t wait to see the final product.

Chief Lapu Lapu's skull of Magellan made it through the first firing. At least two more firings to go

Working on an experiment with a Black Pearl mug. I slabbed clay over a 5 inch foam ball, let it set up, and dissolved the foam out with acetone. I let it dry and gave it three good coats of Amaco Velvet Underglaze. After the glaze dried I drew out my design with a gold Sharpie then etched through the underglaze into the white clay with a Dremel. So far, not all that impressed with etching it dry like this vs carving it when leather hard. I put it in the kiln today, let's see how it turns out? PS - there is a hole in the back to put the drink in with :lol:

Love skulls, and looking forward to the pearl mug happening. :)

Skull
Pearl

What’s next?

A life size octopus mug
:)

Thanks guys! :D Here's an update

The Chief Lapu Lapu/Magellan's skull survived another firing, I used a Mayco Aged Bronze on the helmet but it didn't turn out like the sample pic showed. I am having some temperature control issues with my kiln and it under fired a little. I will fire it again this week for the clear on the skull and hopefully get it up to temp, maybe color will develop better

I have 2 black pearls in the kiln today. The bigger gray one will go in the clam shell in my pond, it will hide the water tubing. The smaller green one with the funny hole in the back is my Black Pearl mug. Both will get a Mother of Pearl sheen fired to them, we'll see how that looks on black.

Wow Mike
Great colors

Well, yesterday's firing was a FAIL :o

The Black Pearl Mug has been renamed to The Black Pearl Exiting From a Fog Bank Mug :lol: I've never had this clear glaze get cloudy like that

My black pearl for the pond had a different black glaze on it, it came out with HUNDREDS of glaze skips on it, I've never seen that either. This was an old glaze that I had rehydrated, mixed, and strained but something went wrong. Time for me to buy some new glazes. This pearl looks OK from a distance and it's not used for drinking so it will work until I get a new one made.

My Chief Lapu Lapu mug went into the kiln this morning. I used the same clear glaze on it also and thought about putting the same black glaze on the inside - but didn't. Will open the kiln tomorrow morning and see what the verdict is.