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

Well done, Mike! That looks great!

Thank you sir!

Excellent Mike!

Lookin good mad man

2 tiki thumbs up

Thank you Or Got Rum? and hang10tiki

One more spot on my fence and one more piece of palm wood

Stripped the bark, used a template to transfer the design to the wood

Used a hand held trim router to carve it. This last piece of palm was even crappier than the last two, I lost parts of the lip and eyes.

Again, these masks are viewed from 20 feet away so detail is not important. I decided to try and rebuild the lost areas with wood putty. If it work - great, if not - oh well. I built up the missing areas with the putty and tried to force it down into the existing wood. I also drove some wooden toothpicks through the putty into the wood to see what happens. Now to wait for it to dry

The wood putty didn't quite take the stain as well as the wood and the texture is a little off. As it ages the wood will fade a little and be closer.

The finished set. Viewed from here, all the defects (like Philips head screws in the eyes LOL) disappear

Me?, I see perfection. good job.

Will you are more than kind <3

A triumph of effect! Who cares about the tiny details? This is stage managing on a large scale! I love it!

[ Edited by TIKIGIKI on 2023-01-22 01:30:09 ]

Thank you TG. I'm not a wood carver so details is out of my scope of practice but I was able to pull this off because they just had to be big and bold

Well if as you claim you are NOT a "woodcarver", you and your skills will certainly serve more than adequately until one happens to come along.....

[ Edited by TIKIGIKI on 2023-01-22 12:39:26 ]

Thanks TIKIGIKI. My biggest asset is a lack of shame LOL. I'm not embarrassed to post something that is not perfect if I think it will encourage or inspire others. I was a frustrated artist for years, I had plenty of creativity but not much skill. My skill level has improved a little with practice but mostly I have gotten better at recognizing what projects I have a chance of pulling off and what kinds of things I should leave alone.

It's not "art" unless there's a potential for disaster......

LOL, true

Have I mentioned how much I love MadDoggy?

Awwww, thank you GROG ❤️❤️❤️

I have a couple of Bluetooth speakers for the patio that work great but don't fit the aesthetic, I needed an appropriate enclosure for them. I had considered some sort of bamboo and coconut Victrola but the I saw this picture of an old radio that inspired me

I picked up a plain steel lunchbox of the appropriate size from Amazon and has a friend 3D print an assortment of vintage knobs and dials. Then laid out the knobs and made a drilling template

Drilled holes for screws and knobs

Drilled holes in the sides and back to let the sound out

Assembled the radio the roughed it up a bit with sandpaper and a torch. Sprayed it with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide/vinegar/salt to rust the metal

The rusting process worked but I really wanted some crusty rust. A little research and I found a technique called "rust paste" - a mixture of acrylic paint and sand. I like it better.

Here's a short video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAwjpLjXMVM

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2023-02-04 08:47:48 ]

I really enjoy seeing such inventiveness, and your great skill at faking something to look right!

That is so cool. You are a master at deception in an alternate universe than ours. Keep on having fun.

Great idea!

TIKIGIKI, danlovestikis, and coldwarspacemonkey Thank you so much, that was a fun project. I have been wanting to hide those speakers for a long time

Too cool Mike...as an Antique Radio collector...great idea...I have a few project 40's tabletops that would work well with.

OGR You've got the cool REAL radios instead of the fake Amazon lunchbox ones LOL I bet some of those radios have room in the cabinet for a Bluetooth speaker without even removing the radio guts?

Hey, hey, Mike--your radio is super cool. It would be even better with Fibber McGee and Molly coming out of it. Or Hawaii Calls, if you wanted it to be more "tiki", I guess.

Thank you Hamo. Yes, those would be great choices!

I made a snake in a basket several years back and wanted to re-visit it. Going for a viper this time instead a cobra.

Started with clay wrapped around a rubber hose for the snake, the snake will serve as a straw.

Formed the bowl and the snake.

Did basket weave around the bowl but managed to break off the snake :(

Re-attached the snake. I put a rolled up piece of paper in the "lumen" of the snake to keep the straw open and to help support the snake as it dries. I don't need to retrieve the paper, it will burn out in the kiln

Time to clean it up as it slowly dries

I decided it needed a lid. A bit cattiwhampus where the snake pushed it aside.
.

The lid has a big flange to keep it from fall.

Looks like the last course served to royalty in Alexandria on 30th August 30 B.C.?

[ Edited by TIKIGIKI on 2023-02-19 20:43:46 ]

Cleopatra and the asp? Hmmm... LOL

And to think she really only ordered some aspirin....

Looks like it'll be a bit of a challenge to drink from MDM. You're either going to have to kneel on the floor to reach the 'straw' comfortably or lift up quite a handful but otherwise, nice work.

TIKIGIKI LOL
swizzle Thank you sir. Yeah, I think you're right. Sometimes you have to choose form over function ;)

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2023-02-20 09:57:26 ]

Wow, wow, wow. What a terrific work of art. I can see the work that went into each detail. You are a master of the hand build technique. Love it.

Thank you Wendy <3

Patiently waiting for it to dry before the first firing. But I painted on some underglaze.

Looking forward to the firing day.

Wendy it was ready to fire today but my kiln is partially exposed to this crazy California weather. Maybe tomorrow?

We were in Napa, CA recently and now it's covered in snow. So is Southern, CA. I think you are having this crazy CA weather too. Do what's safe.

Crazy weather for sure!

Yesterday was clear so I fired the kiln, looks like the viper survived. Up next more glaze

You are so wonderful when it comes to hand sculpting. I'm happy he survived and gets to have you do more.

danlovestikis thank you, you are always so sweet and kind <3

Next steps:
Basket is glazed and fired in Butter Toffee, some black added to the snake to make it pop.

The lid is out of the kiln. Clear glaze on the snake and inside of the basket. (Goes on green, fires clear.

I am very impatiently waiting for the kiln to cool this morning so I can pull it out. Should be all done!

I always wanted a small kiln so I could do multiple firings on a piece. You make sure yours get that extra attention. PS I like being nice, but you deserve all my nice comments

I really enjoy my little kiln. Once in a while it limits the size of something I want to make but not usually.

OK, here it is

Phineas approves. He said using the snake instead of a disposable straw helps save sea turtles!

Looks good Mike.

Thanks Swizz, it was fun! :)

He's a beautiful snake with a pretty home. The most amazing straw ever!

Yesssssss, another nissssssse piessssssse of sssssssereamic, Mike....