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

A new fence hanger.
The inspiration. The statue was collected in Hawaii prior to 1878. It was identified at the time as the goddess Pele, but more recent research indicates that is unlikely

Template for the 3 pieces

Main figure mostly cut from a fir 2x10, I left it attached at the base to keep it stable for some power carving

I'm new to power carving with an angle grinder, any input is welcome. I went down and bought these 4 tools. Unfortunately #3 and 4 were the wrong size for my grinder. #1 was a quite impressive chain saw looking thing, #2 was an abrasive flap wheel. The chain saw looked more impressive than it worked* but the flap wheel worked pretty well. *As I was putting away chain saw carver, I noticed it could be assembled the right way and the wrong way. It was already disassembled so I don't know I had it right or not. I'll have to try it again put together correctly

Joined the rest of the headdress with glue and some pocket screws. Edges rounded with flap wheel

Burned and brushed to bring out the grain. Afterwards stained with a dark ebony wood stain

Finished! 16 x 33 inches, 3 inches thick

With some dramatic red uplighting

That look's great as most of your projects do, however, I just want to mention , disk # 1 Make sure you have 2 hands on your tool. You might as well hold a angry pit bull by the collar & try to cuddle with it. & as for the rest, The more I use chisels the less I use power tools. If you look at my earlier stuff you can tell.

Good job

That was a hard one to accomplish without breaking some part of it. Well done!

Mike, You Never cease to amaze with the creative Quiver. "A Man on a mission with 2 or 3 additions..." to quote Mr Costello.

She's been working out. She's got a nice, round butt!

Will carve thank you sir! Yes, I have heard from others that 2 hands is the only way to handle that tool. I would love to pick up a few good chisels and learn how to keep them sharp. One of these days.

danlovestikis thank you <3 That 2x10 Douglas fir is pretty tuff stuff but I'm glad I didn't break anything off.

Or Got Rum? you're gonna make me blush LOL Every day I write the book...

ernimator I like big butts and a cannot lie!

Mike, PLEASE throw the chainsaw attachment in the bin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIQu1e8DGUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7xWHEWov8M&t=617s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1hf2UILN80

[ Edited by swizzle on 2024-03-05 01:19:12 ]

Thanks Swizz, I will. That seems to be the universal sentiment among people who carve. I ordered a set of the ones similar to #4 in the pic, I'll give those a shot

I have #2, #3 and #4 and they all work great.

Cool, thanks Swizz :)

Yes #1 no good

Me like the Hawaiian carving

Thanks Jon. I pitched that chainsaw carving tool. That hurt, cost me 30 bucks. But hurt less than that thing getting out of hand and tearing through my crotch LOL I guess I should have asked BEFORE I bought it.

I ran across this bit of dialog on "Death in Paradise" S4 E1.

Humphrey - "How many keyshops are there on the island?"
Dwayne - "Only one. But I wouldn't go there if I was you Chief"
Humphrey - "Why not?"
Dwayne - "It's run by Mad Dog Mike and he hates police"

Oh that is so not true!

No it's not LOL

I thought I saw all the episodes. I don't remember that line. I'm suprised I missed it if I did see that episode.

[ Edited by GROG on 2024-06-25 18:40:38 ]

Great show Grog. A little suspense, a little humor, chemistry with the cast, beautiful scenery and an awesome soundtrack. I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't watched it.
I've found with those Brit shows you have to turn on the captions or you miss half of it LOL

There are some spinoffs. Beyond Paradise, and Return to Paradise. I don't think Return has been released yet, and I haven't seen any episodes of Beyond Paradise.

Good to know, thanks Grog! :D

I've got some catch-up to to. Made a Vulcania Bowl for a friend who is building a Nautilus themed bar in Florida. Inspired by Captain Nemo's secret lair in the base of a volcano.

Started with a block of Styrofoam and carved it to shape.

Covered the foam in plaster to smooth it and to keep the clay from sticking. The depression at the peak will hold a bit of 151 and fire

Rolled out slabs of clay and laid them over the plaster form. Let it dry a bit.

I had hoped that the clay would slip off the plaster foam in one piece but I had to cut in into 3 pieces to remove it.

Clay pieces reassembled, textures, dried, and some black under glaze brushed on the wiped off

A small Nautilus

Finished!

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-07-19 18:28:29 ]

One of my major projects for this year is a ancient temple ruins - the Temple of the Jade Jaguar.

A quick concept mug.

And a lighted display stand for a special bottle of Jade Elixer.

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-07-19 18:51:44 ]

My Witco Fountain inspired mug for the 2024 Witco Art Swap

My Witco Fountain inspired mug for the 2024 Witco Art Swap

And then for something I'm really excited about, I bought myself a 3D printer as a retirement gift!
Right now I'm just printing items that other people created but I have ideas for those. Eventually I will learn how to create my own items. I see lots of customized swizzle stick in my future as well as some lamp parts.

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-07-19 19:09:39 ]

What fun I see in your future. Those machines are capable of so much. Nelson Parker is really good; I think he owns 5 of them. I'll look forward to seeing what you create and print. The tiles were a great idea.

Catch-up? I prefer mustard.

Can't wait to get my hands on a MadDog swizzle....

SPOILER ALERT - NOT TIKI!!!
About 4 years ago I made a trip to Disneyland and was inspired by the Indiana Jones Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Now that I've retired I have time to do this big project but the timing is bad. It's hotter than Satan's butthole here on the Anvil of the Sun.

According to Bamboo Ben 4:24 - "Thou shalt have no white walls", and this white wall was pretty boring

I had made this Jade Jaguar years ago and decided to use this design as a centerpiece and namesake for this temple wall. Theme will be Mayan

Drew out a plan to build "stone" blocks to attach to the wall. Varying thickness of these blocks will give depth to the wall. Some blocks to be 2 inches thick, some 1 inch thick, and some painted directly to the stucco wall.

I started with a 4x4 foot piece of 1/2 inch waterproof cement board. Attached a 2x4 frame around the outside, filled the center in with Styrofoam, and covered it with chicken wire. Added some reinforcement in the corner to make a large crack.

Mixed up a batch of fiberglass reinforced, polymer modified mortar and covered the panel like frosting a cake.

I textured the panel with a lava rock rubber stamp. The mortar mix had some colorant in it then I used a "fog coat" of black and moss green powdered concrete colorant thrown at the panel while the mortar was still wet. I got a little heavy handed on my first attempt, fortunately this panel is mostly hiden behind the bar. I was able to tone down subsequent blocks.

This stucco wall has plywood behind it. Attaching to the wall just requires long screws through the panel and stucco into the plywood.

Second panel made and placed. Started building a tree along the edge, partially to serve as a transition from the temple wall to the next section of wall. 2x4s, Styrofoam, and chicken wire.

Coated the tree with green tinted mortar. If you look closely you'll see a big ceramic iguana head sticking out of a hole in the wall at the top.

The right side is getting close to finished. The area below the window doesn't have a mortar panel, it's painted. I painted that section of the wall the same color as the base mortar and fog coated with the same powdered colors. Added some silk plant leaves to the tree. I had some 1 inch rope left over from another project so I painted it green and attached some silk leaves to use as vines.

Started working on the Jade Jaguar. about 8x11 inches.

Temple wall getting close to completion. Just needs the lintel/beam across the top of the window. Framed the window with wood to help hide the white aluminum window frame. The wood frame will also hold a jungle tapestry stretched over a PVC frame. It will cover the glass window.

The lintel beam is delayed a bit while I wait for the Jade Jaguar to dry and be glazed. The jaguar will be mortared into the beam.

I used my new 3D printer to print a couple Kukulkans, the Mayan feathered serpent god. About 6x6x6 inches

Painted and mounted

More to come...

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-08-21 09:07:35 ]

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-08-21 09:09:34 ]

I just realized my mouth was open as I gapped at all this work and creativity. Many of us thing of things but you actually get them done. I love the Indiana Jones ride because the entrance while in line is so terrific. Now you have it at home. Wow wow wow!

You are very kind Wendy <3
What you and I call creative energy, my wife calls ADHD LOL

Well my Jade Jaguar blew up in the kiln. Must not have been as dry as I thought :( It was 7 pieces and the middle one shattered. Fortunately I traced the pieces from a pattern and still had the pattern. So I just traced a new piece. It will be at least a week before I can fire it.

But the jungle tapestry came in so I hung a curtain rod and sewed the tapestry into a curtain to cover up the decidedly un-Mayan glass window. It is easily removed so it will just be put up when we are entertaining on the patio.

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-08-22 20:02:46 ]

Never a dull moment with you. Love watching your ideas come to life.

Thank you LittleGiles :D

Impatiently waiting for the last piece of the puzzle

Have you ever glued with glaze and firing?

That might have possibly worked for this. But it was easier just to make a new one. I should be able to bisque fire by Monday morning

The long awaited final piece to the puzzle

The entire finished wall. Like many things, the photo does not do it justice because it doesn’t capture the depth and texture of the wall. The big Baining mask on the left blocks much of the wall, it may need to find a new home.

GROG like !

Looking good!

GROG and coldwarspacemonkey thank you.

This space is like the MadDogMike art gallery. So many cool projects that you have made. Love the puzzle Jaguare. Your grandkids must think you are the best grandpa ever.

Thank you Wendy <3 I always have a great time with the grandchildren too.

Anyone else like to absolutely run a theme into the ground? LOL Now that I have a Mayan wall, I'm planning a Mayan dinner for a few friends. I really NEED some sort of Mayan themed serving platter. I think I'll combine 3D printing with ceramics, what could go wrong? The plan is to print 2 Chac Mools each about 6 inches long. Then make a ceramic platter or wooden plank to suspend between them. Perfect place to serve my Raspberry Mousse Filled Sacrificial Chocolate Hearts :D

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2024-09-01 22:17:16 ]

A few more finishing touches to my Mayan wall.
I picked up this plastic plant at Michael's. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be pale parsley but I'm using it for moss.

Pulled at apart and put a short screw and washer in each piece.

Then screwed them into the cracks between some of the blocks.

I like an element of danger with some humor thrown in. I 3D printed a big (4 inch) and a small (2 inch) man eating plant and added them to the hanging vines.

Here the big one is looking the other way, hoping Leilani won't notice it's sneaking up on her! The smaller one can be seen a couple pics up with the moss.

Dude, u are awesome

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Fantastic, you Freaky Tiki imaginer

hang10tiki and Or Got Rum?, you are both too kind. Thank you.
A few "finishing touches" (do you ever actually "finish" something like this?}
I got a couple of rechargeable, battery operated, LED flame lights, adapted them to standart bamboo Tiki torches, and mounted them to each side of the window. Also got a spot light that shines on the Jade Jaguar since it was pretty dark up there.

Daytime

Night

You are incredibly fun to watch create. Love the carnivorous flowers.

<3

PS I wish I'd seen the inside of your chocolate heart. Any photos or did you just serve it up?

Dig the night view...growlllllllll!