News and Troubles of Jürka's Tiki Factory

For the next corps, which I guess will take to kiln at Monday, I make one special for present to gal, who was there when the idea of making tiki mug was evolving... It's just the name in pretty-much-my-own tiki font... Yeap, I didn't stole that font from anywhere, all by myself... pretty-much... :D

Kane is ready... The last one of four main tiki gods seria... That thing is huge! Tall as Lono and wide as Kumuhonua and Ku...

...and poured into the mold... all three pieces in same day... And one more mold for skull shot mug also...

I removed the box also the same day, but couldn't open the mold yet... This time I didn't sink them into the first part too deeply, so in this thing I hope it's little bit easier to get it out of the halfpart... but we'll see... I guess the distending woodguys will press the parts of mold open... So... tomorrow... well... we'll see...

Today I opened molds... Well... Wood was distended and it li'l bit broke while opening it... Skull shot from exactly the same place (nosehole from the same side; but otherwise pretty good) and Kane... pretty many parts was rub off, but the important ones I glued back and others are not so important (easy to clean up on clay-guy), so both totally usable...

And group-photo of my tikizoo... :D

Oh, the girls are going to love that you are so cute. Besides that you make great tikis. Wendy

Nope, not correct... But the other one... She sure likes tikis too (at least she should!), I hope she likes it... and hope her man will not mind... :D Well, he won't, he's friend... But thanks!

[ Edited by: Jürka 2013-09-10 05:06 ]

Problems, problems, always problems...

Today I received my second army of tikis... Kus are almost... some has too much glaze, one has too less... Lonos are alright... but they are not straight (I'm not talkin' about orientation, I'm talkin' about shape), some are bended one side, others are other side, but really for me it's not a problem, they are allowed to be like this (by the way, Lono is a god nevetherless)...

But the problem is with Kumuhonuas... The first corps was glossy, but the second ones are dull (only brown glaze)... Also Hibiscus which I sent for second time firing and which was glossy before, is dull now and the crack on the glaze is still there (I'm gonna put one more coat to it and will send it third time... actually fourth time... back to kiln, I'm not gonna leave it this way, it's too important for me)... Do you have any idea how brown glaze got faded this time?

Here is picture of my fourth special...

Jürka, overfiring (too hot) could account for both the slumped ceramic and for the loss of gloss. It will also fire the color out of some glazes. It's hard when you rely on someone else to fire for you, it's especially bad is they are charging a premium price and then don't fire correctly :( Be sure you have communicated correctly to them the Cone that they should be fired at. If you are using low fire clay & glaze and he is high firing, there will be a problem

Well, he has been said that he is firing 1250 degrees... Clay requires firing 1000...1250 degrees and the glaze requires 1220...1280 degrees...
I guess the temperature of clay cannot be question here, because clay is not on the surface... I also sent the question to him, I'll see what he thinks about it...

Well, the guy thinks that first time mugs were on middle floor, second time they were upper floor, where temperature is little bit lower and that's why possibly got glossy on first time and not on second time... Could it be?

I personally do not have the answer. Maybe he would let you take of photo of the inside of the kiln to show us. I have an aerovent attachment that pulls the air from the top to the bottom to keep it uniform throughout the kiln. All my work fires the same. Wendy

Well, I think I take two of them, special ones, put on some additional coat of glaze... and send them together with next army, which is coming pretty soon... and then I'll see what kind of result I will get... If it's good, maybe I will fire again also others... I'm afraid that second firing may not do good for them always (just what happened with Hibiscus... glaze is melted and looks different than any other of them)... I have to think little bit of my wallet, it hurts already pretty much... But thanks for respond!

Skull, Tangaroa and Kane molds has been dried enough for now and today I poured first of them...

Unfortunatelly Tangaroa had some dint on it, so I had to throw it away... And I was disturbed of idea that I won't get my first Tangaroa today, so I took few more hours to spend and poured it again... When I tried to open it... First part came off well, second part was problem... It looked pretty dry already, but... and I waited more and tried more and easily... with extra caution... ve-e-e-ery slowly... and for some unknown reason one part in middle section just hadn't been dried at all and was stuck to the mold and it rubbed that place off... So I had to throw this second Tangaroa away too! 3 hours to wait for nothing... Yes, I was (still am) pissed off! And I still have no any Tangaroas...

There's a strange thing going on... Lono mold and Tangaroa mold has both some weird spot (without glue or any holes nor anything different) where clay always wants to get stuck... Everywhere else clay dries open, but these little weirdo spots where clay doesn't want to dry and stucks to mold and when I open it, it rubs of the part of tiki... It's a strange, strange world in ceramic business...

I do not understand!
I've made Tangaroa for three times and I still have no any Tangaroas!
One spot above the right eye gets stuck to mold (I opened left part the same day I poured and right part I had to keep on through the night)... And last time when I opened, right side of the face is totally bubbled, left side is totally okay... I can't understand, what's the difference... Mold looks exactly the same, right side or left side... Maybe Maori god doesn't want to fit in the quartet of Hawaiian gods... Should have made Kanaloa instead of Tangaroa, everything would be fine... I guess...

I pour my slip in and let it sit an hour. Then I pour out the excess slip and keep the mold upside down overnight. I open it the next day and take it out of the mold. No problems when you go slow. Wendy

I started to open it after 1,5...2 hours when I found out that while shrinking the mold broke of edges of clay sculpture...

Maybe your slip is too thick and needs water added. I always mix in water and stir it up with my hand until it has the consistency of buttermilk. Wendy

Nope, that's not a case... These times I've put much more water... I think I've found out the right relation... "More water" are like magic words...

Have you sanded those areas in case mold soap is on those spots? Wendy

Sanded? You mean to burnish with sand-paper? Well, I tried little bit, but it didn't seem to help with dense one, but I was afraid to try coarse paper... But it really can be mold soap there... Sounds logic... Hmm... Something to remove soap? Thinner? :D

Jurka, I have scrubbed molds with soap and water and a not-to-stiff brush to get rid of mold soap. You have to be careful not to scratch the plaster and you will have to let it dry for a week or so afterwards.

Umm... You use soap to wash off another soap??? :D

At Wednesday I did send the third army of tikis to first-time-kiln. This time I made 1 special... palmtrees and sun (or moon, however you like to see it)... and I'm not really sure for who I made it... I hope it will find its owner by itself somehow...

Very soon I'm gonna send my factory to "vacation" again to earn some money. At spring I'm gonna have much bigger ideas, but I cannot be sure anyhow if it ever happens... Also Tangaroa and Kane and skulls I leave to next year... And also I guess I should start pouring some real coctails... buy stuff and everything... I guess that Fog Cutter would be my first one because I guess its parts are easier to find and cheaper to get. This time I hope to receive my tikis from kiln and glaze and send back to kiln together with two extras from last time again to give them better shiny coat and if it goes well I would like to send away my present-tikis if I have time to do it... Anyway... This terrible nightmare-summer has been as progressive that my one-of-the-dreams to make and have at least 1 (one!) tiki-mug has come true and it gives hope that also real crazy dreams could come true if balls are made-of-steel and if I would just dare to start with 'em.

I received my third army of mugs. Result is okay, but not perfect. Being glossy/matt is something between first and second army... Not as good as first, but not so bad as second. Hibiscus is fcked up, it has been three times in glaze-burning-kiln and crack is still there. The mug got pretty much of its shine back, but on the face there are few lumps and as big that the glaze has given up and cracked in that spot also. So, yeah... I will leave it to remind me bad things to learn in my future life. But. If I'd come back in spring, I have true plan to make the new one, new Hibiscus. If something can't be fixed, must make the new one. It feels for me like this Tiki is alive and reflects the real life. I sure have a lot of fantasy.
Anyway... Janni's mug is better now, though the red glaze on letter "J" has been melted and flown to spot where it should not be, but... it doesn't ruin the view. I leave it like that because there's nothing I can do to fix it and I've learned that putting too many times into kiln may cause additional problems... Just like happened with Hibiscus, the most beautiful of my all armies with only one crack... After second try it was with crack and matt... And after third time it's now with crack, not-so-matt-anymore, but fcked up. That's what I've learned of mug-making-business and of life. Cracked, not-so-matt-anymore and f*cked up. Amen.
Anyway... The last special I made... Well, it looked li'l bit better before glaze... Too thin lines are bit dangerous to glaze... The thinnest (the farrest actually) palmtree is not as straight as it should be... Also I don't like the edges where red meets brown, they appear white... but there's nothing to do with it. That's how it works. This effect doesn't catch the eye so much where red details are bigger, robustious. Well, but otherwise not so bad. I still miss the real shiny glaze like it was in first army.

And here are my all specials so far. Next summer I would like to do maybe 5 different ones more, cause I have some too great people around me... :D

Oh yeah... And tomorrow I will put Dixie, Janni and Spade to post. I use only one box per each. For softening I use peanuts. Put one layer on the bottom, then I fixed it with a plastic which is meant for packing food... Then another layer of peanuts... Tiki... Peanuts again... Plastic... And peanuts again... as much as it goes... and close box, tapes... I'll print out addresses together with clear fragile-sign (I hope that "this-side-up" sign is not so important in this case)... and place it on top under filmy tape to prevent getting wet. The box is small enough, so I will put only one of it on top. Hope they'll arrive in one piece. 700...800 grams each. Two pieces to Finland, one to Greece...

[ Edited by: Jürka 2013-10-22 15:53 ]

So, now I've found time (it's a lie, I didn't, but I still managed to finish it) to complete my Hawaii Gods quartet... plus skull shot mug. Now they are ready. They came out well, all of them, much better than Ku and Kane... Why? Because of glaze... This time it just happened to be suitable glaze (same manufacturer, same seller, same everything, just different color)... Here they are...

Kane is here...

This is Kanaloa (although it looks like Tangaroa, my bad, but that's how it is now)...

And one of my favorite... Skull Shot mug...

About Kumuhonua with Hibiscus mug... I said that I'm gonna do it again after the first version was totally ruined after three firings... And I did... But it came out also bad... Lines are not as sharp as necessary and still there ain't same glossy surface as it was on the very first firing... It's again matt... I have no idea how to achieve the glossy glaze there... But if I will have time for it, I want to make it again one day... I really should... again till it WILL come out perfect from bottom to top and all around, outside and inside... and will be the most beautiful tiki in the world in it's own level...

Jürka's Tiki Factory has been frozen for a while, but it ain't dead, not at all. Here's my cannibals... Not as 3D as the ones on Donn's shelf, but I like it that way.

That trio looks great, Jürka! Thanks for posting--I hadn't seen this threat previously, and am enjoying going back through all the postings.

Thank you very much! Feel free to do it, no charge! For now I've understood why Donn was so happy with them... This cannibalistic trio is really easy to pet: one has always got its prey by himself, another one eats anyway all the time, and third one is always full and happy. I'm never gonna have a dog again!

[ Edited by: Jürka 2019-05-20 15:23 ]

I forgot one important piece of factory's products... About 9 months ago (no, it's not about anybody getting accidentally pregnant or anything) I had some time at work to fill one of my checkboxes in my head. And here it is, but actually not exactly completed, because it is not just model made of matches, but it's a bottle-raft which hasn't find its home yet. I still don't know which bottle shall I use, obviously some very classic tiki-drinky rum bottle and so far my only suitable guess would be Eldorado 40% rum bottle. It's in invisible color glass and very thin and long which can symbolize Kon-Tiki's long trip. Anyway, my Eldorado bottle is still half full (another half is empty if you wonder) and will take maybe years to get free to house a raft. The picture carries a name "King Kong Meets Kon-Tiki" which is also the name of a drive-in movie which was never made... Anybody had never even had the idea that this kind of movie should be or could be done.

[ Edited by Jürka on 2022-04-17 17:28:58 ]

Cool raft! That would make a great drink garnish

Eem... Disposable?! Or washable? Or li'l-dirt-forgivable-as-long-it's-fancy?

On 2019-08-26 10:33, MadDogMike wrote:
Cool raft! That would make a great drink garnish

YES!!! That would be awesome in a big bowl drink, especially if you used blue curacao.

On 2019-08-26 11:22, Jürka wrote:
Eem... Disposable?! Or washable? Or li'l-dirt-forgivable-as-long-it's-fancy?

Yes, li'l-dirt-forgivable-as-long-it's-fancy :lol:

Now I see why ship models are sealed into the bottles where nobody can reach them... kids, dogs (including mad dogs), exotic cocktail lovers... I better get hurry up with that Eldorado rum! :D ...before I buy any Blue Curacao! :D I may get temptation by myself... Nooooooo....!!!

[ Edited by: Jürka 2019-08-26 23:02 ]

Well... Tiki Central is back again, that's great! But I'm not too much in tiki culture (as USA pop-culture of fake Polynesia) any more. I'm much more interested of real Polynesian cultures. But my tiki factory still wears a name "Tiki Factory", so I guess it's still more-or-less connected to it and here's my recent works:

• Training ship Suurlaht where I was participating when I was a little kid, made of matches. Ship was once STB-type double-trawler, built in Germany in 1954 and was given to Soviet Union due to loss of World War II and that's how it ended up in Estonia (then part of Soviet Union) as training ship for young sailors.

• Moai Kava Kava, my personal Aku

• Marquesan U'u

• Rapa Nui U'a

• Samoan Nifo'otti

• Fijian Iculanibokola

• Souvenir of Pitcairn Island

[ Edited by Jürka on 2022-03-20 15:28:14 ]

[ Edited by Jürka on 2022-03-20 15:28:58 ]

• Marquesan Tapuva'e

• Turning over 2 m wood requires my own page in Guinness book...

Amazing work

Thank You!

• Tahiti Ti'i

• Wahaika

Beautiful work.

Thank You!

• Putorino

I like your work!

Gracias!

• Tsantsa (not Polynesian, not Pacifican, but still neighborhood...)

Jürka! Good to see you back. Nice looking Jivaro head!

Kiitos, herra Hullu-Koira!

• Hei Tiki, Hei Matau