Wendy Cevola - New colors of the Frank mug by Frankoma now available.

Wendy- no, the Honu came up for air
So, blowing bubbles I guess
:)

Day 5

Ocean day
So not many pics

Day 6

---

Worst sound ever, slurp of an empty tiki mug through my straw!!!

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2019-11-09 07:34 ]

hang10tiki DAY 6 already. Your trip is passing fast. I am also a license plate reader and I make the same kind of connections. Yours was a good one. Did you actually swim in the ocean? Did you eat a Hula Pie? Did you go to Foster's Garden? Don't forget to post a photo of anything you bought to take home. Thank you, Wendy

Surfing Waikiki
No pie
No garden

Cheers

Day 7
More surfing
So
Only a few pics

Day 8

Day 9

Side street inn
My favorite dinner spot

Then a short walk to Leonard’s for dessert
:)

Day 10
Last full day
Big concert tonight

Lots of great fish by the boats in front of the Ilikai

Jake Shimabukuro at the blue note in the Outrigger
Best ukulele player ever

Day 11
Leaving at 3pm
Coffee and one last Long walk

Finds I brought back:

One La Mariana Gecko mug and one carving
(Well, “found the mug at the bar”)
:)

Aloha

Back to the Wendy show

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2019-11-11 06:05 ]

Wow hang10tiki that's a wonderful action packed vacation. You rented surf boards? Next time take a water proof camera and strap it to your head! What is inside a Malasada? We have never had one. The puffer sure is cute. Where does it hide the spines that stick out on the lamps? I was happy to see you got another on the Carolina tikis for your collection.

Oh No I need to get my photos ready to post. Thank you for taking over for a few days so I could just glaze away. I have catch up photos to organize. I have a very full kiln load of glazed items going tonight. I can see some that will need more glaze and another firing but that's just how it goes.

Cheers, Wendy

I'm always working with ceramics so I'm always behind in posting. So I'm just now sharing our trip to see my sister and her family in Oregon in October so here's the trip.

On the way to Oregon we stopped at thrift stores for Dan to look for albums. He found this one which he didn't know existed.

In Oregon we went to see the dinosaurs.

Here I am with my sister and a neighbor child and the shortest kid is her great granddaughter.

The floor in the building where they held the dinosaurs was covered in dirt and dust was floating everywhere. I wished we all had face masks.

The kids could actually ride these. They walk!

Talk about a small world. Dan ran into his best friend since 2nd grade. He moved to Grants Pass and got a girlfriend with kids and they drove down to Medford for the dinosaurs and they also got Dan! Amazing.

While in Oregon I had my computer and I was able to see when I passed 5,000,000 views!!! That's fun because I'm a numbers person.

My great-great niece and nephew. These kids are smart and funny.

After four days it was time to return home. We stopped for lunch at Mary's Pizza Shack near Redding. We stopped there on the way up too. They have good food and salads.

This was our third trip to Medford this summer. When someone you love has stage four lung cancer you keep going to see them as often as you can. I have another friend who just had surgery for throat cancer. Bad things do happen and COPD is suffocation over time. It does happen. If you smoke please stop. You don't just hurt yourself you hurt those who love you.

Wendy

Good idea with the waterproof camera
Nothing in the Malsadas we had, it’s like a doughnut without a hole
Puffers only “spring out the spines when needed”

Great lil getaway u had
Did Dan-0 ride the dinosaurs?
:)

Funny photo of the kids
At 1st I though she was holding one of your mugs
:)

Cheers

hang10tiki all good things to know. I too thought it looked like a severed head photo.

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

Catch up time has come again. In another day or two I'll be posting photos of tiki Wish List projects again.

On a trip to Maui I bought a table cloth. We decided to take down this piece of cloth and change it with the table cloth.

There were a lot of things to move. We also decided to not have silk plants under the wicker tables.

We use the cloth to hide the traditional fireplace.

All done and much better.

Thank you for the visit, Wendy

Lookin good
That’s a great Tiki line up

hang10tiki did you see your tiki at the bottom? He's in jail with my baby to his left.

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

We had another trip to Emeryville, CA for brunch and an art sale at Trader Vic's. Nope we didn't buy anything we are still downsizing. We just wanted to see our tiki friends.

We got up early and took off and arrived 30 minutes before our reservation. So we went for a walk.

Yes we still love tikis!

Behind Dan in this photo is Trader Vic's right on the water.

It's right across from San Francisco.

At 10 we went to the door and found it locked. The fellows said it doesn't open until 10. We said that's what time it is. They said didn't you set your clocks back last night? No we are retired we don't think about those things. So we had an hour to visit and make new friends.

During that hour everyone else showed up.

We went to brunch and everyone else ran to the tiki art sale.

Soon enough we were there too. We just came to visit with friends and that part was a great success.

The Mai Kai Gents were there to entertain so I lost Dan for most of the time.

It was a lot of fun. We will have to do it again. Wendy

Awesome
Thanks for posting pics
Cheers

Before we left for Trader Vic's we checked the weather report for the coast. It was going to be around 70 degrees so why not do a short trip. So we packed.

When we left TV's we headed over the Bay Bridge and went south on Highway 1.

We drove to Half Moon Bay and found a hotel and checked in for the night. Then we explored the town.

This photo needs major cropping.

In a park there was a statue of a man holding a pumpkin.

Attached to our hotel was "The Disneyland of Pubs" or so the sign said. It had places to play

and good food.

Looks like beer is popular there too.

The next morning we headed south on Highway 1.

We passed a rock covered with seals. This rock was covered with birds.

We got to Santa Cruz and checked into our hotel. Next we had a meal at Stagnaro's (sp?) on the pier which looks at the ocean and the boardwalk.

After lunch we drove to Capitola for a walk. I found beautiful metal straws. I carry them in a plastic bag for restaurant. They also sold the brushes for washing.

We always stop at this wall mural for a photo.

Capitola is famous for this multicolored group of rentals.

The sun wasn't right and we didn't walk on the sand so my photo is a bit sad.

The next morning we headed to our last stop, Monterey. We checked into the hotel and headed to the pier for a walk.

We love going when everything is locked up. We found a new restaurant had opened at the end and decided to return for lunch.

So after taking Dan to a records store that had albums for a dollar we returned for our meal.

For the very first time he ordered clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. OH MY it was so good and the bread the best ever made. We will have to have this again each time we are in Monterey.

The next morning before leaving for home we drove down Cannery Row. Again everything was locked up just the way we like it to be.

On our way home we stopped at a favorite antique store in Gilroy. They had some wonderful tiki mugs for good prices but we left them behind. We continue to downsize our collection.

It was a fun fast trip. Since returning home I have worked hard on Phase Four of Wish List 2018. I will check to see if I'm caught up on posting and when I am I will begin to show these projects.

Cheers, Wendy

More great pics
Looks fun
Beer, yuuuum

Metal straws: please be careful
Don’t fall on one
There have been bad outcomes :(

Cheers

Jon

hang10tiki I know just what that would feel like. When I was a kid I was lying in bed playing a bamboo flute. Without thinking I bent up my knees. One hit the flute and rammed it down my throat. I had a whole strip of skin pulled loose that had to be torn out. Worst and longest sore throat of my life. I can picture even more damage from these straws. Thank you for the heads up. We only use them in restaurants. After your note we will make sure we never use them when walking. Thank you, Wendy

Wish List #8 Phase Four is nearing the end. I just have the enamel faces to paint and bake in the home oven and then it will be time to ship them. I want to finish them before I start posting. So here comes some projects and misc. things first.

I've made around 8 of my hand carved Maori lamps and one jar which is now in the Grand Rapids Max's South Sea Hideaway.

Two of them were for Dan. I start with a blank cast and then I

add clay around the tiki and then when firm I carve the entire lamp top to bottom. That way no two lamps are the same.

Dan looked at my glaze tiles and picked the glaze he wanted for this lamp.

I've never been happy with how it turned out. This glaze hid so much of the carving detail.

If you were in a darker room and the lamp was off

the shadows showed up more depth.

I convinced Dan to let me re-glaze it and then I took it apart.

Recently I did a project with glaze layering and it turned out really well so I decided to do it here.

I chose a Duncan CN Caribbean Blue under glaze that self glosses at the end so no clear is needed. I did one layer let it completely dry and then did a second layer.

Before the second layer dried I scrapped off glaze on raised areas.

Then I took a wet cloth and wiped it down some more.

Out of the kiln I was super happy. I put it together again and here is how it now looked. The carving detail shows up well.

I hope you all like it too. Wendy

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

I have an add on and it's all about a lamp. The Summer Swap took place and I swapped with MadDogMike.

It took forever but Dan hung the beautiful lamp that MadDogMike made for the swap. We were so lucky to have this for our home.
We have been changing things so rapidly that we didn't know where it would go until now. We love it.

This has been a dark corner of the room until now. It has a large amount of Dan's stereo equipment collection. They are all hooked up but now with the hanging lamp by MadDogMike it is lit up and easier for him to use.

Here's a photo with a flash used.

Thank you MadDogMike and I'm so sorry it took so long. We will enjoy it for many years to come and think of you when we do.

Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2019-11-18 10:25 ]

Elk Grove is moving up in the world. We have more and more tiki people living here. That means I get more friends who drop by.
Recently Kirk W. came over for the first time. He said have you seen your Hot Tub Hula Girl on the new Tommy Bahama knife.

He brought it up on his phone. It sure did look like my girl in the coconut with blue water.

But once I was able to enlarge it and take a closer look I could see it was a mermaid with her tail hanging over the side. Darn, so close but no copy write case here!!!

Wendy

---

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2019-11-22 15:13 ]

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2019-11-25 13:25 ]

It may be a little different but
I’m sure it was your mug that
gave them the idea

hang10tiki thank you, I hope you are right. It was fun to see either way.

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

I have just finished Wish List 2018 Phase Four. I will start on Phase Five soon. I am finishing up a black velvet painting for Tiki Oasis 2020 right now.

Here's the first one to share. (Hamo yours will be up soon). This is for Alex Reaney. I made the mug and then he asked if I could glaze it to match his logo. I did my best.

I wash and scrub the mermaid before starting. Glaze sticks better to damp bisque.

I glazed the inside of the mermaid too. I wanted it to look good if someone drank from the mug and someone was sitting on the floor looking up!

The the inside is done.

I do three layers on all the parts that are not flesh and four layers on the flesh areas.

I hope he likes his wish. Wendy

Wish List 2018 Phase Four and the mermaid for Tom Grill.

Glazing these takes so very long because of all the layers and each must dry before the next is applied.

Touch ups and a second firing.

I've never had a single Hot Tub Hula Girl or mermaid not require a second glazing and firing.

All done and ready for inspection.

It feel so good to finish a project. Wendy

Wish List 2018 Phase Four continues with the next mermaid for Mary Ann Edwards.

I glazed the bottom and inside of the mermaid. When I did the outside

the top layer of glaze cracked. I must not have made the mug damp enough. I can fix this during the second glazing and firing. Every crack becomes a glaze skip.

Each layer must dry before the next one is applies so I have many projects going at the same time and I have to keep all the glaze colors straight so I don't mess them up.

After the second glazing and firing they are ready for the enamel.

Then they are baked in the home oven to set it.

All done and ready for inspection.

Wow this has been a lot of posting. Cheers, Wendy

---

C'mon, your mug CLEARLY inspired that image on the knife, they just slapped a mermaid tail on it.

Speaking of, I like those mermaid mugs--but I love the sight of that one bowl getting glazed....

Hamo trying to keep you from seeing yours too soon is defiantly a challenge.

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

It's fun to pick the glaze colors and then to start to work. All the pieces are scrubbed again so that I glaze damp bisqueware.

I began by glazing each opening. That way I can control them so they don't close off.

Then the marathon begins.

It seems my brush slipped on every shaker so that

I needed to scrub all their bottoms. Not Dan's bottom it was fine.

Bottom, Top, Sides, Bottom Top Sides!

The third layer will go on as soon as these all dry.

Layer upon layer.

All were dry and ready to load into the kiln. Stop peeking Hamo!!!

After the first firing the orange all had tiny skips. Dust? Who knows. I scrubbed these spots and re-glazed them.

The green and the

purple shakers didn't have skips they had blotches. So I glazed them all again.

Time to re-fire everything I took out of the kiln last teim. The salt and peppers are loaded in the kiln and then

fired and cooled down and removed.

The second round of glazing and firing worked. Their is no perfection but there are no skips just a bit of uneven color.

I was super lucky last year while on vacation in Monterey, Ca to find bags of corks in an antique store. I didn't have to guess sizes I just bought them all and now I'm using them.

The holes on the shakers varied enough that I used all three sizes.

I made my version of these classic shakers with a darker richer purple than the originals and don't forget the all have Dan's butt on the backside for your entertainment and enjoyment. You may rub it and make a wish.

Isn't it just so cute.

The green version is my idea. I have always liked the Harvey's all green Sneaky Tiki mug.

Both versions have his cute rear end.

The sets are $85 plus shipping or to avoid that come on over and pick up a set. I have some extras.

Thank you for the visit, Wendy

Sandbartender here is your set. If you approve of them let me know. Wendy

See his post below.

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2019-11-25 19:34 ]

On 2019-11-25 14:07, danlovestikis wrote:

Sandbartender here is your set. If you approve of them let me know. Wendy

His is the only set with a C and an N on the back. He also got more holes because he plans to use the shakers at his home bar rather than to display them in his collection.

They're SOOO CUTE! :)

PM inbound

Sandbartender I tell my husband that all the time!!!

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

The Wish List 2018 Phase Four has only two more items to share and then it will be time to start Phase Five. Some day or some year I will finish the 2018 Wish List and who knows what will happen then.

This is the wish of Mary Ann Edwards. It's one of two projects that were a night mare to glaze. Hamo's is the second and the last piece I will be posting of Phase Four.

Here goes.

I picked out a dozen jars of glaze for this mug. I take a deep breath and then I start to glaze.

I have to think of what part should be done first so that continuing doesn't risk the other areas. So I started by pouring in the white under-glaze.

Then after counting to 30 I pour is back out into the jar and then drain it here.

Then I cover the coconut with wet paper towel and start to glaze the hair.

Three layers of red brown glaze.

All of the white under-glaze must have two layers of clear put over it. I paint around the top first. On the inside I just fill up and count to 30 and

then I pour it into the jar and then I let it drain.

I do two or three layers on the white coconut meat.

I use a towel under the top of the mug so that the glazing will not be damaged.

Then I start on the outside of the mug.

All three layers are done and it's time to start on the bodies.

These mugs are carried back and fourth over and over as they have each layer dried before the next.

I can feel Hamo sneaking a peak at his bowl in progress. Cut that out! This is the drying table.

Next I did all the flesh glaze FOUR layers thick. It will not be enough!

Out of the kiln showed a whole lot of places that needed even more glazing. I never put the jars away until I'm done.

After the second glazing and firing the mug was good to be enameled.

I did the faces, details and some touch ups.

All done and ready for inspection.

It feels so good each time a wish is finished. Cheers, Wendy

PS one to go and it's for Hamo!!!

Wow,
now this is one outstanding page of art.

That is absolutely glorious! LOVE the tropical print skirt

How will I ever retire when it's so much fun to read comments like you two gentlemen sent to me. Thank you hang10tiki and
Sandbartender.

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

Here it is the very last piece that I have finished for Wish List #8 (2018) Phase Four.

It is for Hamo. He desired a bowl that had a Polynesian flare with a 1940's screen siren. I did my best.

I did the inside of the bowl and then

the outside. The nooks and crannies behind these girls made glazing very difficult. Sometimes I used a skewer to get to the right place.

I wanted each girl to have a unique hair color. I chose these.

These are all the first of three layers for the

hair and when one is done it

has to dry.

To the drying table and then to the glazing table back and forth.

I wanted each girl to have their own unique skin tone. But in the end two are pretty much the same. Oh well.

Glazing.

Glazing.

More glazing.

The last step is to fine tune to make sure the edges are sharply delineated.

Fired cooled and the kiln was unloaded.

It seems as if the glaze on the leg pulled off some glaze from the skirt and then moved downward with gravity.

So I re-glazed the bowl to fine tune it and to correct these types of problems.

All done and ready to dry and then to fire.

Back into the kiln for the second firing after re-glazing all of these pieces.

A couple of days later they are removed from the kiln and are then painted with enamel on the faces and any needed touch up spots. There is no perfection only hard work.

All done and ready for inspection. I finished this morning and tomorrow it goes into the oven to bake. That's our Thanksgiving!

Next I will be back to work on casting and sculpting new wishes. I will be in contact for those who are now on Phase Five.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone from Wendy and Dan

PS I'm so happy I got it done just in time for Thanksgiving, I sent you a personal message

Wow! Another hit right out of the park!

As a (now previous) craftsperson, I can only say that my greatest wish is that your works live on for decades as insanely desirable,
difficult to find, and endlessly treasured works. They deserve no less.

What sand said

Awesome

Hope you 2 have a great Thanksgiving

Cheers
Jon

I am very grateful for my tiki bowl on Thanksgiving! A happy holiday to both and Dan.

Sandbartender ah, you and hang10tiki are making my day very special. I've had no children (couldn't) so these are our babies that we send out into the world. We do want the best for them. Thank you for you words that give me hope that they will survive.

Hamo thank you for the PM. We will get your bowl into the mail right away to miss the Christmas Crush. I'm so glad you challenged me to make this one.

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

We had two Thanksgivings yesterday and bowl were fun and special.

Number one was in Old Sacramento a wonderful tourist area of reclaimed buildings from the start of our city. Sometimes they has shut it off and covered the streets in dirt and had carts and horses there to recreate the long gone era.

We had Thanksgiving lunch on a paddlewhell boat the Delta King, right on the Sacramento River.

Arriving in Old Town.

Dan waiting to check in.

Cold and windy. My hair went wild.

Back in the car and heading home. We will rest and then off to our Thanksgiving dinner with friends.

---

Thanksgiving number two at Dave and Eva's. Aka Whylee Raven or Dr. Tiki Mojo's. They are foodies and they prepared a middle eastern meal. They said we could bring Berber Whiskey if we could find it. We tried Amazon and they had a "Got Berber" flask but no whiskey, the grocery store was next and then the Wine and More store. At Bev Mo the manager said he'd never heard of it. We began to wonder if it were a joke. Yep! It's what they call Mint Green Tea.

We went to a International Marketplace and got some along with a huge box of fancy baklava. Turned out they thought it really was a whisky! They made tea for after dinner.

Getting the party started.

The turkey with middle eastern spice was superb.

Every dish was flavorful to the max. We all went back for seconds.

This was a family gathering for them and we loved all their parents and relatives. We were honored to be there.

This was one of the very best Thanksgivings we've had in years.

Happy Holidays everyone, Wendy and Dan

Awesome
Now I’m hungry again
:)

Back up time. I forgot to post this photo from 11/9/19. Lon Cook and his wife came to pick up his O2 out Diver's Helmet mug.
We had a fun visit too.

My bowl arrived in the mail today, expertly packed by Dan. The artistry and detail is quite shocking and deserves close scrutiny.

I haven't brought it home yet because I still need to "show and tell" it to coworkers who have heard me talking about it for the past two years.

Thanks, Wendy; it's magnificent!

Hamo I love the photos. You are one cute guy. Thank you for posting them, Wendy

On 2019-12-02 19:10, Hamo wrote:
My bowl arrived in the mail today, expertly packed by Dan. The artistry and detail is quite shocking and deserves close scrutiny.

Holy Crows! I had no idea the overall size! That is amazing!

Hamo- great pics
Yes, Dan-0 is quite the package packer
Bowl looks great

Wendy- Hamo looks like another happy customer

You make a lot of those

It's time to do more catch up photos. This past summer I made the decision that I would change some molds and bring back a blast from the past. It would take some work but in the end it would be worth it.

Part One 7/20/19

Years ago I molded a real Frankoma War God to use as a statue.

I made a few goblets and a

few bowls.

Then in 2019 I converted a statue for John Markovich into a mug. Hmmmm time to think about the future.

Thinking over I pulled out the first of two molds and

thought about altering it into a mug mold rather than a statue mold.

I told Dan to get the door knob hole drill ready and then I

marked where he should drill on the mold.

I can see right through from top and then out the bottom.

Perfect positioning. Of course right now it's an open tunnel that I will have to fix.

This is hard work and when I asked him to do a second one he took a break first.

I decided to go ahead and have him drill the second of my two molds.

This dust is able to cause instant COPD. Always wear a mask.

Then it was time to figure out how to plug the hole. That will be part two and it won't be easy.

Cheers, Wendy

I’m doing my War God dance

hang10tiki we will come to Las Vegas to see that dance. I bet you are sooooo cute!

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

I love surprises. I just saw that Sven Kirsten has a new version of Tiki Pop coming out in January and my
Zombie Torch is on the spine!!!

This is not the first time he's used my mug. Here he is setting up for the Paris show.

Here is how it ended up being displayed. Can you spot it?

This was a photo in a newspaper interview.

This is the new edition of his book coming out in January 2020. I am so thrilled.

Best Holiday gift ever! Wendy

On 2019-12-09 09:41, danlovestikis wrote:
This is the new edition of his book coming out in January 2020. I am so thrilled.

Best Holiday gift ever! Wendy

Congratulations, that is awesome! It's also VERY well deserved.

Wow
Now that’s kool
Yaaaaaaaa

Will u sign my spine?

Sandbartender ah, thank you very much.

hang10tiki only if Sewtiki will let you take off your shirt in front of me so I can get to your spine!!!

Fun times in tiki land. Wendy

---

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2019-12-10 09:51 ]

Time to get back to the story of altering a statue mold to a mug mold. It took more steps and effort than I would have thought but in the end it worked out. Here's what I had to do.

As soon as the garage door opened my helper for the day arrived. We love Scrabble.

When making a mold pieces you want them to stay in place. So you make indentations called locks. I just dug one out.

Here you can see it.

First off I had to prep the bottom opening for a plaster mold piece. This will be a bottom now rather than the opening.

I kept on scrapping the sides so that the seams between mold pieces are tight and

not going to make a tunnel for slip to leak out of.

Scrabble inspected my work and approved.

Pure lube is also called mold soap. It prevents mold pieces from sticking to each other.

Three or four layers wiping in between with a paper towel. When it looks sealed you are good to go.

When I was done I sealed off the bottom so that the plaster can't leak out sideways when plaster is poured into the bottom.

I did this for both molds that I am altering.

Then I made a pancake of clay.

I sat the mold on top of this pancake.

Looking down from the top I can see the pancake is in place for both molds.

How will I pour in the plaster without it splashing all over the war god? A funnel will help.

I mixed the plaster and poured it in. I was guessing how much and when to stop.

When the plaster had set up I pulled off the bottom clay,

used my vegetable chopper to pop the pieces apart and

took out the new bottom piece I'd just poured.

The huge mold pieces sucked out the water from the plaster so fast it made a hole.

I mixed more plaster and poured it in. It worked.

The two new mold pieces were put out in the sun to dry. I sanded them a tiny amount to round out the edges.

When these pieces were 100% dry I poured two mugs.

Horrors I have a outty bottom rather than an inny bottom. Just like the difference in belly buttons.

Scrabble was very disturbed by my incompetence.

I looked at the piece and saw my error. I could see that I could fix it and in the end it would be even better.

I got out my workable clay scraps after they were inspected.

I wrapped the clay around the top of each mold piece and

mixed and poured in new plaster. These will stick together easily.

I removed the clay when the plaster had set.

Then I checked how they went into the molds. Now it's better because it is going to make an indentation into the bottom of the mug which is preferable. I couldn't have done this without the error. Now I'm very happy.

The next mugs poured sit flat and happy.

After I washed out the bowl my worker had a stiff drink of water and a few treats and then kicked back for the rest of the day!

Me Too, Wendy

Dang
Lots of effort went into these
Sorry for the mishap
But
Glad it was fixable

Can’t wait to see the wonders you make with the new molds

Cheers

I was at the Original Tiki Market Place this last Sunday, and Sven had an advance copy of Tiki Pop, where your Zombie mug is also featured on the title page for one one the chapters. Unfortunately, I don't remember which....

hang10tiki just took another step to make it how it should be. I couldn't have gotten it indented any other way so it worked out. Thank you.

Hamo well that's excited news to hear. I will order one of the books closer to the release date. Thank you for letting me know.

Wendy

Congrats on the book cover!