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

WHOOOHOOO!!! Happy anneversary Dan & Wendy! Congratulations, you guys deserve each other :)

"..covered in chunky bits of poo colored glaze" That's funny Dale :lol:

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! HERE'S TO MANY, MANY MORE!

Thirty Five years is FANTASTIC. Congratulations!

Tomorrow do we get a peek at Dan's Tiki presents. We all know you love to spoil that wonderful man of yours!

tikilongbeach

WaikikianMoeKele

hang10tiki

WestADad

Woodtiki

VampiressRN

TikiTomD

swizzle

Atomic Tiki Punk

MadDogMike

Hale Tiki

dartharnie no presents yet but soon he'll have some and I'll share photos then.

Dan, Bob and I thank you for the compliments and anniversary wishes. We smiled so biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig as we read them all. We are so lucky to have you with us.

We drove 30 minutes to the Sacramento River which like rivers in New Orleans has levies on each side. Without them Sacramento would be underwater each winter.

We had a relaxing meal and enjoyed each others company and conversation. Then it was home to tiki work. We will celebrate this whole summer because 35 is such a large number of years. That's why we are going to three tiki events. One down two to go.

I admit it I'm obsessed with bird vs cat photos. I'm working in the garage on tikis and there is a one sided battle going on. When Sherry's had enough she comes and watches me work.

Dive Bomber.

Gottcha by the tail.

Progress Report

I save a lot of clay for using with mold making. Yesterday it dawned on me that I could cut off the top of the mugs

slice it up

and it was ready to use to stop the leaks from the bad mold. Easier than making snakes.

12 drying and 2 to clean up today. I rotate them, head down, head up so that the whole mug dries out at the same rate. Eventually I lay them on their sides. This prevents cracking.

It sprinkled in Elk Grove and so we had to put the molds under the patio roof to dry. They did and we poured #13 and #14 last night.

Years ago Psycho Tiki D ordered a Missionary's Downfall bowl and woman. I had sent the sculpt to Gecko and he made a mold. I tried to mold it and had a catastrophe. I destroyed the bowl and no matter what I did I couldn't get the mold to work. So I built one by hand. When I glazed it the bowl cracked. I gave up for awhile. Then I saw recently that Gecko was making my bowl and woman and so I paid him to make two bowls in green-ware and to ship them to me from Hawaii.

Yesterday I started to work on them. First I took off all the mold lines.

Then I carved in the bamboo to make it deeper. See the one on the right.

When I did the original sculpt I left out an I in the word Missionary's. So I had them smear out the first half of the word so I could make it right.

I carved it back into the top.

I need to finish that off and they'll be ready to bisque fire and his bowl will have a good start.

Then it was time to fire those Bob's. These went in yesterday and will come out tomorrow. It seems I'm always fine tuning the heads.

Thank you for the fun notes and visits. We appreciate you, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-28 09:52 ]

Looks like you 2 had fun...
:)

Jon

Happy Anniversary! 35 years is a long time. My parents just celebrated #49!

I can't wait to see how the "non white faced" Bobs look after firing. I think Clam it up is my favorite of this group but I reserve the right to change my mind.

I didn't know that you could scrap off the glaze from parts to change the color!!! Guess that's my one bit of learning for today. Thanks for that bit of information, you never know when it will come in handy.

HAPPY 35th!!!! Here is to another happy 35 years! You guys always seem so happy and great for each other. Keep each other laughing!

On another note - Those crazy birds! They think they are soo much better than us land fixed creatures... I think my cats would team up and eat those things, but they are indoor cats. :)

Looks like some good progress on those crawl mugs. And it looks like you had a good anniversary too! Emily and I are celebrating 12 years together in July, but we haven't been married that long.

Congrats you Krazy Kids.

Thanks for sharing with us silly Tiki Peeps!

Happy Anniversary! 35 years of tiki-riffic fun! :wink:

Can't wait to see how the colors fire on the current Bobs.

Wendy & Dan, (belated) Happy Anniversary!

Sorry I missed wishing you guys all the best yesterday, looks like you had a fun day. The Bobs are looking amazing (no surprise there), excited to see them come out of the kiln- still loving Ukulele Bob, and continually impressed with the amount of creativity and work volume you keep up- wow!

I glazed a bunch of pieces today, though now that I look at your post, it was only a tiny percentage of part of your day's craftsmanship. Thanks for inspiring all of us to push on and create. (I suppose I should open that up to everyone else here on TC working in the "tiki arts," too).

I ran into Dan-O's friend

hang10tiki every day with Dan is fun

LoriLovesTiki wow 49 is terrific. It was fun to do Bob without white faces for a change. I just scrape off the glaze and paint on a new one because if the glaze is too thick it may run. Or layered it may come out a different color. I'm glad you liked Clam up Bob. He's a bit crazy.

lunavideogames lets see in 35 years I'd be 97. I had an aunt make it to 97 so maybe. Dan's 8 months younger so he should make it too.

12 together is really good too. Yesterday the two birds plus a hummingbird were swooping Sherry. I never knew that hummingbirds would do that. However it never came closer than 10 feet. It stayed and did this for about 7 minutes. Sometimes I have to stop working tikis to watch.

Chippy I just love Tiki Peeps and law enforcement.

tigertail777 coming right up.

TikiAno its fun for me to see when you glaze. Also MadDogMike just did a wonderful glaze experiment.

hang10tiki it was fun for Dan to see you hook up with his best friend. Now you can be part of The Most Interesting Man In The World club. Anyone else run into Dan's friend?

Progress Report - The kiln is open and Dan got his two Anniversary presents from what came out.

We opened the kiln.

Rum Barrel Bob and Bob Woody

Clam Up Bob and Underwater Bob

Lightning Bob and Mrs. Tiki Bob

Peanut PNG Bob and Ukulele bob

Party time with the groups together

dartharnie here are the photos you requested.
We exchanged Anniversary gifts in the jungle room. I always get a hand made card and coupons. My favorite coupon was one that said he would watch a TV show that he hates with me. Here comes Big Brother!

Dan majored in Spanish in college with a minor in Italian. He is just finishing up Rosetta Stone Spanish as a review and now he'll do Italian which will mostly be new. I've never been to Europe and I'd like to go to Spain and Italy. I'll have my own interpreter if we ever make it there. So far I haven't been able to give up tiki events to travel. We haven't been in a plane in 8 years.

I gave Dan Peanut PNG Bob and Rum Barrel Bob as gifts.

I also found ceramic cork stoppers on eBay that completed his cork display. He even has extras now. These are ceramic but they have started reproducing the whole set in plastic.

So that's the show for today. I hope some of you will run into the The Most Interesting Man in the World and post your photos her like hang10tiki did today.

Thank you all for the Anniversary wishes. Lots of hugs for my Tiki friends, Wendy

a. Mrs. Tiki Bob is adorable...I will NOT be showing the picture to my girls (because maybe you are starting a new wish list soon...hint hint)
b. all the other bobs are wonderful...i love the glazes and color combo (the excellent creative sculpts deserve compliments too)
c. You looked like you both had a great anniversary. Congratz and hugs.

The latest batch all looks great Wendy. I wasn't expecting those orange shells on the blue Bob but they really look good there :o

They're all stunning, Wendy.

Am I the only one who thinks Mrs. Tiki Bob takes a bit after Barbara Billingsley (television's June Cleaver)?

Great batch o Bobs
Two Bob thumbs up

I'm so sorry I missed all the celebrations and your anniversary. Better late than never.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! You two are adorable together and I love the fact you get a handmade card every year.

The new Bobs are great. I love the underwater Bob. That glaze just screams ocean to me. I was surprised like Mike about the orange clams on Clam Bob, but love the combination with the background color. Great job as always.

• Dale

WUNDERBAR!

Dan-o got the best of the bunch for your anniversary. I'll bet he's a very happy man. Oh, and the tiki mugs probably made him happy too. :wink:

Hooray!

Awe, looks like I missed the anniversary party, but, I did want to say congrats and happy anniversary to you and Dan!
Hope to see you guys again soon!

Jon, you didn't mention that it was you, the most interesting man in the world, and Bob????

On an unrelated note, I wasn't sure where to post this, but I thought all tuning into the Wendy & Dan show would appreciate this (found via George Takei in the world of FB sharing), funny stuff:

Okay, back to work now.....

dartharnie thank you very much. Bob's are fun because I can do them watching TV in the evenings. I like to keep the show going.

MadDogMike matching the color to the shell I bought while in high school was nostalgic, I'm glad he got a good response.

Professor G Thank you. I'm going to have to check out the show on TV Land.

hang10tiki you and Dan should hang out with this guy together. I need to do more Bob thumbs.

littlegiles Thank you. I love my cards. I get one for my birthday, Christmas, Valentines and our anniversary. I am a very lucky woman.
The new Bobs are great. I love the underwater Bob. That glaze just screams ocean to me. I was surprised like Mike about the orange clams on Clam Bob, but love the combination with the background color. Great job as always.

Hale Tiki Ah thank you. Schools out today and June will be here this weekend. That will be a fun month.

TikiRootsRocka looking forward to another visit but I only have the one magic trick and you solved it.

TikiAno Bob's so happy he got to go to the party. I love the Easter Island connection to Stonehenge. Who knew, ha ha or is it he he. Thank you for posting it here. If you find more on tiki feel free to post it here.

Progress Report

I've started a painting for the show at Tiki Oasis 13. This will be my third show there and the theme states that the painting must have a tiki. zerostreet is way ahead with his super funny painting that you should check out on his thread. I'm working on an idea but I'm not sure if this will be the painting I take or not.

Sophista Tiki does the beautiful blue green paintings that we all love so I went with red.

The light is fading the color, the top photo shows it better. I added some clouds and a setting sun over the ocean.

To make the horizon I placed a piece of tape on the painting and measured to make sure it was level.

Then I painted a dark red across the strip.

Before it dried I pulled it back off. If it dries it may make a ragged edge.

I stopped here while I think about the next step.

18 mugs are drying in the shed. We pour #19 and #20 today.

The weather here is perfect. I hope the rest of the nation settles down soon and that you are all safe. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-05-30 15:27 ]

Loving the pics of all the Bobs together. I noticed that Ukulele Bob is serenading Ms. Tiki Bob. How sweet!

The Wendy & Bob Show just gets better every day. & it never goes into Summer reruns! lol

~kele

LOVE LOVE LOVE the start of the painting. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has to use tape and rulers on paintings. I can almost draw a perfect circle freehand, but ask me to draw a straight line and it is always crooked. HAHA

With all that red in the sky, I can only imagine what direction you will take it. Beautiful.

• Dale

Ano- ya got me
Wendy- new painting starting out nice...

Jon

Love the colors on the painting Wendy, can't wait to see what you do with that.

WaikikianMoeKele I did notice the serenade and I'm happy you did too.

littlegiles I wish I knew. I keep changing my mind on what I'll do. I may do several paintings before I get it right. Tricks really help speed things up.

hang10tiki so what will you do to Ano?

MadDogMike thank you MDM and everyone for the encouragement. Red is different. I hope it works out.

Psycho Tiki D came by today to pick up his Severed Head. His lovely wife Amy came too. We had a wonderful visit. It was hard to let them go.

Progress Report

Sherry is doing her best to keep me company when I paint. Not enough to show because I just sat and thought about it.

20 Sacramento Crawl mugs drying in the shed.

Dan is always working hard to help me out. Today I thought I would do it without him. I carried in all the pieces from the backyard.

I put them together and plugged the cracks on the bad mold with clay.

Using my forehead and one hand to pour in the slip and the other hand to bang the mold with a mallet was working fine but then I got leaks on all four sides. I had used a drier clay and it didn't seal the cracks. I frantically plugged the holes as the slip poured out. So Dan's going to be helping again, no breaks.

Lets see what else have we been up too? We made Tiki Bob Torches. It took a while to find the parts that would work for this but a few snips and twists and they were a go. I cut off the parts that wouldn't fit through the holes.

I found a brass colored holder that covered the plastic part that holds the bulb.

Dan showed off his fancy wire stripper.

I glued the plastic into the metal holder.

Then I glued it to the top of the Bob's.

To make sure they dried upright I had to stick in a toothpick on one side.

We reattached the wires where I had cut out the switch.

Here's the guy that "Will Work For Tikis" and he ran off with them.

Dan found the perfect place for them. The bulbs flicker which is a great effect in the jungle room.

I hope you like them.

It's Friday, I hope you are off for the weekend. If not I hope your work goes well and that someone gives you a big smile that fills you with joy.

It's time to continue on...tikis be our life's work.

Cheers, Wendy

Wendy your painting is really nice ... You ought to try digital (Sorry I'm always trying to drag folks into the 21st Century) ..... I had to post because this last project with the tiki Bob torches I found very cool. Recently I grabbed a number of rough tiki mugs at a flea market and my brother in law gave me a case of solar yard lights. I have been trying like heck to figure out how to get the two together. Your torches gave me some good ideas ... Thanks much ....

Nice!! That last shot with the August Holland is awesome!

Love the grin on Dan's face as he runs toward the Jumgle Room with his new lamps :lol:

Bob lampS
Awesome
Nice score Dan-O

Wendy, I love the beginning of the painting, and can't wait to see more. I love the lamps as well- and was wondering what had happened to that project... :)

I agree with Jon, Dan scored!

Gene S Morgan thank you for posting a note. I've never even seen a program other than paint which is hard to work with, maybe one day. I have enough paints to last a lifetime so I'm in no hurry. Please post step by steps on your light project.

zerostreet if only you could see them flicker!

MadDogMike it is nice that I have a gallery here that I can visit. He wants everything so I have to say no sometimes.

hang10tiki and to think those were Bob's with solid clay inside so I couldn't make them into mugs. Sometimes something pushes you into a new project that turns out fun.

TikiAno thing is about Dan he has the most fun trying to find a place for new tikis. He found the best place for these.

Progress Report

22 mugs drying in the shed.

I've had too many times that slip was too thick and hung up in the mold. So we buy 1/2 filled jugs.

I add water and stir it up until it feels just right. I do the same with plaster when I make molds.

I poured mugs #23 and #24. I figured out that my huge mess happened yesterday because I had only put on one strap and forgot to put on the other three. When we went to pour out the molds I saw that and put them on and all was well.

Then this afternoon I worked on the painting. Right now it looks like the palm trees are growing out of the ocean. That will change.

I thought it would be fun to wrap the palm fronds around the side. This will not have a frame.

Step by step.

Maybe I should call this Lotsa Coconuts.

Sharing Sherry and the Mocking Bird
The bird flies.

The bird lands on Sherry.

The bird better watch out because Sherry flies too!

Imagine what I could do if I knew photoshop! Thank you all for the kind words and for the visit.
Have a great night, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-06-01 21:26 ]

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2013-06-01 21:41 ]

Mugs are multiplying
Painting lookin good
Your cat jumps like a superhero

A beautiful start to your painting Wendy!

The on;y good thing about being away from the computer for a couple of days is multiple new pages on the Dan & Wendy show!

I love Ukelele Bob! I guess I just have a thing for Bobs with hands!!

The new red painting is to die for. I wish it was for the cannibal sway, then I'd have a chance of getting it. I am excited about the cannibal theme but only the receiving part! I have no idea what to create. Please send me inspiration thoughts!

Keep up the great work.

Ninja Cat! Great action shot Wendy :)

The painting is looking great Wendy! I know it's only just begun, but I kind of really like the floating palm trees :P . Maybe I'm too pushy for asking, but how does one get into the Oasis art show? I've signed up for the art swap and am excited for that! Can't wait to see what you'll come up with for the cannibal theme.

hang10tiki which all equals playing with clay and enjoying my cat.

cy I hope I can get those trees on solid ground/sand.

LoriLovesTiki thank you. I'm going to try to turn Ukulele Bob's face white. He needs more contrast.
I'm sending you waves of inspiration. I'm making something gross.

MadDogMike Sherry does jumps that scare me. So far she's fine.

Woodtiki there is never a bad question only bad answers. Kidding. PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy of the call out to artists. Then you can contact Baby Doe about bringing your art. If has to be dropped off and picked up by certain dates. It's fun to do something for Tiki Oasis and it raises money for charity. I could leave the painting like this, add a half submerged tiki and call it global warming.

Progress Report

Sorry I missed yesterday. We are getting ready for a family reunion with lots of playing with kids. I'll post tomorrow and then I'll be running around until next week. I hope you will keep the thread alive with jokes and photoshop and messages. I'll be doing quick checks but I'll get nabbed it I'm caught.

#25 and #26 out of the molds

and now drying in the shed.

Wet the mugs average at 12 1/2 inches...dry they are now averaging just under 12 inches. They will shrink again when they are bisque fired.

Wet mugs averaged 3 3/4 pound...dry they are now averaging 3 1/4 pounds. If they are dry then bisque firing will not reduce the weight. If I fire and they are not dry they will boil and crack. I'm waiting a good long time.

A long time ago I cast a lot of the hula girls. Today I was going to make a bowl with them and found that they were fine from the waist up but all the legs were paper thin. I don't know why except that they were cast in the very cold winter months. Oh well now I need to figure out what to use them for, maybe necklaces.

Woodtiki asked what I'm doing for the Cannibal Swap. I started today. I'm making a stew pot from the mold I made to do 19tikichef62's bowl.

Here's the start:

Cast last night, slip left in for 2 hours so that it will be thick.

Opened the mold this morning.

I cut off the top because I want to see into the pot.

I turned it over and rubbed the bottom with a wet paper towel to indent it. I'll carve my name when it firms up.

Turned back over I used the towel to round the edges.

I cut into the clay to make an indentation to make a lip on the pot.

I made a sloppy lip. Once the clay is firmer I can work with it. However this is a primitive pot.

I added clay that I can later carve into PNG masks or shields.

Top view showing all three.

Here's a view of the shape. I won't carve until it is firm. I wrapped it in plastic wrap so that it will dry slowly and keep these attached.

I have a dilemma. I like to keep all my work on this thread but I should put photos on the Swap thread too or maybe a link until it is further along. Hummm.

Thank you for the visit, more tomorrow, Wendy

Wendy, love the stew pot- and I see an immediate use for hula girl parts (as a potential stew ingredient?) No?

Okay, just a thought. Btw, you are on fire re: Sac Crawl mugs- how many are you making?

Thanks for sharing all- I just posted some of the new pieces on my thread.

Tiki Ano you are too smart. One is already cooking, photos tomorrow. It's really a disgusting piece of art. Cheers, Wendy

Man, nothing gets by you. Like a racehorse out of the gate with that bowl! Can't wait to see it finished.

Love the direction you are heading with that Cannibal Pot. Should be a fun swap item. Can't wait to see what else you do to it.

Have a great time with the family reunion.

• Dale

Wendy, maybe some miniature severed heads to throw in the pot for added flavor? Just kidding. :wink:

Hale Tiki well I'm off and running but starting tomorrow I have my family reunion and it will be a time to walk slowly and hug a lot. I'll only be popping in to read and say hi.

littlegiles thank you family is very important.

TikiAno that would have been fun but the pot is filled.

Progress Report

I started work to make the face bug-eyed and screaming. I've never watched Dexter because I thought it would look like this.

I cut off the legs so that the girl would fit in the pot.

Just another view.

I still need to carve the PNG designs into the lemons and finish the eyes.
Creepy.

Watching TV is a great time to carve clay. I did this Big Maori mug.

I'll miss posting photos but I'll look forward to seeing if any of you did. Cheers, Wendy

Ooohhh, looks like everyone's already gettin' started on the swap piece :) I think it's gonna be a lot fun! Can't wait to start mine.
Also, love the Maori mug!

Wendy, love the wide open mouth on the hula girl-love the terrified expression. My mouth was just as wide open when I saw the Maori mug- I absolutely love the carvings on it, can't wait to see where you're going with it.

Enjoy the reunion!

I love that mug Wendy, I've got a thing for big butts. Put me on the list!

I think you nailed the expression on the hula girl and it is gonna be really hard to wrestle out Dan's hands when it comes out of the kiln.

Even money says you're gonna make another one just for him or this one will never ship.