That tapa Bob looks great Wendy.

I wish I had one of those! That has to be one of my favorite designs that you've created.

Wow..... Tapa Bob looks great.

Great advice on the basic cylinder mold- since I do a lot of work at a public/ shared studio, not sure if that would work- space wise, but would love to try it. Thanks!

Beautiful work, Wendy!!

Tapa Bob rocks

WHOA! That may be the best one, yet!

That is one beautiful Bob, Wendy!

Your carving always amazes me! Fantastic!

can you make a mold from tapa bob? seems like it would be pretty easy to sell some.

"So what's up with the Wish List #4?

This is another Tapa Bob which was ordered by Mondo-by-the-bay.

Carving the tapa designs took me through 3 hour long TV shows."

Holy Tapa, Wendy! That Bob is INCREDIBLE...I am thrilled! I first must bow to the Tapa Bobs that came before me for the idea (with special thanks to ebtiki). The details are gorgeous and are exactly what I wanted. Thanks for taking the time to post all the pics. It is so much fun to see the tiki as it grows into "adulthood--it's like seeing Bob's baby pictures.

Such dedication and concentration for the carving! So..... what was your 3 hours of television while you worked?

THANK YOU!!

[ Edited by: mondo-by-the-bay 2014-02-20 19:07 ]

[ Edited by: mondo-by-the-bay 2014-02-20 19:07 ]

swizzle thank you. I've sure had fun watching your projects. Are you the only tiki ceramicist in Australia?

MaukaHale even though these are often on the Wish Lists I will make them any time because I don't like to watch TV and do nothing. So when I finish my work day at 5 PM I will still carve for hours if we watch TV. When you want one let me know. I will even copy a Hawaiian shirt design onto Bob.

TikiAno they have lots of rules. Our senior center has three kilns but you can only fire things you pour from their molds.

ebtiki these are a fun challenge. Your Bastard is firm now and soon I'll see signs of drying.

hang10tiki and he smiles too, right at you!

Big Kahuna practice helps.

DooWop I keep showing your mug when we give home tours. I think it may be dry right when I finish all the Wish List sculpts. Then it will be time to sand.

LoriLovesTiki there is so much joy in working with clay. Everyone can play with it. I did many sculpey projects before I started ceramics.

kingstiedye I could mold one but it's so much fun to just make everyone different.

mondo-by-the-bay oh no do I have to confess that I tape General Hospital and the Housewives of Beverly Hills? I like background noise that I don't have to look up and see unless there is an argument or a gun goes off. These shows fill the bill. But as soon as Dan comes into the room the first thing that happens is I have to put something better on. So from there it was the new show Intelligence after we watched the local and evening news. So Bob was conceived during trash and news.

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

The next Wish List mug is for Moai Mike. I've got a good start on this mug but there will be tapa and rocks and lettering yet to come.

When I cast these Moai I left the sides on so that they could be wall plaques.

But if I cut the sides off then I can use them to make a mug.

I also trimmed the back so that he wouldn't stick out too far.

I cleaned up all the sides until he looked good.

I cut out the bottom for that there is airflow and that he won't blow up in the kiln.

I added sticky clay all around the edges.

I put my hand inside the mug and pressed him into place.

Being careful not to make any air pockets I cleaned up the clay with a brush.

Large grain sand paper makes a nice rock texture.

I'm ready to call it a night.

The sun sets and the room becomes darker.

I put a plastic bag over the mug until I get back to work on it.

Have a great night. We are getting up at 5 am to take a friend for a colonoscopy. At least it's not us.

Thank you all for the comments and visits. I sure do appreciate all of you, Wendy

That's freekin awesome...

The tapa bob is so great! Hope to get a tapa design mug from you someday. See you Sunday.

That Tapa Bob is incredible.

I could find room on the shelf for him too.

hang10tiki

TikiHula

Chippy

Tiki Bob and I thank you. He really likes to play dress up. I do enjoy carving these Tapa Bobs while watching TV.

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

Back to Moai Mike's mug. He requested his name go on the back with the letter's standing out. This is where I left off today.

When I do a project I usually have to experiment and think it through. First I knew that the clay I had cut off the Moai cast was a good thickness to use for the lettering. I rolled it out flat.

I recently bought this kitchen tool and tried it out cutting the clay.

The tool gave me perfect pieces that I could put on the mug for the lettering. However it would be easy to introduce those deadly air bubbles at each attachment point. I decided to try a different approach.

I started shaping two pieces of clay that I had rolled out.

I put slip on the backside as glue, this also will force out the air bubbles, then I stuck them on the mug. Next I pressed from the center out and then smoothed the sides.

I wrote the words Moai Mike on the clay

and then using these two tools I cut out the unwanted clay.

Once I was done I used a wet brush to smooth the clay as much as I could. It is very soft and sticky so I used a lot of water.

Just a view to show show thick the words are right now.

These can be left this thick or carved or later sanded down.

I still need to add rocks and tapa to this mug.

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

It has been summer weather here. We have no water for crops and that's really a disaster but since we have such good weather it was time to play like a couple of kids. We went to the Sacramento ZOO.

This was the closest I've ever been to a flamingo. What a great bird. VampiressRN have you used your Flamingo Bob I made for you?

I see a monkey I think of all the great paintings by zerostreet. Tiki Tony will have a Planet of the Apes monkey mug in the future.

Dan bonded with a friend.

We found one dead palm in the ZOO that had been carved.

Then it was back home to play with clay.

Cheers, Wendy

This is an amazing rendition of Bob. You guys are awesome!

I love it!!!

ha! that's my favorite so far, hang10!

hang10tiki wow, that's a great one. Dan said it is suitable for framing. I would if it had a tiki in the picture. Thank you.

Matt Reese thank you I guess I'll have to carve a few more.

kingstiedye ours too. We saw your number flashing on our machine today, you should have left us a message.

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

I've decided on a theme for our newest tiki room. I want it to be the Sacramento Crawl room. So Dan hung the first couple of framed pictures that I used to make the crawl mug for 2012 and for this years.

Today I printed out photos from the other three years and I'm framing them for him to hang.

I buy cheap frames at the Cancer Society store so they don't always fit. I've found that if a white edge needs to be covered up felt pens work really well. I layer colors to help them match. First orange then brown.

Not too bad. Dan will hang this one soon.

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

Remember The Wizard of OZ and how the wicked witch melted. I've often thought of that scene when I would tell people that mugs that are not fired would melt if they got wet. All they are is dried clay.

I have a photo of my Zombie Torch mugs from Monday and they are all fine. Now on Saturday I found that water had poured into one of my trays and had melted two of my mugs.

Neither Dan or I saw this happen. We had a workman in the house and a bottle of water was left on our table next to this tray so I am guessing he spilled some and didn't say anything. But I'll never know for sure. Now to complete my run of 20 mugs I'd have to do these over again. I may not do that for 6 months.

At least now I have an example of how cast mugs will melt when water is added. As the bottom became soft the weight of the mug crushed it.

The molds we made a week ago have had a fan blowing on them 24 hours a day. They still felt as wet as the day we made them. So yesterday we moved them outside and put two fans on them. I hope that since we are in a drought that they will dry faster outside.

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

Well that's it for tonight. I did work clay but I need to relax now. I hope you are all having a fun evening. Wendy

On 2014-02-22 20:34, danlovestikis wrote:

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

Neither Dan or I saw this happen. We had a workman in the house and a bottle of water was left on our table next to this tray so I am guessing he spilled some and didn't say anything. But I'll never know for sure. Now to complete my run of 20 mugs I'd have to do these over again. I may not do that for 6 months.

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

As a contractor, I hate hearing about stuff like this.
The worker should have at least said," Hey, I spilled some water, can I get a paper towel or something?"
It's no wonder homeowners are so nervous about having a stranger working in their home.
I hope you're able to save the mugs, even as an example of what can happen when things go sideways.

Cheers,
Heath

The leaning tower of Zombie torch...

it was great to meet you and dan tonight, can't wait to see the 2nd floor.
thanks again for the awesome mug (and gifts as well).
molly and i look forward to having you over once the tiki bar is open.

keith: aka muskrat

Heath

Hi, I will try to make something out of the ruined mugs. If I can saw the clay I may turn the pieces into a wall plaque. At least I'll try to make something work. Thank you for your note.

hang10tiki maybe I should just fire them as they are and see what happens. I did think of the leaning tower. At least I get some fun out of showing things that go wrong. This was at least 5 hours of work. There were four mugs affected, two ruined and two that may be fine.

muskrat we would love to come over. I hope you have started a carving thread with photos of your step by steps on the large wooden plank for your backyard. That was so well done that it should be shared. We know your backyard will be special and we look forward to seeing it. Welcome to the Sacramento Ohana, you and Molly are a great addition to our group.

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

Odds and Ends

We had the pleasure of taking a friend for a colonoscopy. This is an important test to have when you pass 50. As a thank you gift for the day she presented us with something I'd always wanted.

Being silicon you can make ice, cast chocolates or bake brownies in this mold. Very cool.

This was present week. When the Album theme swap was in progress I saw the art that tigertail produced and let him know how much we loved it. Dan also collects albums. After the swap he produced one for us to have. THANK YOU so much. Dan will find a place to hang it.

Last night we had visitors. Meet muskrat/Keith and his wife Molly
He does excellent router work on wood and is working on their backyard space and Molly is a painter. We are trying to get her to work on tiki art.

We gave them a quick tour of the downstairs tiki collection.

They picked up the last 2013 crawl mug.

In Dan's man cave in the garage.

I showed them how I mess with clay in the kitchen nook.

Thank you for the fun visit.

Finishing off Moai Mikes Moai Mug with rocks and tapa as requested.

I started by cutting out a Moai to go under his name on the back.

I put it in place with slip as glue to keep out those air bubbles.

I built a rock wall, rock by rock.

I used a wet brush to seal them and shape them.

A finished side.

Rocks on the back.

More cleaning with the brush.

The finished mug

one side

the back with tapa on the letters

and the last side.

Moai Mike all that's left is 2 to 3 words that you may request be carved on the bottom.
I hope you approve. Cheers, Wendy

Holy mackerel that thing looks huge. You sure it's a mug? GROG think it big enough to qualify more as a vase. Looks like you're having fun as always. Keep it up.

Moai Mike is one lucky moai. Mug looks great, the stone work- and lettering amazing. Thanks for posting the step by steps.

Your detail- and detailing time, is phenomenal. It looks way, way better (and realistic) than the stone stamp I've used in the past- wow!

I have those ice cube trays, fun to use and surprise people w/ Moai cubes....

[ Edited by: TikiAno 2014-02-24 14:02 ]

Wow, Wendy! That is really way beyond anything I imagined! You humble me.

I agree. The moai mike mug is awesome!

Mug lookin kool
And Grog stopped by for a drive by posting, great..

I'm digging the Tapa Tiki Bob mug.
Moai Mike, that's great mug. Wendy awesome job, the detail is amazing.

Brilliant photo Wendy! Cool way to show how it will look.
Mike's mug is gonna weigh a ton! I think it's big enough to qualify as a bath tub instead of a vase Grog :lol:

Wait
Grog took a bath in the mug?

I don't think I like the idea of anyone but me and Mrs Moai bathing in my mug.

GROG welcome back. I was just thinking about you. Marketplace on the 8th? It is called the Muscle Builder. Every time you raise it to drink you get stronger.

TikiAno thank you. I enjoy laying brick in real life and building a rock wall is easier, no leveling! That Moai tray is so cute I may hang it on the wall.

Moai Mike I hope you are ready to build up some muscles. Let's just hope it doesn't blow up in the kiln. I so happy to have made your Wish come true.

TikiHula we both, Moai Mike and I thank you. Mold making on Saturday. Are you coming over???

hang10tiki I was happy to see GROG too. I carved The Honu Hideway on your mug, see below.

TikiPops I could read comments like this all day and be happy. But I won't get any more comments unless I work so I'd better do that after I finish here.

MadDogMike that sure sounds like a photoshop opportunity. Oh shoot, I forgot to click on the new link to check out your Valentine's photos. I'll do that when I'm done here.

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

Originally we were going to paint the words on the back but then after it had dried it was decided that carving was better.

I carved this with a toothpick. The clay is very brittle and wants to chip.

I wiped it with a sponge to see what it looked like.

Then I carved a bit more. After that it looked to bare so I did some more peanut
dents. Then it looked crooked.

So hang10tiki you just won this mug for noticing I passed 300 pages a while back. Another secret contest.

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

When I was casting things so I could work faster on the Wish List I had this Bumatay fish head with no place to go.
So I slapped him on a big mug.

I smoothed the clay all the way around.

When it had almost dried I did the fine detailing to the fish skin up to the mug.

Then I added waves to the mug

all the way around. Sounds funny but the next step is for him to dry.

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

dartharnie Wished for a mug for his father. As you can tell by the first two photos his father is a NY Yankee's fan.

These are the photos I used for making the mug.

While Tiki Hula watched I started with the V neck and the hat.

Tiki Hula was a great help by telling me to keep adding clay to build the hat sides straight up to get the shape right.

To add a part it is always best to make a slot and add the piece into the slot. It makes it stronger.

Checking the photo often helps.

I let it sit in a plastic bag for a few days to firm up.

This hat weight 3/4th pound.

I used a melon baller to carve out excess clay. If I didn't it would crack for sure.

Next I added the straw hole.

I began the logo on the shirt. I put on a slab of clay and then carve off the excess.

I carved the stripes on the shirt.

Close up of the logo.

Bob's forehead was just too high. I had added the palm rings so it was easy to

cut off two rings so that the hat was closer to his face.

A famous number was added but I can't remember if it was for Joe Namath or Mickey Mantle.

All done except for fine tuning the hats fit once it all has dried.

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

Thank you all for the comments. They really make me want to work harder. I love posting on Tiki Central, Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2014-02-26 16:03 ]

First time in forever I have had time to sit down and look over your thread. Loved the vacation pics and all of your new projects. Fun stuff as always. :)

awesome baseball mug! you can get started on a giants one for me any time you want. oh, and sandy and I had a good laugh about joe namath playing baseball! thanks for coming by today.

As a Mets fan I want to dislike that Yankee mug but I can't - it's fantastic!!

I ALMOST agree with Lori. I love everything about the newest Bob- except for the yankees part. Wendy, i admit its hard for me not to love any of your amazingly creative pieces-- though i was raised to hate the yankees (my parents were both Brooklyn Dodger fans). Lori, good to hear you're a Mets fan too. :)

(I'm also a Padres fan, which carries with it a similar general depression known to Mets fans . But I digress.....)

In any case, I love lidded Bobs!!

I'll scroll back to look at Moai Mike's mug to get the thought of the yankees out of my head. :)

Love the Honu Hideaway Peanut Mug, too!

I don't know too much about baseball, but the NY Bob is lookin good. I like Moai Mike's mug too.

I have those moai ice trays. They are really cool and work well. You can use different juices too to make cool looking moai ice cubes, but I am sure you already have lots of ideas.

When is the Dan mug coming out? Still waiting on mine. :wink:

The Honu Hideaway mug for free
You are killin me
U know what that means
I'll just have to think of another idea for you to make so I can buy 1
:wink:

Pirates fan here
But the Yankee mug is awesome
Cool hat/lid

Wow just noticed it's 2am
I'll keep it down
Don't want any of your mugs to crack
Shhhhhhh

:)

Oh my Gosh! NY Yankees Bob is fantastic! Everything about him looks wonderful!

And TikiAno, I understand where you're coming from. I'm a Cubs fan and it is... painful to say the least!

Fantastic work as always, Wendy! I can't wait to see NY Yankee Bob's progression through the mug-making process!

Tikiano, I understand your pain!

Maybe this season will be a better one.....

Where can I get some moai ice cube modls? I have some Dollar Tree ice cube trays but these molds look larger.

edited to add - nevermind, Google found them on ebay and elsewhere.

---

:)
Lori

[ Edited by: LoriLovesTiki 2014-02-27 10:10 ]

Wanna know pain?

Try being an A's fan raised by a Yankee's fan. Do you know how many Farm Team Jokes he's told me over the years? How many AL worst comments I suffered? How many trades he lorded over me every time my favorite A's player jumped ship for the "Big Leagues"?

AND then still asking Wendy to make a Yankee's Mug. It's gonna live in my house, on top of it all....sigh...

Wendy, the mug looks awesome!!!!!! and you still have to glaze it. It'll only get better. I expect you'll be pumping a few of these sports mugs out for the next wishlist.

I showed the pictures to Dad and he was beaming...wanted to reply back to everyone poo-pooing the Yankee's but luckily he didn't know how to register a tiki central account. And I wasn't teaching him :lol:

Thank you so much Wendy. It's perfect!

[ Edited by: dartharnie 2014-02-27 12:23 ]

I think she' just getting started with the Baseball Bobs. SF and A's next and then on to the Braves, Rockies, Diamondbacks....who knows where it will end :)

tigertail777 I love your thread and hope that you'll start a new project soon You are a true artist. Thank you for this visit.

kingstiedye when I got home I was horrified to find that I hadn't taken any photos. So I guess we'll have to come back really soon. I have already cut and placed the abalone in the eye of your necklace. I'll fix the noses soon. Did you see Joe Namath at the Olympics. He was in a fur coat.

LoriLovesTiki only happiness on this thread.

TikiAno lids are as hard as making an entire mug. I'll be happy if it doesn't crack. The last time Dan and I watched any sports it was when Andre Agassi still had hair. We don't know any teams or players. We would lose at Jeopardy or the millionaire game.
Thank you for always making me feel so good about my work.

lunavideogames That is so funny. I'll post Dan posing for his mug below.

hang10tiki U 2 funny. It could have been better if I'd carved it while it was still wet. But as a prize it works. I just hope I can do the buff glaze as planned.

DooWop it won't be long before I have all the Wish List projects made and I can start to sand them. Maybe after the March 8th Marketplace at Don the Beachcombers. Glazing is always interesting and scary.

LoriLovesTiki these trays are good enough to hang on the wall.

dartharnie I'm so happy that it meets your expectations. Maybe all the monsters can face the Yankee in the middle. I hope to finish the girls bowls tomorrow. Some changes but I think they'll like them.

Thank you for this photo of all the monster mugs together. I love seeing them united.

TikiHula one Wish List at a time.

Thank you everyone for all these fun to read messages. Made my day. I was going to relax tonight but I just couldn't resist answering and posting some fun Tiki Hula photos.

Here goes.

When Tiki Hula comes over we always start out by going to lunch. He a lover of desert buffets. Can you tell?

The disk had finally dried and now it was time to fit it into the hold on top of the AL DEAD fez.

I just kept carving and sanding it down until it fit.

Once it fit I did a bit more scraping to smooth the top.

Looks pretty good here but I needed to remove a bit more to make room for the Magic Mend.

Here's the bowl with the Magic Mend in front.

Here's the bowl with Tiki Hula the designer in front.

I painted some on the fez opening and on the disc and put it into place. Then I filled around the disk with extra.

Then I used my favorite tool the label scraper to remove the excess.

While it dried we took a break to see the progress Dan's made in the newest tiki room. My projects that are drying are stacking up.

Now it was dry

and so I added some more.

I had Tiki Hula flip the bowl over to add the mend on the inside. One of the heads broke loose. Luckily it fell hitting my finger which broke the fall rather than the head.

Magic Mend is made for gluing dried clay objects together. So that's just what we did. Looks good as new.

I took this photo of Tiki Hula and then noticed how much he looks like

one of the heads on the bowl!!!

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

We tried the same trick with the camera. But found that Dan looks more normal

when altered. We'll have to go back to the drawing board for his mug.

Now I'll relax with a good book and rest up for another clay day tomorrow. Thank you all so much, Wendy

Thanks for the tip on magic mend- I haven't seen it but am now very (very) curious about it. I've used glaze to fuse pieces together successfully, but this seems a bit safer.

I'm glad we all can agree to hate the yankees- well, except datharnie's father. :)

I'm not sure if anyone noticed that Grog slipped in for a visit....

That Grog will do anything for a quick dip in Rum

Ok. Your "altered" photos of Dan and me are pretty funny. I hate to think my head is going to be shrunk someday. Guess I'll have to stay away from the more remote parts of South America :wink:
Hang10, I like your photo - looking forward to meeting you in person someday :)
Mahalo again Wendy for fixing the bowl.

TikiAno what is the origin of your name? I've done fusing with glaze one time on a volcano that is now in Tiki Hula's collection.

hang10tiki aren't they so cute?

Tiki Hula we are missing you today and will miss you tomorrow. Next visit will be at Chris and Karen's. I'll call with a time.

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

There were a lot of baseball fans who wrote when I posted dartharnies Yankee mug and that was fun. Here comes his other two wishes. One for each of his daughters. They designed their bowls and then I did a bit more.

These may not be tiki but at least I'm sharing steps for working clay.

For the girls bowls I cast two cannibal bowls and then cut them to the desired height.

To do the names I used this wood tool to carve into the clay.

Two of her favorite things are dolphins/porpoises

and butterflies. She is 4 years old.

dartharnies 8 year old is a fan of Harry Potter and

wanted his crest inside the bowl. My trick is to print it in the right size and then to outline it in the clay.

I sealed it in with sticky clay. This one is scary for air bubbles.

Looking at the picture I worked on detail.

She makes wands for herself and for friends so I added this to the back of the bowl.

dartharnie will they be happy with these?

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

For all of you waiting on your Wish List items to show up, they will I promise. I'm close to finishing the sculpts on all the Wish List orders. Then begins the sanding.

Meanwhile tomorrow we will be making a mold again. We start at 8 am. If you live in the area and want to watch just come on by the house. We'll be in the garage.

Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2014-03-01 09:42 ]