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VanTiki Mugs: ShelfTiki #1l! 12/5 |
Flat Black
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 14, 2008
Posts: 116
From: Chicagoland
|  Posted: 2008-03-21 12:20 pm Permalink
The terror in that guys face almost gives me chills.
Looks great!
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VanTiki
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 902
From: Hawaii
| Posted: 2008-03-21 1:37 pm Permalink
It is a very sad day on VanTiki island 
Talk about depressing - it turns out every single mug I sculpted out of the B3 Brown clay has cracked. Opened the kiln this morning to find an epic rift running down the side of the Skull Rock Point mug, and micro cracks inside the Idol's Hand #2 mug. Too lame! Talk about a big blow to my clay self-confidence. My big no-no move was sculpting 5 intricate mugs back-to-back in a new clay without test firing first. I just loved the way the clay looked and felt - I couldn't help myself! Anyway - here are a bunch of shots of the "Lost Batch" of B3 Brown mugs:
Idol's Hands #1 and #2
These were meant to be "cursed mugs" (the curse being that you had to drink your entire drink before being able to put the mug down). They won't hold fluids - but they look swank on a shelf, so I think I'll offer these up with a ultra-low starting bid.
Cannibal Idol#2: Fresh Sacrifice
I suppose the name says it all! This fellow seemed OK - had a large crack on the bottom, but it had filled with glaze. Filled it with water and left it on an official testing paper towel. 20 min later all was nice an dry. Went to lunch for a half hour, and came back to find a damp spot on the towel! Damn! There are so many micro cracks caused by slumping of the clay during firing that I am not gonna risk shipping this one and it will live out its days on my Shelf of Shame.
Skull Rock Point
This is the one that really broke my heart. Put a ton of time into this sculpt, and I really worked the glaze. No cracks on the first glaze firing, but there were bubbles in the interior glaze coat. Fired it again (at a low Cone 05) last night. Opened the kiln this morning and was delighted to find that the bubbles were gone - then I just about threw up when I noticed a huge crack down the mugs back. Crud! Extra painful as the mug looks fantastic otherwise. This mug is also headed for the shelf of shame. Sigh...
So there you have it - the sad tale of the B3 Brown clay. Good news is I got back on the clay horse last night and am working on some new goodies in a very sturdy buff white sculpture body with lots of grog. Should be quite durable (knock on wood) - I'll post pics as the sculpts progress. Thanks for listening to my blubbering!
Mahalo,
Henrik "VanTiki"
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Tiki-Kate
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 21, 2003
Posts: 1700
From: Yucaipa, CA
| Posted: 2008-03-21 4:32 pm Permalink
My condolences on your crack problem. These mugs are unbelievable. I truly appreciate the fact that you share your failures as well as your successes.
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OceaOtica
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 869
From: la, home of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2008-03-22 1:27 pm Permalink
beautifully intricate work. sad to hear about the cracks. those second times through the kiln to "fix" problems always seem to be a gamble.
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TravelingJones
Grand Member (7 years) 
Joined: Mar 11, 2006
Posts: 868
From: Eastern Shores of Western Civilization
| Posted: 2008-03-22 2:16 pm Permalink
Just say NO to CRACK... CRACK BAD! 
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Viva Kate!
...five-star hotels don't have tiki bars?
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_____Flip-flOp-fLipPp...___
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hewey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4270
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2008-03-22 4:16 pm Permalink
Thats a shame mate. I can only imagine the disappointment after all the work and expectation whilst the kiln is doing its thing.
BUT, you're pushing the boundaries of mug making like no one else, and overall you have plenty more hits than misses, and the hits are HITS ya know  
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cheeky half
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 22, 2002
Posts: 790
From: Tucson, AZ
| Posted: 2008-03-23 08:05 am Permalink
Sorry to hear about your misfortune after all that hard work Henrik. Cracked or not those pieces are still amazing, especially the tiki with the flaming eyes!
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greentikipat
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 08, 2006
Posts: 324
From: st. pete fl
| Posted: 2008-03-23 09:47 am Permalink
hey there VanTiki- sorry to see/hear your misfortune, i think Hewey put it all very well. don't let it slow you down, man.
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teaKEY
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 09, 2004
Posts: 3663
From: The thumb !
| Posted: 2008-03-23 6:33 pm Permalink
That is a shame. Yet I think these mugs gave you some of the best glazes and textures and the amount you learned, a crack can't take that from you. The coloring on that Indiana Temple of Doom is the best coloring I've think I've seen is a while.
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mieko
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 01, 2006
Posts: 531
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2008-03-23 7:06 pm Permalink
Oh Henrik, so sorry to hear about the clay problems. Those pieces are all really incredible and the coloring on them is amazing.
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Kahu
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 03, 2007
Posts: 267 | Posted: 2008-03-23 8:02 pm Permalink
Man I wish I could make a mistake as good as those. Those are amazing sculpts no matter what.
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VanTiki
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 902
From: Hawaii
| Posted: 2008-03-23 8:39 pm Permalink
Oh man - what can I say? You guys are da best! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement - it means a lot to me!
Tiki-Kate: Mahalo! I'm always happy to share my failures with the hopes that it will keep others from making similar mistakes. That is the great thing about the creating tiki threads - so much shared knowledge!
OceaOtica: you are totally right about sending a mug for a second round in the kiln. I don't regret it, though, as it was full of those sharp little bubbles in the glaze. I bet the crack had already started, and I just hadn't seen it (too distracted by the zillions of terrible bubbles!).
Mr. Jones: Words of wisdom!
Hewey - A big mahalo! Once I got over the initial shock, I realized it was a good lesson learned (thank god I didn't sculpt the next series of mugs as well before firing) and I do get some cool looking "failed vessels" for my shelves. You are right - the odds of kiln survival are still in my favor (knock on kiln).
Cheeky Half - Mahalo! Yes - I am sorta glad I get to hang onto the flaming eye mug...
Greentikipat - Mahalo! It slowed me down for a bit - but I am back on the clay horse (See rest of post) 
teaKey - I am with you on my "Indy" mug - I found that having a dark base is really nice for glazing purposes. I am looking into getting an alternate dark-body clay this week (with a lot more grog) so I can replicate the glaze effects on future mugs. Besides - I already set up a "dark clay" work area - it would be a shame for it to go to waste!
Meiko & Kahu - a big mahalo!
Ok - like I said, I am back in the clay. I really liked the idea behind the Idol's Hand mugs (a mug you flip to drink out of) and I have had tentacles on the brain lately - so here is what I've been cooking up (keep in mind these are bad cellphone cam shots of works-in-progress) - the Tentacular Spectaular!
  
As you can see - these are tentacle mugs that appear to be looming out of the deep dark sea that is your bartop. I did (well, am doing) 4, and will sell them in 2 sets of 2. Yellow porcelain suckers (that take freaking forever to stick on)! I'll post better shots when the sculpts are finished.
Mahalo for peeking (and your amazing support!)
Henrik "VanTiki"
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hewey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4270
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2008-03-23 9:08 pm Permalink
Tentacle mugs are awesome mate. Now you just need to do a top third of a head with some creepy eyes, so it looks like the octopus is watching goings on above the surface, waiting for an opportune moment to strike...
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tikiracer
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 09, 2005
Posts: 462
From: UK
| Posted: 2008-03-25 3:19 pm Permalink
These are fab, love the idea that the bar is the ocean and the tentacles are about to pull you in. I'll be keeping my eye on these babies.
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VanTiki
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 902
From: Hawaii
| Posted: 2008-03-25 5:27 pm Permalink
Glad you like the tentacles!
Hewey - that is a great idea! I was also pondering making a tentacle wrapped around a crushed ship or something... Perhaps a skull? Can never have too many skulls!
TikiRacer - yeah - I was totally into this vision of the bar top as uncharted waters in which a monster (or two) may be lurking...
Finished up the sculpts yesterday - 4 tentacles of various sizes. Here are 2 angles of the 4 sculpts:
Mahalo for peeking!
Henrik "VanTiki"
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