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Found: Wendy's Ren Clark Severed Head Tribute Mug |
MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 788 |  Posted: 2007-01-19 12:49 pm Permalink
I was doing some antiquing in Southern California last week, and stopped in an antique mall in the city of Orange. There was a huge display case in the back that was filled with highly desireable (and highly expensive) tiki mugs, one of which appeared to be an actual Ren Clark severed head! I immediately started experiencing heart palpitations when I saw that the asking price was "only" $165 and I had brief visions of selling it on eBay for enough money to send both of my kids through college.
Alas, it was too good to be true. I had the case opened so I could examine the mug more closely. I noticed immediately that the walls of the mug were very thick and that it had been painted with enamel (it was peeling off in spots), not glazed. I flipped the mug over to look for a maker's mark on the bottom, and saw that it had "2006" scratched in it, along with what I presume was the artist's name (which I can't remember, unfortunately). Sadly, I put the mug back in the case and left the store. Another mug-hunting fantasy brutally crushed.
Anyway, I know of at least one Ren Clark "tribute" mug out there by artist Wendy Cevola, are there others? It kind of bugged me that the seller didn't clearly mark this mug as a repro, and was asking what I considered to be an exorbitant price for it. Whoever this person is, they clearly knew the value and provenance of the other mugs they were selling.
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[ This Message was edited by: MrBaliHai 2013-11-23 10:01 ]
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TikiJosh
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 735 | Posted: 2007-01-19 1:17 pm Permalink
I saw that exact one several weeks ago. I was pretty excited to see it, and asked to get a better look at it (the price tag was hidden). I figured there was no way I'd have been able to afford it. I was pretty suprised at $160 and then realized, like you said, that it was a knock-off.
Oh well.....
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MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 788 | Posted: 2007-01-19 2:15 pm Permalink
What was even sadder were the prices on the rest of the mugs in that display. $125 for a Mark Thomas Outrigger Moai!? $45 for a Harvey's Hula Girl?! What a ripoff.
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hewey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4278
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2007-01-19 2:53 pm Permalink
Theres a guy called Nacho on here (mates with Kahaka, Nacho is the guy who built that huge tiki tiki bar that is at hot rod events). Hes done some, not sure how many etc.
Here are 2 of his mugs with Mai Tai's new gi-tar
And here's a pic of Nacho (holding mugs) and Mai Tai (wit da gi-tar)
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TikiJosh
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 735 | Posted: 2007-01-19 3:21 pm Permalink
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On 2007-01-19 14:15, MrBaliHai wrote:
What was even sadder were the prices on the rest of the mugs in that display. $125 for a Mark Thomas Outrigger Moai!? $45 for a Harvey's Hula Girl?! What a ripoff.
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Yeah, some of the prices were outrageous. I think he had a Tiki Bob from the Bali Hai by the Lake for like $165. Little high priced, even for a tiki bob. We did pick up a plate and teacup from the luau, though. In the time I've been hunting tiki stuff, I've never seen anything like that in the wild. They were a bit overpriced but not too bad. I wouldn't be able to afford service for eight or anything like that, but they were too cool to pass up.
The Outrigger mug, though? No way. I was telling the Missus, at those prices, 99% of this stuff will still be there the next time we stop in. It seems strange to have a booth at an antique mall if your prices are so high that you never sell anything. Just doesn't make any sense to me.
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Kenike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 24, 2003
Posts: 1204
From: McKinney, TX
| Posted: 2007-01-19 4:57 pm Permalink
Nice Gretsch! Whats the model/year?
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danlovestikis
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Jun 17, 2002
Posts: 4484 | Posted: 2007-01-19 7:28 pm Permalink
Hi Ren Clark fans. I made a head for Dan and some friends in Southern California and then I sold two on eBay. It's possible that it was one of mine, they are made of clay, fired, painted with acrylic paint and then sealed with concrete sealer. Each person was told that the heads had to be treated as a painting on a wall would be. No liquids etc, no scrapping or bumping or they would peal. I know Vontiki was trying to sell his recently.
These heads are very hard to make so if it was one of mine I'm happy it was close enough to make someone heart pound. I spent enough hours on each one that I figured I earned around $4.00 an hour when they sold on eBay for $120. I made mine from photos, a year after I stopped making these we bought an original from Ren Clarks family.
To see the steps it took to make one you can go to my web page (still under construction) http://www.claytikis.com
MY ART IS ON THE LEFT AND AN ORIGINAL REN CLARK IS ON THE RIGHT
These being so fragile is why I paired up with Gecko in Hawaii to make the Bloody Maori. I've started two more projects with him this week that will be in ceramics when completed.
How big was the head grapefruit size or a soccer ball size? Then I'll know who sold it if it's mine, Wendy
ps sorry guys we all want to find a treasure hopefully your day is around the corner, we found the Elvis Presely Tiki Bob in Springfield Oregon for $18 we couldn't breath until we were out of the shop and in the car, then we squealed like little pigs, we also found a Frankoma war god for $40 in Reno, NV, those are our best two finds
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[ This Message was edited by: danlovestikis 2007-01-19 19:32 ]
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Mai Tai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 21, 2004
Posts: 1431
From: Exotic Isle of Alameda
| Posted: 2007-01-19 8:29 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-01-19 14:53, hewey wrote:
Theres a guy called Nacho on here (mates with Kahaka, Nacho is the guy who built that huge tiki tiki bar that is at hot rod events). Hes done some, not sure how many etc.
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Those two in the pic by my guitar are the only two that Nacho has done. They are both prototypes. As you can see, the colors on one of the mugs is much less vibrant than the other. He is still experimenting with different glazes and multi-firings of the mugs. I think the one with the more vibrant colors has been fired and additionally has cold paint on it over the glaze, and the less vibrant one has glaze only and has been fired without any cold paint. Nacho will have these available for sale in the near future, after he works out all the details, and it will be well announced here on Tiki Central, but he hasn't sold any of them yet, nor has he had any available yet to sell.
I would agree with Wendy that the one you saw in the antique mall in Orange was most likely the tribute mug made by her.
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On 2007-01-19 16:57, Kenike wrote:
Nice Gretsch! Whats the model/year?
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Thanks! It's a Gretsch Nashville 6120 Brian Setzer Signature model, actually brand new (2006). It's a repro of a 1959 Gretsch, complete with 1959 style trestle bracing. Brian Setzer had them do away with all of those quirky volume and tone controls, so instead of 4 or more knobs, this one has only one just for volume - and it only has one switch for the pickup selection, instead of the standard confusing two. For you guitar geeks out there, it also has hotter wound humbucking pickups, locking tuners, a Gibson style pinned adjusto-matic bridge on a rosewood base that's adjustable for intonation, and a cool Bigsby vibrato tailpiece - and all of the hardware is either chrome or nickel plated.
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MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 788 | Posted: 2007-01-20 09:05 am Permalink
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On 2007-01-19 19:28, danlovestikis wrote:
How big was the head grapefruit size or a soccer ball size? Then I'll know who sold it if it's mine, Wendy
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It was definitely smaller than a soccer ball. The rest of your description certainly sounds like the mug I was looking at. How do you sign the bottom? I think the name started with a "V", but that's all I can remember.
Whoever made it did a wonderful job!
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Weblog: Eye of the Goof
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MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 788 | Posted: 2007-01-20 09:12 am Permalink
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On 2007-01-19 15:21, TikiJosh wrote:
I was telling the Missus, at those prices, 99% of this stuff will still be there the next time we stop in. It seems strange to have a booth at an antique mall if your prices are so high that you never sell anything. Just doesn't make any sense to me.
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I was thinking the same thing. Whoever was renting that space has an overinflated sense of how much most people are willing to pay for mugs. I just hope that no one starts buying them at those prices.
On the other hand, prices for tiki/hawaiiana are very high all over SoCal. The cheapest stuff I found was at the Rose Bowl flea market last Sunday, and even then it was far more expensive than what I've seen the same stuff go for elsewhere.
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Weblog: Eye of the Goof
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danlovestikis
Grand Member (6 years)
Joined: Jun 17, 2002
Posts: 4484 | Posted: 2007-01-20 11:51 am Permalink
Hi MrBaliHai, here is a photo of what I wrote on the bottom.
WCEVOLADLT'S
2006
dlt's for danlovestikis
[ This Message was edited by: danlovestikis 2007-01-20 11:52 ]
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MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 788 | Posted: 2007-01-20 4:07 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-01-20 11:51, danlovestikis wrote:
Hi MrBaliHai, here is a photo of what I wrote on the bottom.
WCEVOLADLT'S
2006
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That's exactly what I saw written on the bottom. Thanks for clearing up the mystery!
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Weblog: Eye of the Goof
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VampiressRN
Grand Member (7 years) 
Joined: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 5510
From: Sin City Lincoln Hills (NorCal)
| Posted: 2007-01-20 6:15 pm Permalink
Yet another Nancy Drew Mystery solved by the super-sleuths at TC. 
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Kenike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 24, 2003
Posts: 1204
From: McKinney, TX
| Posted: 2007-01-20 7:35 pm Permalink
Quote:
| so instead of 4 or more knobs, this one has only one just for volume - and it only has one switch for the pickup selection, instead of the standard confusing two. |
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Aha...thats why I didn't recognize it at first. I thought it may have been a Black Phoenix. I bet that thing shreds.
Last year I came very close to buying a Tennessee Rose but just couldn't bare going into debt to afford it. I ended up with an Epiphone Casino...which is nice (and half the price) but it ain't no Tennessee Rose.
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teaKEY
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 09, 2004
Posts: 3664
From: The thumb !
| Posted: 2007-01-23 05:37 am Permalink
Whats the Elvis Presely Tiki Bob? Anyone who knows
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