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BeezleBug Mugs (Pg. 14: New Cup/Mug) |
BeezleBug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2008
Posts: 212
From: Boulder City, Nevada
|  Posted: 2009-11-28 10:35 pm Permalink
Finally moving on to my 4th mug design. Here's a rough sculpt in Klean Klay (still missing the eyes and other detail):
It's loosely based on the cover from this book:
For all you anthropologists out there, it's the protector spirit prow ornament from a canoe that treaded the Maravo Lagoon in New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
[ This Message was edited by: BeezleBug 2009-12-09 16:49 ]
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6492
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-11-29 07:58 am Permalink
NO WAY!!!!! 
I've been wanting to do one of those as a mug every since I saw one at the San Diego Museum of Art in August. YESTERDAY I was on ooga-mooga.com searching for "Solomon", "canoe", "prow", and "nguzu nguzu" just to make sure it had not already been done! I snooze, I loose 
Beautiful sculpt BeezleBug, glad to see you posting again 
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teaKEY
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 09, 2004
Posts: 3663
From: The thumb !
| Posted: 2009-11-29 08:07 am Permalink
My Dad probably did the first mug of this nature I think it was back in 06. I would have to check if I could show the pics
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teaKEY
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 09, 2004
Posts: 3663
From: The thumb !
| Posted: 2009-11-29 08:10 am Permalink
But I really like what I see with what you got
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BeezleBug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2008
Posts: 212
From: Boulder City, Nevada
| Posted: 2009-11-30 11:13 am Permalink
The original prow carving is so nicely done that I couldn't resist making a mug in its image. Plus, I like the challenge of making tricky slip-cast molds. (There's a gap between the bird in hand and the body, plus it's going to be twice as big as my other mugs.)
No doubt, I've been equally influenced by all the other mug makers out there. Any time I see a cool mug, I use it as inspiration to try to improve my own work.
It's funny, I've been thinking of making Tiki earrings for a while, but have been procrastinating. Now I see that another forum member has made some really cool ones along the lines that I had been thinking of. Oh well...
MadDogMike, your clay work and glaze work has really progressed nicely! That's where I need a lot more practice - the glazing part of the whole process. I really need to buy a kiln some day.
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[ This Message was edited by: BeezleBug 2009-11-30 11:32 ]
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6492
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-11-30 12:16 pm Permalink
Thanks BeezleBug. Those prows are such cool imagery, both the shape and the distictive "z" patterns used for decoration. Potential for some mixed media/shell inlay for the earrings too. I'd like to see what TeaKEY's dad came up with. I'll have to make me one someday, I like this design that BigBroTiki posted in one of the other forums:
It would make a cool lidded mug, but for now I'm moving on to something else After 50 years of tiki mug history, seems like it should become harder to come up with something that hasn't already. When I started, I made a couple of mugs I thought were original. Turns out they had already been done several times  Now I try to do a little more research before I make something 
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BeezleBug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2008
Posts: 212
From: Boulder City, Nevada
| Posted: 2009-11-30 8:21 pm Permalink
That's a cool variation. I like how he looks like he's standing on his hands.
Well, I'll probably do a small run of 6 on the new mug so the market won't be too flooded with prow protectors ;^)
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BeezleBug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2008
Posts: 212
From: Boulder City, Nevada
| Posted: 2009-12-06 10:47 pm Permalink
Here's the final sculpt...ready for some mold-making... The eye sockets are empty as I thought I would inlay another material for the irises at the end. All the little Zs carried by the original carving will be replicated in the glaze...
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6492
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-12-07 07:11 am Permalink
Awesome, good luck with the molding process - can't wait to see the finished product.
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Tobor64
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jul 13, 2009
Posts: 401
From: Burbank, CA.
| Posted: 2009-12-07 07:24 am Permalink
Ditto that. Looks great!
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GROG
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Jun 21, 2006
Posts: 6267
From: Tujunga
| Posted: 2009-12-07 10:59 am Permalink
Good job. Good luck with the molding and casting.
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BeezleBug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2008
Posts: 212
From: Boulder City, Nevada
| Posted: 2009-12-09 4:20 pm Permalink
Thanks everyone...
I took a slight detour to make the misses a pair of earrings. Nothing new, but fun to try. They're made out of Sculpey III and painted with some old Testor's model paint.
Here are the first steps of the new mug mold pour...
I figure this mug needs a name, so I'm calling him "Solomon."
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6492
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-12-09 4:32 pm Permalink
"Solomon", that's very wise name. That's also a buttload of clay to make that mold!
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2009-12-09 4:43 pm Permalink
that's pretty cool. we should hook up sometime. i enjoy going out to boulder city once in awhile and having breakfast at the coffee cup and a few nice beer's at milo's.
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BeezleBug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2008
Posts: 212
From: Boulder City, Nevada
| Posted: 2009-12-09 4:48 pm Permalink
Actually, it was one-half cubic buttload - which was all the Klean Klay I had. Once the plaster was set, I pulled out most of it to be used in the future elsewhere. I love Klean Klay. It has just the right consistency and comes in those cool extruded square pylon 4-pack thingees. Note that I switched to foamcore for the outer walls. The parts touching the plaster are covered with aluminum foil.
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