Preparing a new workshop

I've been asked to give a workshop 'mold making' many times and I've always been hesistant for a few reasons. One of them is that it's a very, very messy activity. I just couldn't imagine having more then 1 person in my studio making a mess but well, I've given in and the first workshop will take place at the end of april. I'll be sure to make a picture before and after. :)

So right now, I'm doing some preparation work and I'm making a few molds for people to use in the workshop. One of my co-workers bought an old house a while ago and she mentioned that she found so many old keys. Haha, that sounded like music to my ears so I asked her if I could mold them.
They have been laying about in my studio for quite some time but now I finally find the time to make it happen.

I made a double mold for pooring clay slib into it. It's drying now so I'll post a picture when I finish a porcelain key. Here are some images of the process:

Drying moulds

I did plan to do some sewing but with the good weather outside, I wanted to take advantage of the sun to dry my moulds. So instead of getting my fabrics out, I covered my studio in plaster dust and an overal general mess. It is that moulds make the life of a ceramicist easier otherwise I probably would not make any at all! :)

Messy monday

Can't believe a week went by without posting in my blog. Somehow life took over and I just didn't get around writing a post... I kind of hope nobody noticed my absence but when I saw that my blog passed over 2000 blog followers, I think this hope might be idle! ;)
THANK YOU for your interest, support and being part of my community!

Today, Mariana came around to help me make a mess in my studio. We planned on making molds together. We first made a little trip to the secondhand shop around the corner to search for some cool objects to mold. We brought back lots of cups and bowls so it took quite some time to prepare 'em for the plaster treatment.
Luckily the activity is not of the kind that you have to concentrate on really well so we had plenty of time to drink lots of coffee and catch up chatting in between.And to make a mess of course. After all, that was the plan. It even followed us into the kitchen... :)We didn't only make a mess but have been really productive as we used up about 20 kilo's of plaster. I tell you, that's a lot of molds... and will hopefully make lots of pretty objects. :)

How to make a spooky fingerpuppet?

These little ghosts are super fun to make for kids and adults.
You can keep entertaining and silly conversations between all of your fingers or just use 'em as decoration for you home, table or as a prop in your product listings.
You can whip 'em up in no time and they make great companions so here's what you need:

Plaster of Paris, Vaseline, little bowl of water,
a permanent marker and a plastic bag to protect your table.

Cut strips of 2cm or 1inch of the Plaster of Paris.

Cut a few squares too.

Put some Vaseline on a finger.

Dip a strip of Plaster of Paris in the bowl of water.

Put a few strips on your fingers.

It will take about 10 minutes to set.
Sit still and relax.

Take off the plaster fingers.

Dip a larger square into the bowl of water.

Place it on top of the plaster finger.Put the finger on the plastic bag and drape the Plaster of Paris a bit.

Let it dry.Draw with the permanent marker eyes and a mouth.

Your ghostly companions are ready for Halloween fun!

Work in progress

I'm working on something fun.
But my first attempt failed.
I decided to move over from clay to plaster and made silicone moulds.
It's a bit messy.
But the result is as desired: white and detailed.
These are for Tokketok.
A few more to cast and then sand the bottom and varnish 'em.
Curious what she'll do with them once she receives them.

How to make a polymer clay brooch or ring?

Through Totally Tutorials, I've 'met' Michelle from EviesToolEmporium and she has been sending me supplies in exchange for a tutorial.
I find it awesome 'cause I get to play with new toys a lot . :) Thank you, Michelle!
She send me a Diamond Burr set a while back and I thought it was about time I made a tutorial for it. Normally, the diamond burr pieces are used for engraving in glass or ceramics. I'm going to use 'em in plaster . I have a love/hate relationship with plaster. As a ceramicist it's impossible to avoid plaster as it just makes your life so much easier. So I've learned to live & work with it.

Here is what you need:
plaster, water, a container for making the plaster, clay,
polymer clay, a diamond burr set, a pencil, a dry paintbrush, plastic.

Make domed shapes with clay and make
sure they are as smooth as possible.

Built a little wall around the shapes with clay so you can poor plaster in it.
Make plaster and poor it over the domes. Let it set and dry for a few days.

When the moulds are dry, sand the sides a little bit so that it feels smooth.

Draw a little something in the mould with a pencil.

Engrave the lines with the diamond burrs and
use a round shaped burr to engrave the little dots.
Because the set has so many different burrs it's
ideal to use for engraving in plaster as there is always
a perfect one to use for the thing you want to engrave.

When it's done, wipe excess plaster away with a paintbrush.

Then take a piece of polymer clay and press it into the mould.

Take another piece of polymer clay to take the piece out of the mould.

If you don't like the result, you can still adjust
the engraving until your satisfied.
Fire the piece of polymer clay and glue a brooch pin or a ring on the back.

I use this technique for my clay and porcelain work. I love engraving in plaster and you can get really fine details with diamond burrs. Try it, you'll be amazed at the opportunities it will bring you! :)

How to make & use plaster plaques?

You must think I'm a plaster addict... well I am one apparently even though I don't like the mess of it but plaster is just so useful to many clay artists. I use a lot of plaster plaques while working with clay. They extract the water from the clay so that means that the object which is put on there will stay nice and flat. When my clay is too soft, I put it on a plaster plaque and a few minutes later, it's ready to use.
They are super handy to use so I'm going to show how I make these.

Here is what you need: baking trays or big plastic trays,

liquid beeswax, brush, plaster, container, waterPut some beeswax in your tray.
This makes sure that the plaster will come loose from the tray.

Makes sure that you put beeswax all around the tray.
Oops, I used a bit too much here but I'll poor it over
into another tray as I'm going to make lots of plaster plaques!

Mix your plaster: 1 cup of water & 3 cups of plaster - depends a bit on your plaster.

I usually use the pyramid method: put the plaster in one pile and when the water doesn't suck up the plaster anymore it's ready to stir.

Poor the plaster into the tray.

Shake the tray a little bit so that the airbubbles come out.

When the plaster is nearly dry, I quickly pressed some leaves into them.
Since I actually use the smooth side, I thought I could use the bottom too to create some textures... You can see what I did with the textures here.

After half an hour/an hour it's ready to come out of the tray.

It's still to wet to use but after drying it for a few days, it's ready to use.
It's freaking smooth - love it!

Here you can see the textured side.

And this is what I do with them: I put little cut out pieces of clay on them to let them dry. If I would let them dry by themselves, they would go all crooked. But since the plaster sucks the clay onto the surface they stay nice and flat. I also use newspaper to put on top as that also sucks the water out of the clay.

Hope you enjoyed another of my plaster/clay adventures! :)