Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Creating from a Mould

Since I showed how I make a mould from my scrap clay I thought it was only fitting to follow up with how I create a new piece from my new mould.  This is pretty basic for some but I've picked up a few quick and easy tips from books and mainly by trial and error of experience.  I prefer to use water as a release agent and I find the more water you use, the easier and better the impression.  (*see note below.)
I actually fill the cavity with water and then lay my rolled clay sheet over top.  I then spray the top of the clay so my roller will not stick to the clay. 

















Using a lot of pressure (I have to stand up for this), I roll all the way across the clay sheet and mould.



I then cut around my piece and do any other necessary adjusting.


I used some green colored clay and filled in the areas with mica powders to give it a shimmering effect.


My new Christmas package earrings are ready to bake.



* Note:  I should mention that with my experimenting I prefer using water as a release agent with Kato and Premo clays the most.  I found that when I used water with Fimo, the clay tended to "gum up" after and so cornstarch seemed to be a better choice.

3 comments:

LDWatkins said...

Very pretty! Thanks for sharing the water tip. I usually spray but can see how more is better.

Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor said...

Nice tip Carolyn! I've never seen anyone fill the mould with water like that. Will try that next time.

2 Good Claymates said...

Thanks and you're welcome. I love working with moulds and texture plates the most and sometimes I can make quite a mess with all that water! lol I have a couple of old tea towels I use just for soaking everything up and keeping my desk clean -- just thought of this now...