Ian Currie on thu 26 feb 04
Thickness
Greetings all
I've been lurking here a while, but have only now caught up with this
thread. I sent off a direct answer to Linda yesterday, and looking
through the many replies she's had from Clayart, I think most of the
points are covered. Did anyone mention the use of sisal in the mould?
This is fairly standard in the industry of strengthening plaster
mouldings for the building trade. You need to keep the sisal away from
the surface where you are going to cut in the grooves (for the clay
ridges). If you can't get "sisal" you can always unravel some sisal
rope. I usually wet the sisal to help avoid trapped air bubbles.
And May, one important point about glaze application: It is very
difficult to get the glazes thick enough using brush application to the
grid tile. The best applicator I've found is like a small slip trailer,
e.g. a child's ear or nose syringe. Try several until you find the best
one, and can easily get the glaze on there up to 2mm thick (but thinly
as well).... though usually thinner for earthenware.
If the glazes are put on only thinly, you miss out on some of the
features... and many of the glazes end up looking much the same that
actually are potentially different. This is one of the reasons I always
suggest you do just one set first (before doing lots) so you can pick up
any mistakes and correct them in future work.
And my usual reminders: If you want to be sure I will read your post to
Clayart, please Cc me a copy thanks, and if anyone wants to purchase my
books by credit card they can do so at my website thankyou:
http://ian.currie.to/
Regards
Ian
May Luk wrote:
> Hiya Linda;
>
> I think your mould is not dry enough. A couple of days is too short. Maybe
> put it close to the radiator for a week? I usually put my mould close to the
> kiln for a couple of weeks. It would feel kind of airy / light when it's
> dry. Also, if you put it near a heat source, it would steam if it's not dry,
> and you can check that way.
>
> When you mix plaster, did you see the island of Manhattan sinking very
> slowly? Then put another cup for good luck. [I look for England. :-)]
>
> I was about to make an ian grid in clay. Let's swap picts later.
>
> I also been thinking about making a tomb stone version, so that I can dip
> the tiles. I feel that the brushing makes the test not very accurate. I have
> to wash the brush 35 times and cause contamination. But this way, it's not
> too convinient for storing.
>
> Regards
> May
> London, UK
>
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http://ian.currie.to/
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