This fabulous tutorial is from Chris Crossland a friend, fellow clayer and talented artist. She is one of Best Flexible Molds' biggest supporters.She uses our molds in many very creative ways and this is one of her newest designs.
From Chris: I have been in love with the sea turtle mold (#PJ048) from the moment I saw it. I have molded lots of turtles in both sizes using clay “cabochons” for the back. Lately, I have been experimenting with incorporating those inexpensive colored glass “pebbles” that are sold in net bags in the floral department of Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s into my clay designs. They are sold to go in vases with floral arrangements. I found that the glass pieces that are about ¾” across (measured across the flat back of the glass drop), fit the baby turtle bezel very well. The size of the glass drops will vary some, but they are fairly uniform. I think the resulting fusion of glass drops and the baby sea turtle are a match made in clay heaven. So, here is what I did to glam the little babies up!
1. Before
de-molding each turtle, I made a hanging loop from 20 ga wire and
bent the loop slightly forward. I embedded it into the clay
where the head of the turtle disappears into the mold. Place
it so most of the wire loop extends beyond the edge of the mold
cavity. The loop should angle up toward you and away from
the clay in the mold. This embedded loop will allow you
to add a jump ring for stringing the finished piece. The
back of the turtle can also be textured before de-molding.
(note from Penni Jo here)Panel 1, Panel 2 and Panel 3 below show the steps and materials mentioned in step one.
Panel 1
|
Panel 3 |
2. Carefully
remove the turtle from the mold and gently “ease” the two sides
of the bezel (the turtle’s shell) so it is just large enough for
the glass drop to fit snugly in the bezel. There may be a
small triangular space at the base of the tail which will need to be
filled with a short snake of clay, but that will be covered by the
rest of the embellishments.
(note from Penni Jo here)panel 4 shows some of the steps mentioned in step two.
Panel 4 |
Panel 6 |
5. Because
the clay will not adhere to the glass, it is necessary to build up
clay around the edges of the glass to hold it into place after the
piece is baked. That is really the only “rule” that
must be followed. I found that small, thin snakes of clay
worked really well and looked elegant. Roll out or
extrude some small snakes and artfully arrange them so that the ends
curl up over the sides of the glass. While these won’t
actually adhere to the glass, they will harden when they bake and
serve the same purpose as the prongs in a stone setting. So,
have fun and keep going until you create a pleasing and balanced
design. The design can be simple or very complex, as long
as the clay comes up over the edges of the glass all the way around
to form a secure “nest” for the glass. I finished the
designs with small balls of clay, some of which were indented with a
ball-tipped tool to add interest to the design. PJ’s
Tiny Embellishments mold also has some really pretty designs which
could be used with or instead of snakes. You can also add
hot-fix crystals, if desired.
(note from Penni Jo here)The fabulous glammed turtles below show some of the techniques mentioned in step five.
6. Use
a very small brush to add metal powders and/or mica powders to the
clay. Try to keep the powder from getting on the glass,
but if some does find its way onto the glass (and it often will),
don't fret, it can be removed after baking with a Q-tip dipped in a
little rubbing alcohol. For removing excess powder from
really small spaces on the glass, I wrapped a tiny piece of bathroom
tissue tightly around the end of a toothpick dipped in alcohol.
(note from Penni Jo here)The fabulous glammed turtles below show some of the techniques mentioned in step six.
Super Glammed Turtles |
7. Bake
the finished turtle at the usual time and temperature (I baked these
for 45 minutes). When they are cooled, add a coat of
glaze to protect the metal or mica powders. I used gloss
because it doesn’t dull the shine on the metallic powders.
Now
I ask you, is this not the most glammed-up herd of turtles you ever
saw???
More beautiful Glammed turtles! |
this original tutorial is by Chris Crossland – all rights reserved.
For more information about the mold mentioned in this tutorial please feel free to contact us at: pennijo@bestflexiblemolds.com
PJ048 Sea Turtle Bezels and teardrop Caboshapes |
This mold is available at:
http://www.bestflexiblemolds.com
an original design and sculpture by
Penni Jo Couch
all rights reserved
hand cast mold made in Maysville Oklahoma, USA