In an earlier post on the copper slip trailed earrings, I mentioned how easily Debbie handled the syringe. Before that class was over she was going to give me some tips on how to fill the empty syringe with slip. We got busy, the weather started to change and we never got to it.
When she was in on Saturday she showed me what to do. I can handle the readymade, filled syringes just fine. (Although it took months before I was able to control the darn things.) It was when it came to filling the syringe with liquid that tripped me up and created the blobs (although blobs can be good. But it's better to have some control over the blobbing process. Is that a word?)
Deb's tip #1. Before pushing the plunger totally in, tip the syringe so the air inside is at the tip and not at the back of the syringe. That way, when inserting the plunger, the air will push out first and not a blob of slip.
Tip #2. Use the syringe like a baster and draw the slip up through the tip. This method just requires that your slip is in a larger puddle.
Thanks for the info Deb.
Showing posts with label slip trailing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slip trailing. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
They're finished
The copper slip trailed earrings are all done. Mine were finished several days ago and Deb finished hers yesterday.
The pictures don't do them justice.
Deb chose to add swan neck ear wires which add length to the earrings.
And, since I had drilled holes at the bottom of mine (remember I had no faith on how they were going to turn out) I added some blue/copper glass beads.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Laziness is costly!
Today was the Second Saturday at the National Transit Studios. Every month on this day a majority of the artists are in their studios from 12:00-5:00. The studios are one of Oil City's best kept secrets (even though we try to get the word out there.) Many times Second Saturday is poorly attended and considering the weather this weekend, we had no reason to expect anything but the usual. But, surprisingly it was quite busy today. Many people decided to stop down and see what we were all about.
I had a chance to share information about metal clay with quite a few, talk to a former student who now lives in London where she works as a model, talk to the mother of a former student who is majoring in art at Edinboro University and catch up with a couple who attended a demo I did over a year ago. I made contacts for possible students and just plain met some very nice people.
It's interesting to hear people's perspective on things. In yesterdays post I said how messy my studio was. Well, today a visitor made the comment about how neat my studio was. Go figure!
Today I also saw how costly being lazy can be. The price of silver has skyrocketed since I started making metal clay and many of the pieces I made early on carry the price calculated on the price of clay at the time. Instead of updating the prices, I decided to leave them the same. (Too much work to go back and do all the recalculating. Besides, if I had to reprint all the pages of my catalogue, the ink alone would cost me a bundle. At least that's what I told myself. ) Anyway, I sold a ring today and just for the fun (?) of it, decided to recalculate the cost to remake the piece at today's prices. Using the same formula, the same price per hour and the same overhead charge, todays charge would be $12 more due to the increase cost of silver. (Multiply that by the amount of inventory I have of finished pieces and that's a big chunk of change.) Maybe I'll find some energy somewhere.
I also fired the slip trailed earrings today and managed to get both firings done. Before I left the studio today, I polished the pieces and added a patina. The unfinished pieces looked like there wasn't much there. But, once the pieces were fired I was quite satisfied. The slip did show up well. Just in case, I had drilled a hole at the bottom so I could add a spot of color in the form of a bead. Oh me of little faith!
I had a chance to share information about metal clay with quite a few, talk to a former student who now lives in London where she works as a model, talk to the mother of a former student who is majoring in art at Edinboro University and catch up with a couple who attended a demo I did over a year ago. I made contacts for possible students and just plain met some very nice people.
It's interesting to hear people's perspective on things. In yesterdays post I said how messy my studio was. Well, today a visitor made the comment about how neat my studio was. Go figure!
Today I also saw how costly being lazy can be. The price of silver has skyrocketed since I started making metal clay and many of the pieces I made early on carry the price calculated on the price of clay at the time. Instead of updating the prices, I decided to leave them the same. (Too much work to go back and do all the recalculating. Besides, if I had to reprint all the pages of my catalogue, the ink alone would cost me a bundle. At least that's what I told myself. ) Anyway, I sold a ring today and just for the fun (?) of it, decided to recalculate the cost to remake the piece at today's prices. Using the same formula, the same price per hour and the same overhead charge, todays charge would be $12 more due to the increase cost of silver. (Multiply that by the amount of inventory I have of finished pieces and that's a big chunk of change.) Maybe I'll find some energy somewhere.
I also fired the slip trailed earrings today and managed to get both firings done. Before I left the studio today, I polished the pieces and added a patina. The unfinished pieces looked like there wasn't much there. But, once the pieces were fired I was quite satisfied. The slip did show up well. Just in case, I had drilled a hole at the bottom so I could add a spot of color in the form of a bead. Oh me of little faith!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Third time is NOT a charm!
Slip trailing is a ceramic technique that can be applied to metal clay. It involves creating a background piece, thinning clay down and dripping it over the backing in a random fashion.
I've only done this a couple of times before. The first time I had great success. The second time was not quite as successful; but acceptable. Well today, I tried it again for the third time and the third time was NOT a charm.
A friend of mine, Deb Crisman, who had admired the first set of earrings emailed me the other night and wanted to come in to make a pair of slip trailed earrings. There have been several times I could have sold that first pair if I had wanted to. (But, I like them too and wear them often.)
We decided to try the technique with copper. Why not? It should work and it did. The slip is poured into an empty syringe, which is passed over the backing in a random fashion. The backing is made thinner since the slip will add more weight to the finished piece.
First, my slip shot out in a big blob. (Wiped that off.) Then I used a tip on the syringe with too big of a hole....... more blobs. I ended up taking a spoon and dripping the slip on that way. By this time, there wasn't much texture or design on my pieces and the back (which had texture at one point) was covered with slip that ran under the back. Do you notice that there isn't a picture of my pieces here? (Good reason for that!)
Deb on the other hand, handled it like a pro. She's worked with syringes (her daughter is a veterinarian) and it shows. Zip, zip, zip and Deb had a gorgeous design on her backings. So....... I share her beauties with you. I'll show them again after they are fired.
I've only done this a couple of times before. The first time I had great success. The second time was not quite as successful; but acceptable. Well today, I tried it again for the third time and the third time was NOT a charm.
A friend of mine, Deb Crisman, who had admired the first set of earrings emailed me the other night and wanted to come in to make a pair of slip trailed earrings. There have been several times I could have sold that first pair if I had wanted to. (But, I like them too and wear them often.)
We decided to try the technique with copper. Why not? It should work and it did. The slip is poured into an empty syringe, which is passed over the backing in a random fashion. The backing is made thinner since the slip will add more weight to the finished piece.
First, my slip shot out in a big blob. (Wiped that off.) Then I used a tip on the syringe with too big of a hole....... more blobs. I ended up taking a spoon and dripping the slip on that way. By this time, there wasn't much texture or design on my pieces and the back (which had texture at one point) was covered with slip that ran under the back. Do you notice that there isn't a picture of my pieces here? (Good reason for that!)
Deb on the other hand, handled it like a pro. She's worked with syringes (her daughter is a veterinarian) and it shows. Zip, zip, zip and Deb had a gorgeous design on her backings. So....... I share her beauties with you. I'll show them again after they are fired.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Trail slipping
Actually it's slip trailing, but I get tongue-tied every time I try to say it.
We did a pair of earrings at the retreat using the slip trailing technique. I did slip trailing once before (it's even hard to type it) but I think I made my slip too thin when I did. Basically the technique is one of thinning down the clay so it will drip through an empty syringe. We were told to take the tip of the syringe off, but I found it works better for me if I leave it on. Then it is time to just play with the drippings onto a dried piece of clay. It's best to let the drippings run off the edge and clean the edges off when the slip has dried. That way the pattern is more random. Pretty simple and not much thought, but fun.
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