Non polymer clay fun

It has been quite a while since we last posted, but we were busy with some non polymer clay fun. Dinko and I (Boris) had to put some time in organizing the third annual Midsummernight's sprinkle - essentially a water gun fight which happens traditionally in front of the national theater in Sofia. It has been a cool event - again. About 120 people showed up and had a great time for about five minutes. With this over we are steadily returning to polymer clay and hopefully will post often on the blog. Oh, almost forgot - here are some pictures from the water fight.

Taurus

Believe it or not this is a Taurus. It is built for a friend of mine who will give it as a gift. Here are the specifications he gave me (Boris).
- it has to smile - check
- not very big horns - check
- dancing position - check
- sunglasses between the horns - check
- a bottle of vodka that has to be removable in case the person he intends the Taurus for gets offended - check
- a silver necklace - check, even though this is not exactly silver, but it looks like it, some old piece of broken jewelry
- silver trainers with pink stripes - check
- I love WV Polo inscription - check
So much for building custom ordered figurines. Hope you like it.

Our friend Alexander

This is our friend Alexander playing with his son in the park. On the next picture is the gnome Alexander made. I (Boris) like a lot Alexander's attitide towards polymer clay. He uses it for purely recreational purposes, without building a stock of tools or clay. As you can see he did not adhere to the color scheme of the gnome. 'Those are the colors I had at hand' he says. He changed the hat a bit - instead of it being pointy, he made it curved at the top. The beard of his gnome has several colors, instead of the one color beard shown in the book. The head of the creature is smaller in comparison to the body than the ratio in the book project. Alexander doesn't care much about smoothing surfaces or making things look perfect, he uses the polymer clay sculpture to relax. In that respect I think he shares one of the main ideas Dinko and I had writing the book - polymer clay is for fun.

'Polymer clay fans are growing in numbers'

'Polymer clay fans are growing in numbers' - this is what the sales lady told me yesterday when I (Boris) went to buy some clay from my favorite polymer clay suppliers Dekar M.

She told me about these nice ladies that make jewels and jewelry boxes. She tried to find their catalog and since she couldn't, she told me she'll have it the next time I pass by. So I left. She then found the catalog and ran after me togive it to me. The paper catalog actually is much better and with more products featured than on their site. Plus - the site is in bulgarian only, but anyway here it is http://www.sugar-and-candy.com and the work has a really fresh vibe that I quite like.
And even though it may be nothing special, it is a fellow clayer and what is more a countryman/woman/women in this case and I am quite happy about it.

Making of the dragon - part 2

This is the boring story how the dragon in the book became what he is. Once it was decided there has to be a dragon in the book, I (Boris) decided that I want to make it. So I did some research about dragons. Learned that there are many varieties of them and finally concluded that I will revert to the commonly known stereotype - fire breathing, scaled, big, winged. The red dragon is the first one I made. Although he is a magnificent beast there are several things about him that made him not suitable to be featured in a book project: he looks evil, he is too big - about 14 inch long and about 5 inch tall, and fat, too fat in fact. A project like that would consume time, lots of time. I work fast but he took me 2 days and several bakings to make. Another shortcoming is that you'd have to work with red only, which on a too big of a project is rather boring. So he has been measured, weighted and found unworthy to be the main character of the chapter. Next I proceeded to make the colorful dragon - did not change the size, left the wings out and tried to make him look friendly. Colorful scales took even more time and without the wings he looked a bit strange. At this point I knew: the dragon has to be all one color, he has to have wings and a friendlier expression, he has to be smaller.

The matter of size had to be tested too, so I made another dragon. It may not be obvious from the picture but she is much smaller. I say she because this dragon has the looks of a female dragon. And this is how the question of gender is resolved with polymer clay dragons - if the dragon looks male, male it is. If it looks female, female she is. It is a purely subjective decision you take. It is also a decision that is always correct no matter what you decide.

Making of the dragon - part 1

These are pictures of my dragon making Dinko took. The book will explain what happens in between the first picture and the last one. he first picture is of me (Boris) discussing with someone, don't remember who now, something, don't remember what now, something obviously important enough to stop working on the dragon. The second picture is again of me, it could have been a picture of any bald dude, but it is of me, preparing to take a brake. As you can probably see I prefer to work sitting on the floor. The comment I have to make here is about workspaces. Any workspace you feel comfortable with is fine, there is no rule that you should have a studio or a specific work area or anything like that.

This is the picture of the dragon that is in the book. Mention has to be made of the dragon variations. In order to be able to present a step by step instructions for his dragon I made several different dragons before this one. Sometimes making several versions of a figurine before making the final version works better. However there are times when the final version of the figurine is the first one you make and only after that ideas of variations rush into your mind. Both approaches work equally fine. In my opinion when you feel inspired (and inspiration is a mysterious thing) the second approach comes into place. At times of logic and cold blooded craftsmanship the first approach seems to work better.

The 'old bone' look.

I(Boris) had to explain again to a fellow clay enthusiast how I give the figurines I make an old bone look. So here is what I would normally do description. The first two pictures are of the same not varnished and then varnished figurine. Keep in mind that the same effect can be used not on one color sculptures only. It can be used on colorful sculptures too. You just have to keep in mind that the varnish will make the colors darker and in some cases slightly change them.

There are two different ways to achieve an old bone look for figurines made of white clay only. One way involves working with brushes gouache and water - this way is suitable for kids. Better results are achieved working with turpentine, asphalt varnish, brushes and old rags - this way is not suitable for children. So here is some info about materials. I feel it is important to read before continuing.

Gouache Extra Fine Quality flacon 16 ml

Turpentine (also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, wood turpentine, gum turpentine) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. It has a potent odor similar to that of nail polish remover. It is sometimes known colloquially as turps, but this more often refers to turpentine substitute (or mineral turpentine).

The word turpentine is formed (via French and Latin) from the Greek word terebinthine, the name of a species of tree, the terebinth tree, from whose sap the spirit was originally distilled

Asphalt varnish. Asphalt varnish is composed of asphalt pitch that is heat-treated with Gilsonite and thinned with mineral spirits or naphtha. Varying degrees of flexibility and toughness are obtained by varying the ratio of pitch to Gilsonite.

Giving an 'old bone' look - for kids

These are the tools needed to give the creature the 'old bone' look. Two bottles of gouache, one ochre and one black. A small plate to mix the gouache. If you don't have gouache but have tempera paint at home it will also work fine. It is good to have several brushes of different sizes. Those don't have to be expensive - ordinary brushes that kids use at school are perfectly fine as long as the hair of the brush doesn't fall.

The process is as follows - imagine (at this point imagine) you have the pawn or the pawns baked. Take some ochre and some black and mix a dark ochre color. I missed to ad that you will need some water to work with the qouache, but I suppose you already worked that out. After you have the color ready paint a thick coat of gouache over the entire figurine. Be careful to paint all over the pawn, don't miss even the smallest and hardest to reach places. Let the paint dry for several hours. Then with a brush dipped in water start to wash off the paint. Most of the paint will wash off but some of it will change the color and some of it will remain at places. This will make the outlines of armor and other body parts better visible. After you have finished let the pawn dry. At this point it must be varnished one more time with a water based transparent varnish.

Giving an 'old bone' look - for adults
These are the tools needed to give the critter the 'old bone' look. A small bottle of turpentine - this one looks green because the manufacturer's label on the other side is green. Some asphalt varnish - here it comes in quite big bottles so one bottle can be shared between artists, that's what I did so my asphalt varnish resides in an old coffee box. You will need a wooden stick (sculpting tool in my case) or a spoonlike tool - you must have one since the asphalt varnish is quite thick and when small quantities have to be moved from one container to another such a tool is needed. A small dish to mix the turpentine. Several brushes. At this point is is good to remind that after finishing work with the asphalt varnish one must not forget to carefully wash the brushes.

The general idea is to paint the piece with the varnish, let it dry for about 20 minutes and then with a brush dipped in turpentine wash off the asphalt to the necessary point. I realize this is not explained in detail, but it is best to show the process and not describe it. I will be showing that process as soon as possible - as soon as I find someone to assist me and film it since it is a messy process and it is not possible to film and work at the same time. Another reminder when speaking of asphalt varnish and working with it is to remind those of you that have sensitive skin to work with gloves. And a reminder for everyone is to work with open windows or if possible outside your home - asphalt varnish and turpentine don't smell good.

Bunnies on aution and sale

These three bunnies are auctioned on ebay with a starting price of 0.01 usd. On the right side of the blog there is a widget that will link to the auction listings. Here is another link. Those bunnies are variations of the bunny video tutorial that was posted here some days ago. The price is reduced to a minimum hoping that these fine animals will find an owner who would keep them until next Easter when their skills will be needed again. The rest of the Easter bunny bunch (the friendly bunnies are on sale too on our Etsy shop).

The bunnies on the second picture are the ones that are featured on our Etsy shop.

And to return to one of the usual themes of this blog - the variation. With these animals it is pretty obvious - their color, the things they hold in their hands, but most of all the ears are their most prominent feature. Changing the shape and the posture of the ears is what contributes most to giving each bunny a distinct character.

How to come up with a mythical critter idea

When you start making mythical creatures every once in a while you get the desire to make one. But which one, there are tons of them? No need to get nervous wondering what creature to make. Wikipedia always helps. Here is a link to a particularly helpful list of species in folklore and mythology. They are listed alphabetically and there is an image provided for most of them which makes a good starting point for a mythical creature polymer clay project.
On another note learning about the myths and legends of other cultures is really, really fun. Well, at least for me (Boris) it is. You may discard some of the listed creatures as too complex to make, or too easy to make, or not enough interesting to make, but anyway the list is huge. I am quite sure you will find the creature you like and then start playing with the clay.

Where do the Easter bunnies dwell

Those of you who have kids and are already working with polymer clay know that it is hard to determine the natural habitat of the polymer clay creatures. And even though they are most likely to reside in your studio if you have one, or on a shelf somewhere in your work area, sometimes they have strange dwellings. In this instance it turns out that three of my Easter bunnies inhabited my four year old daughter's slippers.

Several hours later one of the bunnies was living in a kitchen drawer, another one behind the couch and as for the third we don't know yet. 'Daddy, he went in the forest to see some friends.' she says. I am inclined to believe that it rather went in one of her toy boxes or on a strange trip around the house and some of these days I am going to find a bunny at the most unexpected place.

Just a cool picture

Someone took a camera and looked into the wizard's glasses made of magical glass. What did he see - nothing definite alas. Some ghosts that passed, memories of the past, spaces tiny and vast. Charcoal, coal, fire and blast, images that changed too fast. The big teeth of a creature of a strange breed, stories of valiant deeds. Legends, fairy tales, a white nightingale, a long sharp and deadly tail.

There was nothing specific that prevailed, so it is impossible for the description of the vision to be detailed. Now that I think of this story it seems to be tragic. I wish I knew how the wizards do their magic.

Wire

Easter

It was Easter yesterday (Christian Orthodox Tradition). So families got together to see each other, feast, talk and do the usual holiday stuff people do. Here on the left are some of Boris' easter bunnies. I made about fifty different bunnies this year and the ones here are the type I like the most - the so called 'butcher bunnies'. The butcher bunnies are not really butchers. They are not going to slaughter the hen. They are bunnies after all and we all know how sweet and good natured those fine animals are. The hatchets they hold are merely a persuasion tool. They are used to frighten the hen enough so that she would produce a red egg. Anyway a number of the bunnies I made were not sold, so by the end of the week they are going to be on sale, a huge sale - 10$ for a bunny at our Etsy shop.

Here are Boris (on the left) and Dinko, who are usually friendly collaborators in addition to being brothers, in an Easter egg fight. Oddly enough, because it was only yesterday none of us remembers who won the fight.
We did try to make an effort and find out who won, but it seems no one remembers who won, which must lead us to the conclusion that the matter is not of utmost importance to anyone and that there is no harm if it stays unresolved.
There were other important issues that were resolved: we are moving here all the instructions for making a polymer clay chess set, and we are posting some more images of the 'outcasts' (the creatures that we made, but that couldn't be featured in the book). Stay tuned.

It is just a game

These are the guys I usually play chess with. We play in front of a coffee shop. On the street as you see. People come and go, some stop and watch, some comment, some stay and play. The point is that chess is just a game, you don't need fancy pieces, computers, massive collections of textbooks to learn the game, silent places to play, clocks, you don't need to take notes of every game. You just need to know the rules and play. Play and have fun.
As far as the polymer clay goes I would like to see more of that attitude in people. Grab the clay and play, let it surprise you, lead you to new ideas, have fun. You don't need a studio, a massive collection of tools, a huge library of books on the subject. If you have fun these will come along naturally.
And then may be you can blend in a mixture two or more of your favorite things like I do with polymer clay and chess. Having fun is a good strategy to overcome cultural and age differences. The guy in the black suit is Russian, the one with the blue shirt is Roma and the other two are Bulgarians. The age difference between the youngest and the oldest is almost forty years. What brings them together is just a game for fun.

What about tools/basic set of tools - Chess project

The tools described are a basic set, not the minimum, because the minimum would be your hands and a safety pin. The basic set will enable you to work on complex projects.

On the first picture are photographed a set of dentist's tools. In many craft supplies shops tools similar, if not exactly the same. They are sold as sculpting tools. In general it doesn't matter where you will get them. I prefer to buy from shops for dentists' tools because they are in general much more durable and strong. When buying tools for sculpting there is no particular rule what tools you should get - get whatever you think will suit you and your goals.


The next three tools are quite familiar to everybody. A knife - nothing is special about knives but having one is a necessity. The other tool is a handheld drill which will be used on many occasions but only on cured clay. Why the automatic pencil - the automatic pencil must be an old, not working one, we will use only its tip to work on clay.

The clay shapers - those are pen like tools with resin tips that are really useful to shape and smooth polymer clay objects. Those are made to be used with polymer clay - found in almost every craft supplies shop and paying for them is absolutely worth it.

And finally your most important tool - your hands. Please note that if working with hard clay pieces, wire or some of the other tools proves to be to difficult or requires too much effort you should ask for help your parents, teachers or friends. You may also post in the blog about such a difficulty and I'll try to come up with an alternative way of completing the same task.

The Never Selling chess set

These two dudes are actually the pawns of the 'Never selling chess set'. Several reasons why those two glorious warriors appear here.

The first one is that Iris Mishly posted a link to them on her polymeri online blog. I am grateful, because her post got me thinking - which by the way does not happen very often and is an event that is slower than the movement of tectonic plates. Anyway I thought that I may copy the posts of my chess set making blog here, thus aiming to put all the descriptions of my polymer clay adventures in one place.

The second reason for the chess warriors to appear here are all my ramblings about variations. Actually making a chess set is a great exercise of variation. 16 identical pawns, 4 identical rooks, 4 identical knights, 4 identical bishops, a pair of queens and a pair of kings - this is the chess board gang. Well..., pieces are different in color, but how do you make each piece different and still preserve their uniformity? Variation deals with this issue. Look for them in the next posts with a 'chess' tag.

And last but not least - this is 'The never selling' chess set. It is impossible to sell. It has become a favorite hobby for me to make futile efforts to promote this set. No matter how popular it becomes it doesn't sell. I am ready to bet that the set won't sell no matter how popular it becomes.

Polymer Clay Central

It is time that I start mentioning some of my, and I believe the same goes for Dinko, so I am going to make a correction - some of our favorite polymer clay sites. At the top of the list is the absolute polymer clay site - The Polymer Clay Central.

I thought for quite a long time how to describe this wonderful site and the best I can come up is the following. Imagine that polymer clay and everything polymer clay related is the world of Star Wars. You did? Great. Now, in this world Polymer Central would be the Jedi Temple. The place where the young polymer clay apprentice and the polymer clay master feel comfortable. Where knowledge of the polymer clay is shared, possibilities explored and opinions exchanged.

Believe it or not...

Believe it or not these are dwarf variations. I agree that it is a far fetched statement, but nonetheless it is true.

Instead of explaining how and why these are dwarf variations, I am asking you to carefully review the Dwarf chapter. Please do it once again. Now, do you have the answer, can you explain why these are dwarf variations.

My guess is by now you are acutely aware that these are dwarf variations. They are also an example how the polymer clay can lead you to ideas of appearance, character, type of clothing and other things. One idea triggers another, one concept ot stereotype leads to another and the creative process starts with making a dwarf face and end somewhere in the wild, wild west where a sheriff keeps the peace. I have to admit I like the sheriff, he never made it to the book, but he has a good posture and obviously enjoys life.

Funky old projects

Here are four of the classic Dinkos creatures. The how to projects are hosted on Dinko's site http://www.funclay.com . Here are only the links to the tutorials.

I must say several things about these project. First one is that the bird with teeth is one of Dinko's concepts that I like the most. No bird to my knowledge has teeth. Adding them to the creature's smile makes the creature unusual and funky. I am sure that if you think along these lines you may come up with your own funky creature. And if it is a piglet with wings or a snail with hands it would hardly matter.

The other thing that I would like to mention is that the purple dinosaur and the green lizard projects are variations on the reptile theme. So even if you decide not no make those creatures take a look just to see how by varying some of the work steps the final result is different.

Sphinx variation

These are pictures of a sphinx. It is rather apparent that this is not the image that first appears in our minds when the sphinx is mentioned, but still this is a sphinx. Every once in a while when you decide to make a mythical creature you might have the time (that is usually not the case) to make some research.

The result often is that things are not the way you thought them to be. As it turns out there are several interpretations as far as the appearance of the sphinx goes. There is a very nice wiki article about that here. Once you have decide what tradition of representation to follow hurry up and make the sphinx. Ah, and don't forget to make a riddle for the sphinx. The sphinx here was inspired by an Attica sphinx statue and a Delphi sphinx statue. Here are pictures of them.

Don't be afraid to experiment with less popular ways of representation of a mythical creature. You can also come up with one of you own that is completely different than anything you have seen or heard of. This won't mean it is not a valid representation of the particular mythical creature you are making.

On the other hand it is always good to make something and have people recognize what it is at first glance. So you have to decide on your own what to do.