Tails, Brownies and Lace

Another view of the "Listen" sculpture

As suspected, the tail on "Listen" has produced problems. A few minutes before I finished cleaning up the very first rattie sculpt I nicked the tail and of course, the tip fell off. Because of this occurrence I have decided to rethink the design of her tail. Each rattie will get a rolled out "coil" tail. I will do all that by hand. It will save time and ALOT of frustration. Also, I'll be able to tuck the coil form closer to the body which will make production and shipping so much easier.

I have been keeping at least one piece from the runs that I produce and so this broken tail rattie will remain in my collection. I fired her up with the broken tail yesterday and will glue everything back in the end once she is all painted. I will add a bit of a cloth strip (like a band aid) to the broken area and I believe it will look very cute.

I pulled her out of the kiln late, late last night and I was pleased to find that everything fired beautiful. She is much smaller than I originally anticipated but that porcelain is magnificent! So gorgeous and so much detail. Now...time to order the wooden bases that will finish off each and every rattie.

Brownie slowly coming to finish

My gal "Pixie" also
getting china painted

The ratties and rodents have been overpowering the studio it's true, but in the process of all this production I have totally enjoyed the diversion both Brownie and Pixie have given me these past two weeks. Well, ok, Pixie has been here for a while now. I started her and then got really scared about putting her in the kiln to fire on the work I had done. Once I saw how Brownie fired I decided to pop Pixie in and I was so pleased to find that her color is even richer than Brownie's. Now, to remember how I did that on her. LOL

Ceramic creamer for sale

I also had some time to finally glaze a few pieces that were waiting on my bisque shelf. I have been having fun experimenting with lace and stamps. I have a ton of stuff for sale. If interested in seeing the entire selection please hop on over to my NEWS group and view the "photo" section. There is stuff there from $5 to $22. (Pssst...Mother's Day will be here before we know it!) Any questions or comments can be directed to me personally at: studiodanza@optonline.net

Have a great day everyone! It's gonna be near 50º here today! Wooo hooo!!!

RAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!

Slowly uncovering the very first rattie
from the plaster mold.

RAT! RAT! RAT!!!!! That word, screamed on the top of my lungs this morning was the most precious sounding scream! It signified the official production of the "Listen" rattie sculpture in porcelain!!!

WOOO HOOO!!!!!!!!

Top view of the "Listen" mold

Today I checked on the plaster mold to find that it had dried fully and was ready for the first "pour and pitch" test run. The very first piece poured is always filled with bits of plaster and is considered the test. The first piece poured beautiful (even the pour hole looks nice) and the first piece came out of it's plaster mold easy. That means I created the multi part mold just right! I'm feeling rather proud. (Lesli, you are a wonderful teacher! Thank you!!!)

The tail will need some clean up
but it came out smoothly and cleanly.

Every part of "Listen" came out well except the ears. I totally lost the ears in this casting, but figure I can make them individually as I go along which will be fun since I can slip in a few dumbo ratties in the run. The dumbos are my personal favorite. Now, I need a plaster "wet box" to hold all these extra parts before I attach them and will try and make that today before I pour any more ratties. It's a most exciting time in the studio! I'm so thrilled to share the unveiling with you all! Yeah!!!!

I can't wait to see a few of these guys lined up
and waiting for china paint!!!

Productive

In the drying room

This week was a very productive week both in the studio and family-wise. Family-wise our son is learning how to print his letters and has been engaged and excited about learning. His enthusiasm is totally infectious.

Studio-wise I was able to FINALLY begin molding my rattie sculpt "Listen". The use of Legos as mold boxes has made things so much easier and has helped me to visualize how to tackle more complicated molds. Granted, a tail (or long coil) is not too technically advanced, but without the proper tools and experience moldmaking it is a shape that can overwhelm. As you can see, its molded and I'm jumping into the body of the rattie next week.

Plaster mold (for ceramic production) of a tail