Victory is Mine!!

So, after almost eight hours and so many variations i can't keep my head straight - i have found a clay printing process that works!



that was try number 1. I tried Fimo clay for the first time, basically cause it was on sale at michael's. (no harm in watching the budget :) ) I did the same process, which was to roll out the clay with my trusy rolling pin (next purchase: pasta machine!) and then applied the soaked printed image to the clay and baking it according to directions.

needless to say, it didn't look right.

there were two things i did different from how i did the previous pendants.
1- different clay
2 - printed vs. photocopied image.

so i decided to try with the Sculpty clay, because i had been able to make that work the night before:


and well, besides the fact that i broke the piece trying to take the paper off, still DIDN"T WORK!!

try three was with a different image, on Fimo clay, with a photocopied image



again, spotty image. At this point, i'm getting angry because it worked last night!

So i decide to try one last time on Fimo clay with a photocoped image. This time, instead of just using my fingers, i rolled the image into the clay, really applying some elbow grease. (more for the fact that i needed just a little bit more trim than anything else)

when it popped out of the oven... voila!


a perfect copy of Jenny Lisa's Taj photograph. You can even see the guy running in front of the fountain! how cool is that???!!!

so, after many many many tries and many many packages of clay (i really need to buy stock :)) i have found a method that works!

1- Photocopy Image
2 - Roll out Clay
3 - Cut out image and dip in H20
4- Place image over clay, roll with rolling pin
5 - trim off major excess
6 - bake per directions
7 - let clay cool
8 - Scrub back layer of paper off (don't pull, scrub!)

and then you end up with a nice clear dark images!
i played around with making some stamp pendants, but i forgot to print them backwards, so they came out funny, but i'm proud anyways!


and that is how it's done! yay!!

A few bits...

Ok, so i'm double posting...

one... this is what i'm working on jewelery wise right now...

it's a really simple process, but it took me almost four hours to figure it out! how dumb is Eury? Basically, i decided i wanted to try to print onto baked sculpty clay. I started by trying to do a reverse print, which is where you put a printed image upside down on non baked clay and rub the backing off. This is really tricky and after about 20 trys, i mastered it.


now, the image is nice and sharp and darker than later versions. The problem is that the success rate on this is like 1 in 20. The printed image is really hard to keep together and while it does give a nice antique look, it's almost impossible to get it to transfer well.

now the version that i'll probably end up working with is this;


it's a little hmm i don't know, the black ink turned a faded butcher block blue which is a nice effect but not exactly what i wanted. This was done by laying the wet paper image on top of the unbaked clay and baking it. It takes a little longer to bake then reccommended, but the image does transfer a little cleaner, if faded. It's also really important to weigh down the paper and clay as the water tends to make it warp.

the other problem is that the images don't always transfer compleatly.

i really like the image and i like the over all effect, but it's missing something... what? i don't really know!

i'll be spending a large portion of tonight playing around trying to get better images. My friend Jenny Lisa gave me some shots she took in India that i'm going to be playing with in an attempt to make book covers...

i'll keep you updated. more tomorrow on that!


also... another postsecret tid bit...



isn't that just oh so true?

Etsy Etsy Etsy

So i'm trying my hand at selling some of my jewelery designs...

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5079037

check it out!

want to see something specific? tell me, and i'll share the love!

something to ponder

so postsecret.com is one my particular things that i check each week. there are moments when my chest freezes when i read someone's secret. i always want to send one in, but somehow never get around to it.

i think it's a wonderful thing, to set free a secret. but sometimes, they make me worry about people i don't even know.

and then sometimes, they make me happy that people notice little things.

this weeks favorite

This isn't what I was thinking of starting with...

ok, so my original idea was to put something deep and meaningful as my first post, but after staring at the page foor ten mins, i've moved on.

i'm over it and you should be to.

amazon (which i was visiting to pre-order my copy of harry potter btw) has taken their personalized start pages a little too seriously. they have started posting 'plogs' (gag gag) that are full of tidbits about things that i might like based on things that i have shopped for or bought in the past. (anyone ever read feed by m.t. anderson? this is where it all starts!)

anywho, my plog popped up with this article on an art exhibit based on family guy.

What the deuce are you staring at?

Ponder this...
Is art that you create based on someone elses art still art?

I mean, i understand that it's a personal interpretation, and the art is truely in the eye on the beholder, but seriously?!?!

hmm, anything to make a buck i guess. hmmm indeed.