Post #615575 by MauiTiki on Mon, Nov 28, 2011 7:36 PM

MadDogMike told me about a book on "press Molds" somewhere in this thread. I was able to buy it used on Amazon for $3. (it cost more than $3 to ship it) So when Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge contacted me about making 110 Pendants for their 1 Year Anniversary party I jumped on the chance.

It turned out to be a larger project than I anticipated, but it was a great learning experience and I helped out some friends in the process.

These photos were all taken with my iPhone so they are not the best quality.

I started with a sketch of Okolemaluna's signature Tiki:

Then used some heat sensitive clay to make the master (following VanTiki's instructions)

I actually made three molds from this master to make the production go faster. I should have made 5 or more molds, because after pressing the clay it can take 30 minutes to an hour before the pendant will come out of the mold. That limited me to no more than 12 pendants on weekdays.

I then created a "Stamp" so I could stamp the "1 year Anniversary" on the back. We decided to use "Okolemaluna" rather than "Anniversary."

So the pressing and stamping began....

The pendants started to pile up...

After a three weeks of NON-STOP pressing, and clean-up they were ready for their first firing:

Next I painted black glaze on the backs and wiped the excess away with a sponge to make the words visible.

I sprayed glaze on 9 pendants at a time with various color combinations and they went back in the kiln...

The best part is always opening the kiln to see the finished art.

They are boxed up and off to the Big island!
Don't miss the party on December 5th!!