Post #619102 by danlovestikis on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 10:42 AM

Big Kahuna you are third on the list and I'm watching eBay.

I think for all mug makers the challenge is to find something new to do. Making the menu art come to life was the first step for this mug but it needed something to make it different. The name of the mug is ZOMBIES TORCH.

Step by steps to show how I made the flame that will top off the mug.

Hand building runs the risk of air bubble bombs that blow up in the kiln, even poured ceramics sometimes blow up. I lost many Missionary's Downfall women to that problem.

So knowing I needed to make many flames I looked for a mold. What I found was one for Christmas Ornaments.

This required pouring one side, wait 45 minutes and pour out the slip. Turn over and pour the other side wait 45 minutes and pour out the slip.

24 hours later I would open the mold remove the casts and then place the mold in the sun to dry.

I would then add very soft clay that was mixed with slip to the ornament. I would press and fill and change the shape into a flame.

I was able to do 6 each 24 hours that I was home and available. During this time I was also making the Tiki Bob Decanter's for the Sacramento Crawl and recovering from my broken arm surgery. What a summer.

They were set to dry. I would rotate them from side to side so that they dried evenly. This shows that they are hollow.

Once they dried I sanded each one on the outside and around the opening. I use screen to sand them. It lasts a long time.

Next I added the straw hole. This is a very tall mug to begin with and now with the flame its like the Empire State building. I then sanded the hole.

Dan is the air compressor expert. He blew off all the dust from sanding.

Into the kiln along with one of the decanter's to fire.

More photos tomorrow. Since I also broke my ankle and had knee and thumb surgery I leaving now for physical therapy. What a winter!

Thank you always for checking out this project. Cheers, Wendy

[ Edited by: danlovestikis 2011-12-29 10:45 ]