VanTiki Tiles - Ku Squared tile taking shape - 1/25 - Other Crafts

V VanTiki Member Hawaii Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 1046	V VanTiki Posted posted on Wed, Sep 12, 2012 12:24 PM Whats that? VanTiki is back in the studio?! It can't be true! Welp, believe it or not, the studio has been cleaned from top to bottom, and projects are GO! Last week I fired a batch of tiles and a mug that had been sitting in the greenware state on the drying shelf for 7 months (that has to be some kinda record). I hadn't used my kiln in so long that the vent had seised up with corrosion, and the elements were painfully slow to heat up! Good news is new elements are on their way to me from across the ocean, and I was able to clean and lube the vent to get it back in working order. Annnnnnnd.... The big tiles have begun to take shape! These are the size of 2 of the "standard" VanTiki Tiles - 10"x5" (this is the master sculpt size - they will shrink a bit). I've got 3 designs that I am starting with, and they will be pressed in a limited edition (I'm thinking either 75 or 100 each). Here is the very beginning of BigTile #1 On the right is the sculpting form. The spread of screws in the middle are for the clay to grab onto as I build up the tile sculpt. The wood edges give me a base depth guide for the tile, and I will remove them once the sculpture is nearing completion. On the left you can see the clay prep. I'm using Chavant NSP (Non-Sulphur Plasticine) soft. That "soft" part of the label is relative, as it is actually quite firm (you should see the "hard" clay!). In order to make blocking out the general form of the tile go faster, I cut the clay into cubes with a sturdy clay knife and lots of elbow grease, and then place all the cubes into a bowl under a heat lamp. After an hour or 2, the clay is truly "soft" and ready for sculpting. Will update soon with pics as the tile takes shape - Mahalo for peeking - Henrik "VanTIki"

Whats that? VanTiki is back in the studio?! It can't be true!

Welp, believe it or not, the studio has been cleaned from top to bottom, and projects are GO! Last week I fired a batch of tiles and a mug that had been sitting in the greenware state on the drying shelf for 7 months (that has to be some kinda record). I hadn't used my kiln in so long that the vent had seised up with corrosion, and the elements were painfully slow to heat up! Good news is new elements are on their way to me from across the ocean, and I was able to clean and lube the vent to get it back in working order. Annnnnnnd....

The big tiles have begun to take shape! These are the size of 2 of the "standard" VanTiki Tiles - 10"x5" (this is the master sculpt size - they will shrink a bit). I've got 3 designs that I am starting with, and they will be pressed in a limited edition (I'm thinking either 75 or 100 each). Here is the very beginning of BigTile #1

On the right is the sculpting form. The spread of screws in the middle are for the clay to grab onto as I build up the tile sculpt. The wood edges give me a base depth guide for the tile, and I will remove them once the sculpture is nearing completion. On the left you can see the clay prep. I'm using Chavant NSP (Non-Sulphur Plasticine) soft. That "soft" part of the label is relative, as it is actually quite firm (you should see the "hard" clay!). In order to make blocking out the general form of the tile go faster, I cut the clay into cubes with a sturdy clay knife and lots of elbow grease, and then place all the cubes into a bowl under a heat lamp. After an hour or 2, the clay is truly "soft" and ready for sculpting.

Will update soon with pics as the tile takes shape -

Mahalo for peeking -
Henrik "VanTIki"

Post #651764 by VanTiki on Wed, Sep 12, 2012 12:24 PM