BeezleBug Mugs (Pg. 14: Paintings)

Ah - that's good to know about the foamcore... I used fancy-pants gaffer's tape instead of duct tape...

i use hot glue and foamcore. well, that's for silicone molds. might not work for plaster, i guess it should.

GROG used foamcore and hot glue, and it worked out fine on GROG's plaster molds. No aluminum foil.

I'm sure you guys don't need any mold making tips from me, but I used foamcore so I could fold it down out of my way to work

It allows me to work the clay around my wax master without the form in the way. I fold the flaps up, tape it together, and use clay to seal the corners.

Then I throw a shoe in the washing machine and use it on the spin cycle as a vibration table to get the bubbles out of the plaster :D

Ha - we have that same exact washing machine... I haven't worried to much about the bubbles - they never seem to appear anyplace bad...

A few more steps on the Solomon mold...

I know it looks like the mold of a mad man, but I have a plan (insert eveil laugh here).

Final Solomon mold making steps...

Here are all the parts laid out. 19 of 'em...

Since there are so many little pieces for the face, hands, and bird, I cast an outside wall so the pieces had something to lock into. The wall is on the left below. The loosely assembled face is on the right. There are definitely a few part lines that will have to be removed, but at least I didn't have to alter my sculpt for the mold.

Here's the assembled mold. As soon as it dries out, I'll pour some slip...

Wow! That is one elaborate mold. Thanks for the pics of your progress on this & I hope to see more.

HOLY CRAP!!!! :o 19 pieces! You da mold MASTER!!! :)

http://www.toxic-black-mold-info.com/moldsigns.htm

Thanks for the informative link! I guess I have a real problem if the mold starts spreading to other parts of the house. Right now, it's contained to the garage sink and my little mug-making station in the Rumpus Room. (Hmmm, is that plaster I smell?)

Here's Solomon #1 fresh out of the mold. The poor guy looks like Frankenstein. The hardest part was figuring out how to take apart the mold without inducing stress fractures. Nevertheless, he survived pretty well. Now that I know the order of events, the next one should be easier.

Here he is cleaned up:

I wanted to give him a chiseled, slightly irregular look, so I added a bunch of tiny tool marks...

I think I'll pour one more before bisque firing. I'm also going to do some glaze tests this time so I won't be surprised by the final colors.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. Nice work so far!

Simply amazing!

Good job.

Nice!!!!!!!!!!

that's the best one yet. the mold made my head hurt, though. :)

Solomon #1 and #2 survived the fire! I was afraid they might crack, but they came through unscathed. Now for some glaze...

Way cool! I see some nice texturing there

I will have to post mine. My dad did the same design for me as a surprize for Christmas. I still have yet to see the glazed version but its pretty true to the actually design. Stay tuned and I will with this.

Looking Real Good, I like them :)

Bump!

Once again, I've been away from the forum too long. Here's proof, however, that I've managed to get a little work done on the Solomon mugs...

It's a work-in-progress on the glaze for #1. When fired, it will be a weathered black over brown with off-white Z's and a pattern on the ear plugs. Before I move onto #2, I'm firing #1 to make sure I like the result. The eye irises will be epoxied stones.

On a semi-related note, I've been working on a daily comic strip for awhile. Each day is a bizarre dream I had the night before. As it happens, on March 6, I drempt of a rather tiki-ish character...

You can see all the comics here:

http://beezlebugbit.blogspot.com/

Lee, I'm excited to see it glazed - now on with the firing!

that is gonna look FREAKIN AWESOME
when you finish !
Always loved that canoe prow design...

Bravo!

Yay! Solomon #1 is finally finished.

(Shhh...I think he's gazing into the future...or maybe he had too much coffee...)

He's going up on E-Bay soon. More photos there.

Yeeouch! Just saw this on eBay & I've got to say it's a beaut! Well done!

Very nicely glazed Beezlebug, has a great rustic look to it

More Pix

Most excellent. GROG like.

Thanks! The hardest part of the glaze was painting all the little Z's - then intentionally dirtying them up and wiping away some of them for the rustic aged look. I was tempted to keep the Z's pristine, but it looks better this way.

While I'm finishing up the Solomon mugs (I should have #2 and #3 done next week), I thought I'd sketch up my next mug design...

This one has a giant god clasping a volcano and sucking out the lava. Perhaps he's thirsty, or maybe he's saving the small village below. The entire top would come off as a lid. There will be a place to stick a straw so it would reach to the bottom of the volcano. I roughed in PNG spirit protector, but I haven't decided which specific Oceanic figure to use yet. Should keep me busy.

Really cool idea Beezlebug! The Solomon mugs look awesome.

Love the Solomon mug - especially the eyes. And you made me curious about the new design - looking forward seeing it in clay.

Hi Beez!

I just found this thread and have to congratulate you on doing the incredibly difficult job of "ga-jillion part mold-making!" Solomon is wonderful...

I bet the volcano guy is gonna take a "ga-jillion plus more" part mold. Good Luck; I can't wait to see it!

Stop by the store some Sunday and say Hi. I'd love to meet you... AND Solomon!
:D

Ha-ha...yes, the new mug will necessitate way too many mold parts. I've been studying up on figure casting, so I have some ideas on how to pull it off. However, I'll probably make some more sketches before throwing the clay around.

I do need to drop by your place, Tiki Lee (especially since we share the world's best name - Lee!). Sometime soon...

I just listed Solomon #2 on my new Etsy account:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeezleBugTikiMugs

Beezle, I don't see your mug on that page?

The mug sold fast. You can see pix in the "Sold" section. Otherwise, I just added Solomon #3 to the Etsy site.

Congrats on the quick sale, #3 looks great too :)

Here's another Volcano Sipper sketch...

The figure is based on an Easter Island protector that was made from tapa and bullrushes and kept near the door to ward off bad spirits.

[ Edited by: BeezleBug 2010-04-16 22:43 ]

Rough sculpt. it's a two-hand mug - you have to use two hands on the base to pick it up.

Looking good so far...Can't wait to see what you do with this one.

Beezle - that's WILD!!!!! :D

Update on the Volcano Sipper...

Plus, I thought I'd go all mad scientist and build my own low-fire kiln. Here's the start...

I tracked down some old plans for a kiln built out of a steel oil drum, so I thought I'd try a cut-down trashcan. I'm using 2300 degree refractory brick. The base bricks (out of sight) are set on their side and are cut and cemented into a hex shape. For now, the side bricks are placed loosely as I plan out the resistance wire grooves. Once the walls are grooved, cemented, and braced, all the empty voids between the brick and the can will be filled with vermiculite. There will also be a lift-off lid made of bolted-together bricks. The control box is half a paint can that is hinged so I can get to the wiring. The resistance wire will be sent through the can via ceramic-insulated pass-through bolts. The 20 amp switch is using high-temp appliance wire. There will be a peep hole and a tiny shelf on the opposite side for peeking at self-supporting pyrometric cones. I have the whole thing set on a wooden base that I can caster around the garage.

The kiln firing space is 7x9x9". It'll produce roughly 1700 watts at 14 amps using 144 inches of coiled AWG 11 Kanthal wire. Since I work at cone 06 for everything, I figure it should be sufficient. (Turns out algebra is useful for some things!) If you want a good book on kiln math, track down "Electric Kiln Construction for Potters" by Robert Fournier.

http://www.BeezleBugBit.com

[ Edited by: BeezleBug 2010-05-23 15:09 ]

OK Beezle, you get the Mad Scientist Award!!! Have you made provisions for a Low/High or Low/Med/High temp setting for a slower firing?

The Volcano Sipper sculpt is looking way cool!

No...no temp control just yet... However, the circuit design can be converted to a low/high heat switch (one that switches between series and parallel wiring) if the kiln proves unruly. I'm setting up the resistance wire grooves and pass-through connectors for just such an option.

I'm trying the low-tech approach first. Robert Fournier says he's fired much of his work with nothing more than a "switch and a cone" for 30 years.

The Sipper sculpt is almost ready for mold-making. Here's how it's designed to work with a straw...

The straw (red line) goes through an opening at the top of the head, through the lava tube going into his mouth, through the volcano cap, and into the base. The entire top is actually a lid which can be removed for pouring in a tasty liquid beverage...

Great work on the new mug design Beezle! And you made your own kiln!!...yes sir, very nice. hope the mold build up goes smooth for you :)