Clarita's experiments

....After reading Rum Demon's thread paying special attention on the molding part of his mug, I come to the conclusion I can't do my designs like that, because I model them counting on the silicon mold that allows doing great depth.So I can turn this designs in to mugs without changing them for a plaster mold.What I can try is making them out of plaster and then finishing them with water proof varnish for a vase maybe....

Tiki Candle Maker

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-13 12:34 ]

....Sorry no updates yet....

On 2006-10-13 15:25, hewey wrote:
Nice looking work. I now how you feel about having no 'local' tiki, very little around my neck of the woods in Sydney (Australia) too. TC is a great tiki fix, but like a junky you get kinda hooked and next thing you're stealing peoples wallets to get another fix and.... well thats enough about me.

Welcome to TC. Would love to see some 'process' pics of the molding too :)

Now I get what Hewey was talking about!!! I didn't steal anything yet but everyday I must get my fix of TC that's for sure!!!!!! Best wishes to you all!

Hi Clarita. Im so glad you found me on myspace.com . I freaked when I saw your originality and creativity. Im also glad you took my advice to share these with Tiki Centralites. I knew they would love them . You may be far away but you make us jealous cause you can swim to Easter Island from your house. Dont stop what you are doing , you have a true eye for tiki . Tiki-Ray

Thanks a lot Tiki-Ray I was very glad when I find your space, I love voodoo island, you have a great style and your profile pic is so cool too!! I don't know about going to easter island swimming, maybe I'll wait to have some cash for a plane...Thanks again! Best wishes!

Hola Clarita - Tengo una pregunta para ti, de moldmaking. Do you cast your candles from the same mold taken from the original clay piece? They look so smooth, I was wondering if you made an intermediate casting out of plaster or some other material that could be sanded and polished, then mold that piece to get your final result.

Whatever moldmaking method you are using, your candles look great!

Hola Tikidav! Muchas Gracias! I appreciate it very much, your hula girl is great and so little!! About your question, I do my final cast with the original mold no intermediate casting. You can polish your resin with some polishing cream for cars to make it smoother... One other thing I suggest (but I'm not so sure) to try with your resin, is to add some industrial talcum powder (since you are not making it cristal) to make it stronger and for the catalization to take longer...Greetings!!

Tiki Candle Maker

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-28 21:35 ]

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-28 21:41 ]

Gracias por la informacion, Clarita. Que buena idea es el talcum powder! I've been dusting my molds with talc to prevent pinhole bubbles on the surface of the casting, but I did not know about mixing it in the resin for a slower cure time. I am certainly going to try it. I'll let you know what happens. Have you not tried it?

Un otro pregunta de sus candelas, what kind of clay do you use? Is it oil based or water based?

Hey Tikidav! No I've never try this, it is a tip that the guy where I buy some materials has told me, a long time ago, I worked a few times with resin and always with fiber glass, except for one time that I've made a pare of eyes for a dummy, where I've used the transparent one, that's how I know about the polishing cream for smoothness. If you try the powder tip tell me how it went....
I use red clay water based.
And maybe you can check out the thread here posted by Squid he recommended a forum about sculpture that is really great, they may answer any question about resin o silicon molding, Best wishes!!

Tiki Candle Maker

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-28 21:40 ]

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-28 21:45 ]

Hi Clarita -

Have you ever tried adding sand and small shells to the wax? I know you want the transparency, but a small amount might look cool, or just adding them at the bottom of the mold away from the features.

Aloha Cammo! Thanks That's a great idea for some new design maybe... Is just that I tend to start new things before finishing all the proses of what I've started, so I have to finish a lot of stuff first, and then I'll try that for sure...! I've been distracted trying to put up my own Tiki terrace, so I have less work done lately....Here's a pic...

Thanks again, Greetings!!

Tiki Candle Maker

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-28 21:51 ]

Clarita, Looks like that comfortable Tiki Terrace might take more of your time when it is finished and we will see even Less work? Just kidding, keep up the great work

So when can all of us at Tiki Central visit and drink Mai-Tais on your Tiki Terrace?
We'll each bring one gift to help decorate it even more! :)
Soooooo, whatcha' been working on this week?

Hey Benzart! It's taking all my time right now cause I can't stop doing things by my self is not just the terraz is the house I'm "home improving" everything I can, in the past two day I've taken out the carpet and put a new floor on my living by me self....I know....But I think I will catch up with my tiki homework next week....Your step by step surgery is great, Thanks for sharing!

LLT How are you? The Land of Pele can't get any greater, can it?
I would love a gathering here on my terraz, specially if the guests bring presents made by them selfs, let's play the game what people would bring as a contribution to this terraz and post the step by step.... I really didn't get anything done this past week but it was for a greater cause I really needed some changes at home.... Best wishes Tiki friend!

Tiki Candle Maker

[ Edited by: Clarita 2006-11-28 21:53 ]

Estas muy ocupado con tu casa, eh?

I tried the talcum mixed into the resin, and it did set much slower. I had enough working time to have the mold in the vacuum chamber for a little less than a minute which produced a much better casting. However, the weather here has been colder than in the past few days and that affects the resin setting time. Warm weather makes it set quicker, colder weather it sets slower, so I'm not sure exactly how the much the talcum affected it.

I appeciate the tip, Clarita and I will continue to experiment. Muchas gracias!

I'm so glad! I love this on-line lab! Keep rocking Tikidav!!

Aloha TC, Today I'm a little blue, my designer friend walk out on me because he is too busy to do the whole design of the packaging box.... I'm very sorry about that, he would made an excellent one... He manage to design for me a logo that I really really like though... So I've been re thinking the hole concept... and it may be that I've stumbled into an excellent idea, but this time I'm not going to say anything else before finishing, I've learned my lesson well... Have a great weekend Tiki pals!

Thanks for pics Clarita! :) I finally got time to check out the thread. Those look AWESOME glowing from the inside! :)

Thanks a lot Hewey For checking all the thread! I'm very glad you like the candle holder it's giving me a hard time to really finish it... Congrats on your skull!

Beautiful work!!! Those would never see a match in my hale!!! How oculd you burn da kine miki'oi cnadle like that!!!

great work!!! Cant wait to see more!

Aloha!

Thanks a lot kaha ki'i! I appreciate it very very much! Your work is amazing! Please keep posting, Best wishes!

Aloha everybody! Sorry for not being around lately my life is a mess, but I've being working on boxes for my candles and I think I'm getting where I wanted to... Best wishes to you all!

!Hola Clarita! ?Como estas? Where have you been? Nice to have you back. Are we going to see some new Tiki candles from you soon?

Hey Tiki Dav! I'm fine thanks, about new designs, I don't think so for now no, I'm not very prolific as you can see. But You'll be seeing cool boxes for the existing ones... I'm very happy about that! I'll be posting them soon, Best wishes!

Well, you can be messy all you want, just do it HERE! We Missed you..

Thanks Benz! I appreciate your comment a lot, best wishes!

[ Edited by: Clarita 2007-02-02 09:30 ]

...I know I promised the boxes, but first I wanted to share some pics of my candles on the wilderness before they've got caught...




Greetings to you all! Soon I'll post the boxes... Thanks for looking!

I love the wilderness pictures! Your candles are really cool, and you have some great designs. I'm looking forward to seeing the boxes!

Zaya

They look great in the garden :)

Hey Clarita,

Just got a chance to go through your posts for the first time...Wow! Your candles really light my fire! Super sweet designs. Keep up the killer work!

Babalu

!Que suave, Clarita! The candles look really good in the jungle.

!Me gustan ellos!

Very fine and nice work.
Can't wait for the boxes.

Benjamin.

Aloha everybody! Is really great having your support!

Zaya Thanks a lot gal! Your shark burning is looking great!
Is it going to have some underwater Tiki :) ....?

Hewey Thanks! Congrats on your skull, I like it very much!

Babalu Thanks a lot for going through all the thread, and for your comment,
I appreciate it a lot! You have a great talent!
I'm very intrigued by the work you're doing, Keep posting please!

Tikidav gracias amigo! Your thread is of wold wide interest! Thanks for posting it.So what are you doing this days, are you working on something?

Benella Thanks a lot, the boxes soon... your tiki is looking great a lot of inprouvmente in the last pics!

Thanks for all the energy! Best wishes Tiki Friends!

Tiki Candle Maker

[ Edited by: Clarita 2007-02-09 15:51 ]

..Well as promissed Thee boxes....!




Hope you like them, the pics aren't very good I know... Greetings TC!

Bravo Clarita!
Those boxes look great! Plus, after you take the candle out,you can do something with the box!!!! The candles lok sooooo great in the boxes-like little bamboo huts! Bravo!

They look great in the garden, but WOW, those boxes are amazing! They look like something I'd see in a store and decide I'd really want, then realize they were 50 euros each. :) Really nice work, they look quite professional.

The boxes look sweet :)

Really nice BamBoxes there Clarita, Are you sure you didn't have Bamboo Ben make those for you?. "bout time you posted some pictures of something. those candles look so happy in the boxoes.

Nice Clarita! That is a great packaging job for a great candle!! You go girl!!

LLT You're so nice! Thanks! Your birdman painting is amazing!!

Mieko Thank you very much! I've being looking for a material that didn't cost me so much and after a lot of going around I found this...

Hewey Thanks!

Benzart sorry I know it's been a wile, it has been taking me a lot of time to define what to do for the boxes.... I'm sure nobody is helping because my fingers really hurt... this material is not bamboo, I don't know how you say this in English "junco" my dictionary on line says Bot rush I don't know if this is right but is a species of plant that grows near the river is softer and cheaper than bamboo is just that the plastic I bought was very thick for cutting I'm going to need a better way for doing this than a simple cutter, but it worth the effort because I'm not depending on anyone, with this material I can do all by my self and adapt the size to any new model I may be doing, thats what I've being looking for because for the printing options I had to make 1000 of each,thats is too much for my wallet ... Best wishes keep rocking!!

Squid thanks! I appreciate your opinion a lot! Your pendants are very cool!!

!Que cajas bonitas, Clarita! Y tambien, es un buena idea. Is this the packaging for selling the candles, or for displayng of them? (!O possible los dos!)

On 2007-02-07 10:23, Clarita wrote:
So what are you doing this days, are you working on something?

Yes, I have been carving and posting here http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=22368&forum=7&52 Maybe you've already seen it. I have a new piece I am working on right now, but it is not worth a photo yet!

Really beautiful bamboo boxes. Very nice and very good idea.
Bravo,

Benjamin.

clarita the candles looked great to start with, but now with the boxes to match they are perfecto!! i look forward to buying one off you in Buenos Aires soon!
tim.

Tikidav http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=22368&forum=7&52 Great thread too! You are very talented!!
The boxes are for each candle to live and go to their new homes... I'm terrible for the selling part I love them too much... But working on it...

Benella Thanks again!

Harro Thanks and OK, Greetings!

LOVE the boxes, Clarita- are you any closer to the US market? I want. Bad.

Hi Kitty! I hopefully will be participating on a Tiki Art Show Tiki-ray is putting together for April at Rancho Cucamonga, that's all I know by now but I keep you posted. I'm very exited about that! Greetings!

Aloha everybody! I've been working like crazy making candles(and boxes) for the Tiki Treasures & Polynesian Pinups event ,this are some of the colors I've been trying

All the colours look great! The only one Im not big on is the light beige/y one in the last pic, to the left. They look tops sitting in their little boxes too :) :) :)

Those are so well done!!! The candles alone are amazing and then you add the boxes---WOW-I'm blown away. I'll bet money you sell everything you have at Rancho Cucamonga--good luck with that!!!