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Trader Tom's Ceramic Projects |
Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
|  Posted: 2012-08-28 9:19 pm Permalink
Here's the father/son project...
Mission accomplished!
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Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
| Posted: 2012-09-09 02:51 am Permalink
Here's the square bowl I made a while back, all glazed up:
I have another hand-built wahine mug waiting for bisque fire right now, but in the mean time I've moved on to slip-casting.
I have a 1970's handled skull mug mold that I just started experimenting with. If I can get it in gear, maybe I'll do a run of them and try to sell them for Halloween...
There's a learning curve, though. My first one out of the mold looked good and was the right thickness but was missing half of the handle. I used some trimmings to re-sculpt the handle, then discovered the bottom was too wet and when I picked it up, the bottom fell out like a cup of Jello pudding. ):
I'll let the mold dry out for a day or two, then try it again. I'm using a stoneware slip that is really thick. I may try thinning it out a little bit and then take extra care to try and direct slip into the handle. And...let it sit longer before popping it out.
More updates soon.
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6412
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2012-09-09 08:08 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2012-08-28 21:19, Trader Tom wrote:
Here's the father/son portrait
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Tom, how awesome that you are teaching you son how to sling mud! Look at the pride on his face! Any excuse to hang out with your kids is a good one. I can't wait until my grandsons (now age 2 1/2 years & 3 months) are ready
The bowl turned out great. I love that blue/green glaze on the outside and the lava texture is cool too. I looked for a skull mold and couldn't find one. So I tried building one last night, we'll see how that worked out.
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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Hiphipahula
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: May 27, 2006
Posts: 2376
From: The Valley! Female, leo,fav color pink.
| Posted: 2012-09-09 10:47 pm Permalink
Tom! Looking better all the time! I miss you, I'll call this week 
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hiphipahula.com/
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Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
| Posted: 2012-09-12 9:51 pm Permalink
Thanks!
So I thinned down my slip and it seemed to do the trick. I just popped out my first skull mug.
Can't wait to start glazing these. I think I'm going to go with a rust brown exterior, white interior, and do lots of different colors for the teeth, nose, and eye sockets (orange, red, green, etc...).
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danlovestikis
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jun 17, 2002
Posts: 3568 | Posted: 2012-09-12 10:51 pm Permalink
That's a very nice mold. Good job. I've not done a skull. Yours is just in time for Halloween. Wendy
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danlovestikis
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jun 17, 2002
Posts: 3568 | Posted: 2012-09-12 10:51 pm Permalink
That's a very nice mold. Good job. I've not done a skull. Yours is just in time for Halloween. Wendy
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Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
| Posted: 2012-09-25 2:56 pm Permalink
So I have the first couple of these glazed, but not glaze fired yet. I'll probably drop them off at the kiln this weekend.
The one on the left is a crackle brown with white teeth and sockets. The right one is a rust brown with orange teeth and sockets.
I'm stamping them and numbering them on the bottom. Hope to do about 50 or so.
I should be able to hit the mark because I did some digging and came up with a second identical skull mug mold!
Just in time for Halloween.
I'll start putting them in marketplace after I get the first couple done, assuming they turn out okay.
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6412
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2012-09-25 7:24 pm Permalink
They look good Tom, that crackle glaze should look especially cool. Are you using a high fire stoneware?
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
| Posted: 2012-09-25 9:17 pm Permalink
Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out.
Yes, I'm using high fire stoneware slip for these. Firing to cone 6.
Just started using the new mold. With two at a time I should have quite a few shortly...
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Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
| Posted: 2012-10-13 05:42 am Permalink
Well, I got busy and haven't posted anything on my ceramics in a while, but I've kept at it.
I'm going to pick up the first couple of glaze-fired skull mugs from the kiln this weekend and will post pics of how they turned out when I get a chance. So far, I have a dozen made and will have a bunch available for sale shortly before Halloween.
I'm also playing with another vintage mold. Just pulled the first casting from it about an hour ago.
You may recognize it in lamp form. Go Tiki has used it before to make some really nice lamps.
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=24254&forum=18&start=210&hilite=ken%20ocorr
The mold is a Ken Ocorr mold from the 1960's. Ocorr ran a mold-making facility in Long Beach, CA for many years. My guess is that he or someone else made this mold based off of an earlier design and then sold it to be used by home hobbyists.
This was the largest mold I've ever used and it went pretty smoothly except for when I was pouring slip back out of the mold. I thought I had it all but I didn't expect a delayed "ketchup bottle" effect and ended up with slip all over the kitchen floor. It mopped up easily enough, but next time I will use a bucket instead of trying to smoothly pour it all back into the narrow opening of the 2-gallon container I was using. Live and learn.
Anyway, more updates soon.
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years)
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6412
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2012-10-13 06:10 am Permalink
I'm glad I'm not the only one who makes a clay mess in the kitchen! 
_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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Trader Tom
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 744
From: Hillsboro, OR
| Posted: 2012-10-14 12:37 am Permalink
Rusty Skull with Orange Eyes
Crackle Brown Skull
Skull number three is glazed in Dark Antiqued Gold but it's waiting to get fired.
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ebtiki
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Feb 08, 2009
Posts: 227 | Posted: 2012-10-14 12:40 pm Permalink
Nice skulls, Tom!
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hang10tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 18, 2010
Posts: 1973
From: Las Vegas
| Posted: 2012-10-14 2:09 pm Permalink
Lookin good
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