Malcolm Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 Although I have been a forum member for quite a few years, I never uploaded any images of my carvings. I made this trefoil around 1993. It is carved plaster with acrylic, and around 1.75 inches in diameter. This photo was made today, with a camera I borrowed from my daughter, and the image is not very good because I never used a digital camera before. Janel, in preview this image appears to be above your recommended guidelines in size. I would reduce it if I knew how. Sorry, but I am still in the process of adjusting to the digital age. Malcolm Schosha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hello Malcolm, Thank you for figuring out how to share your photo with us. I fixed the size for you, and thank you for being conscientious about the guidelines. The piece is actually very small, and in good condition for being made of plaster. I find myself wondering what plaster is like to carve. Are you carving now? Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted September 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 Thanks for fixing the image size, Janel. Your help is much appreciated. Plaster will take a lot of detail if it is mixed well, and carved with a light touch. But plaster always needs some sort of finish. I always seal the surface with at least two thin coats of shellac, and sometimes that alone seems enough. Otherwise, I put on a painted finish with an acrylic, or I put on gold leaf...but in either case that is over the shellac. Right now I am carving two pieces in a terracotta clay. Either leather hard, or bone dry, clay can be carved, as you know. I am very fond of terracotta, and really like the feel of the fired material, but am not sure I will pursue it further. Although it is as easy, or more easy, to handle than porcelain, it still can break more easily then plaster when being carved. Also, since I stopped making pottery years ago, and live in a Brooklyn apartment, there is no place to put a kiln with all the heat and fumes that a firing produces. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 You make a good point about the fumes that are created by firings, and not used in an apartment. There are art or pottery centers in many major cities, and I believe there is a thriving community of potters in Brooklyn ( I know one of them ). Have you investigated the possibility of using the kiln space of a community pottery class for firing? Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted September 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 I was at one time a member of the Clay Art Center, in Port Chester, NY. That goes back to a time when Elsbeth Woody was still there. I liked it being a coop, and it was a good place to work. But I am not sure there is anything quite like it in Brooklyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Hi Malcolm, I will send you a message with an idea, someone I know in Brooklyn who might be able to help you locate a way to fire your clay things. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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