Actually it's puffed rice cereal.
Now and then I have a request for a bowl or mug that measures a certain amount of cups or ounces. If it's not something standard I already make, this always means a lot of guesswork and making extras in varying sizes "just in case". But if I were to fill the leather hard or dry greenware with the correct measurement of something lightweight that won't dent or otherwise cause harm I can at least see if I'm close to what I need- allowing for shrinkage, of course. Why hadn't I thought of this before?!!
A forest of textured slab vases.
I've had this piece of wire mesh in the texture/stencil drawer for awhile. More stuff to do on this tile but have to bisque fire it first.
I ordered this tile cutter from Laguna. It is six inches square. I cut both the above and below tiles with it. I thought it might help with making flat tiles because of pressing down to cut instead of drawing a knife through the clay. We'll see. I find it helps to put the board with the clay slab I'm about to cut on the floor. The tile cutter has a spring and I need to get my shoulders above it to press down if I'm going to get a good cut. My table is a bit high for this, and I'm a bit short. I also cut some pieces of drywall to sandwich the tiles between to dry, which I've heard may prevent warping.
For my usual wall hanging tiles, it's not a big deal if they're a little warped. Now, though, I really need flat tiles because a customer would like me to make some to go around a fireplace in her new home. The picture below is one of the glazes she would like me to use. She has various textures in mind, mostly nature themed. Should look great IF it works out!
I have this tile cutter and I like it more than any other way I have tried to make tiles. One thing I always forget to do though, is clean the edges of the cutter after every couple of tiles. If not, the edges of the tile become rippled from the clay that is on the cutter. Or I just take a few extra steps and smooth the edges.... I like the measurement tip, great idea!
ReplyDeleteTracey, glad to hear someone else has tried it with good results. I soon found out about cleaning the edges, too.
ReplyDeleteI thought about getting a tile cutter but never have, other cookie cutters I use I put some WD40 on a paper towel and clean and lubricate the edges of the cutter and that makes it cut and release from the clay easier. I dry my tiles on wall board placed on a shelf with an open weave which seems to help with air circulation from below.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, I haven't been checking comments so sorry to respond so late. I'll have to try the WD40 see how that works. Thanks.
ReplyDelete