filling the molds

Friday I intended to get at least two molds filled. I got one done, the simple bee. It took me a while to get set up, trying to decide where in the shop, but get set up I did, got my colors out and measured and my tools and I reached for the gum arabic solution I mix with the dry frit...and no gum arabic. It was at home in the refrigerator.

When I went back to get it, it had a big hunk of nasty looking mold floating in it. Fortunately Marc was on his way into the city so I called him and he brought me back some new. In the meantime, I used a very small amount of a different bottle of gum arabic I had left over from a printing with powder sort of lithography technique class I took. I'm sure it will be OK. I could have used Karo syrup which burns out clean. Later, in the middle of measuring out more glass frit, the battery on my scale died. So off to the store for a new battery.

On top of all that, when I opened my notebook I saw that it has been over a year since the last time I filled a mold and while I hadn't completely lost my skill set, I was a little rusty.

The bee is very detailed and takes over an hour just to get the frit in the negative bee space. Here, the frit is flush with the surface. The colors have to be built up from here because the frit packed into the negative space contains a lot of air and as the glass melts it sinks down so to be sure the proper color fills the entire space after firing, the frit has to be built up at least as high as the negative space is deep.

Here I am starting to add in the background/block color, building up the bee colors as well.

Most of the frit I use is size 'fine' which is about the same consistency as sand. Sometimes, I will use powder for really tiny areas like the toes of the lizard though here I have noodled fine frit into those toes. I don't usually like using powder because it comes out more chalky looking. And sometimes I will use size 'medium' frit, which is about the size of minced garlic, for backgrounds but mostly I use the size 'fine'.

I did manage to remember to photograph the lizard on the bark throughout the process. I think I have posted about filling molds before but it's been a while so here it is again.

the mold and the colors for the lizard and the acorn

filling in the lizard

this chameleon will be changing colors

building up the frit and filling in the acorn

lizard and acorn complete

laying in the color for the bark

bark color filled in

a thick layer of size medium clear frit to allow for a soft illumination from the sides

a thin layer of white for the very bottom

Now they are ready to go in the kiln where it will take about three days to heat up, cast, and cool down.

botanicas, tropicals, and pecans

Cold, overcast, and drippy though it is supposed to get up to 62˚ today.

I'll be over in the shop filling the other finished molds later. I got one done last Friday, a sort of comedy of errors which I'll go into next post.

While I have been waiting for Marc to get the molds made, I did the finish work and mounted the last of the cast Botanicas. Well, except for two which I have to grind some extra glass off or re-fire them but they are sitting in their frames for this pic.

After we get the little lizard and bee pieces finished for the open house, we will start casting the last seven, the new models, of the Botanicas. I'm really excited about that since these have been in the making for over 3 years. It's been over a year since the last time I cast any (all that commission work and then moving the shop).

I moved the tropicals...plumerias, desert rose, nun's orchid, staghorn fern, night blooming cirrius (produced four blooms this summer and I missed every single one!), and other cold sensitive plants...in last Wednesday. We will still have warm days but it dipped down to 30˚ Thursday night so in they came and in they will remain til spring. I am not hauling those things in and out until winter settles in.

Here's an update on the pecan harvest (not counting the ones I have shelled and I've lost count of those):

this is from 5 trees, two of which are natives

and still there are pecans laying on the ground and in the trees. I could just let them lay but if I do I'll be digging them up in the spring after they sprout as new trees.

OK, need to get over to the shop and get started. I'm already an hour late.

mold making and the Friday selfie

Here's an example of the reproduction molds we use. These are RTV, room temperature vulcanization Part A Part B rubber. These were made from plastic toys like Bag-O-Bugs from the toy store. I make molds of things I find in nature too like rocks and acorns and sticks (I have a butt load of stick molds) and tree bark and shells and other stuff.

You can also use a liquid silicone or latex or silicone caulk. I use all these materials depending on what I am making a mold of and how long I want it to last. The latex molds have the shortest life and take the longest to make.

After I'm done with the model and it is glued down (because it is not heavy enough to not float in the mold mix) with the piece of styrofoam (extra space to hold the crushed glass), Marc paints on isopropol alcohol which acts as a bubble release so that air won't get trapped on the surface of the model and create holes in the mold.

If I am worried about air getting trapped during casting, I will sprue the small, narrow, or deep parts. The blue wax wires will become tunnels that let the air escape to the top of the mold.

Next he builds a dam around the piece

and then pours a mix of hydro-cal plaster, silica flour, and water around the model until it is covered by the mold mix.

Then it sits until it has set, about an hour, and he removes the glass pieces that comprised the dam from the hardened plaster mold.

Now the model is encased in plaster and the next step is to remove it.

styrofoam has been removed

He places the mold wax side down on a piece of hardware cloth over a pan of boiling, steaming water. A bucket over it will help hold and direct the steam into the mold and melt the wax out.

the ready, steamed out molds

This is why it is called a lost wax process, because we are losing the wax model after the mold is made.

We also lose the molds which are called 'waste molds', to answer your question Steve, because they can only be used one time. Most of my work has deep undercuts so the only way to get the finished casting out of the mold is to destroy the mold which is very soft after firing. If the model were perfectly drafted, it would just fall out of the mold and then the mold could be reused. In that case, we would use a different stronger mold material formula.

One last step before I start to fill the molds...measure the volume and convert it to grams of glass. I do this by weighing a container of water, then pouring water into the mold up the the 'fill' point, weigh the container of water again, find the difference and multiply by the specific gravity of the glass to get the amount of grams (or ounces depending on what unit of measure you use) needed to make the casting.

So, here is me, bundled up in the shop on the coldest day of the season so far to start filling molds. I could have done it in the warm house except I have already moved all my frit (crushed glass) over here. Actually, it's not that bad now that the sky has cleared and the sun is warming up the metal building.

stocking up

We went shopping yesterday. We both needed some new winter clothes and so even though it was still not winter; nice warm day yesterday, south wind being sucked in by the approaching northern wave of cold; now is the only time you can find your size if you are average. Even so, there was a definite lack of size M. I tried on 2 shirts; one, a size small, the shoulders hung way down and the sleeves hung past my fingertips, the other a medium which had a very weird boat neck that stood out. Held up a couple pair of pants and had a few inches of leg still laying on the floor and I'm not short, still stand 5'4", not tall but not short and the pants lay on the ground. Who do they make these for?

Anyway, Marc got a flannel shirt and we both got some new winter lounge pants. My choices by weight and feel were limited to Hello Kitty, Princess Elsa, Disney characters, and superheroes, specifically BatWoman and SuperGirl. Those are the ones I got.

On to another store for new long underwear. I have always preferred silk and will pay the extra for the lightweight warmth. They wear out fast though so I usually need to buy new ones every other year. Academy sports used to carry them but apparently not anymore so I had to settle for modern synthetics. But I did find a decent work-day long sleeve shirt.

Then the liquor warehouse and then a Costco run, where Marc scored another flannel shirt, and it was time to double back and hit Home Depot for a shop vac on the way home. Since, on the way in, right before our first exit off the highway, we passed an 18 wheeler that was being consumed by fire on the outbound side (fire trucks and police already on the scene) and traffic was backed up as far as our farthest exit and still at a standstill, we took some country roads and circled around til we could get past the truck.

I'm headed back to Costco today for a heater we saw for the shop, mused over, and then didn't get. A little butt kicking going on here since the first really cold front is early and imminent and we are working in the shop this week making molds and casting.

More on that next post.

back to life

I spent last week making little models for the up-coming open house. I don't expect to sell anything. We haven't, really, for the last two years. People just aren't coming like they used to. Too many other choices of artist studio weekends now. And Dick and Kathy have been so busy with other important parts of their lives, glassblowing is a low priority for them right now. They aren't even going to turn the furnace on this year though we will have demos using the glory hole and the garage and recycling bottles. I think. Something like that. To tell the truth, I don't know why they are even doing this as they won't have even one single new thing, which is not to say they won't have many beautiful things because they will.

I'm planning six new little sculptures, three lizard pieces and three bee pieces. I tried to do one very simple, one with a little more detail and work, and one that was even more work. The lizard on the leaf took me a whole day to make whereas I did both the others in one day. The bee on the flower also one whole day and the other two of the bee pieces, both in one day.

I don't carve the lizards and bees each time. I have reproduction molds for those and I just pour melted wax in them. Same for the acorn and the bark background and the slabs so it's mostly just assembling the pieces though I do work on the bees and carve out under their wings and I usually have to rebuild the little toes of the lizard. The leaf and the flower though I carved out of 1/4” thick slabs of wax.

Marc is working on making the molds now. He cut some styrofoam for the reservoir to hold all the glass for the casting and then he glued them together. Now they are being glued down onto a piece of plate glass on which he will make the mold.

These will be the first things we have cast since this time last year when we were getting ready for this. We've been busy with other things as well...commission work, selling the city property and then moving, summer and the grandkid visits. I expect we will spend the winter casting the 7 new botanicas and, I hope, other things. Like the peach inlay for the peach box. 

I've had this mold for over a year. I'm a little afraid of it which is why I have let it languish. I'm afraid that my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach won't work out. I've been disappointed more than once and I've only got one shot at this.

I could should do some color samples if I'm so worried about it, right? But...nah!

What's the fun in that?

disgusted

I think that's how I felt once I got over the dismay. The worst do nothing, vendetta oriented, obstructionist, and paid off congress in history with the lowest approval rating ever and the people just re-elected the bastards and then some. Locally as well as nationally.

WTF?

I know this is just one election in many and that statistically and historically they were bound to get it but it doesn't make me feel any better. But what does make me feel better is that even with a majority in the senate now I don't expect they will be interested in getting anything done. None of them know how to govern anymore. They'll just have a jolly time trying to get rid of the ACA and impeaching the president for the next two years. Or I should say, two more years.

It's not like they are actually going to do anything to help the common American, because you know it might reflect well somehow on the President and they can't have that because, make no mistake, they are just as opposed to him as they have ever been no matter how they wear their shit eating grins and promise that now some cooperation and compromise can be had. The twitter sphere is going nuts with the right wing incensed that Obama hasn't resigned after the election. The complete and utter racism on display is appalling.

Perhaps if the democratic candidates had had the balls to stand by the president and all his accomplishments despite republican obstructionism and ran on those accomplishments (so say smarter folk than I) and while he hasn't been perfect because face it, who is, he has done good for this country, if they had done that, maybe they would have come across as strong candidates and fared better. I mean really, when your approval rating is in the mid 30s and your opponents' approval rating is in the teens, that means while people may not be real happy with you right now, they still like you three times better than the other guys. So why try to be the other guys?

Some of Obama's accomplishments:

The ACA which while it has it's problems has made health care available to millions of people that didn't have access before.

Unemployment below 6%, the lowest it's been in 8 years.

Record stock market highs.

Record corporate profits.

Increased support for veterans.

Reformed Wall Street.

Credit card rate reform.

Ended two wars and prevented us from getting involved in others through diplomacy and got Osama Bin Laden.

Shrank the deficit.

Passed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Strengthened the EPA.

Increased the federal minimum wage.

For a comprehensive list of 269 accomplishments including these, go here.

Instead, they distanced themselves from Obama and his seeming low approval rating out of fear of association and lost their strengths while the republicans did what they do best and incited fear with their ever expanding list of bogeymen and monsters to bring out their base.

Truth is, it probably wouldn't have mattered since half the eligible population just can't be bothered to get out on any one of the roughly two weeks worth of days available to cast their vote no matter what. And so the lunatics are in charge of the asylum until the next election. Unless we can get rid of Citizen's United, I don't see anything changing. The elections have been taken out of our hands and delivered with a bow to the oligarchs.

I'm glad that the absurdity that American politics has become is over for another two years. It's one of those things where the need to stay informed is at odds with my desire to remain sane.

One more thing. Just this, America...be careful what you wish for.

Oh, and this. Stop watching Fox. They lie.

election day blues

Today is election day, the last day to vote in this mid-term election. I am staying off FB today and not watching the TV, though Marc will turn it on, avoiding election news. I am fearful that all the predictions will come to pass, that the Republicans will take the Senate and hold the House. I fear that those crazy far right wingers like Greg Abbott and his ilk who think a racist pants shitting draft dodging coward who sings and brags about committing statutory rape and writes screeds about killing the president and loves to pose with his guns is a stand-up American will take our governorship and further grind Texas down into the ground. Greg Abbott, the man who did a stupid thing like jogging during a hurricane and sued the pants off everybody he could and got a multi-million dollar settlement after a tree fell on him and paralyzed him and then when he became Lt. Governor he passed tort reform so no one else could get the kind of settlement he did. If we thought Perry was bad, we are in for a world of hurt if Abbott and Patrick get in office. All people have to do is look around at how poorly the southern red states are doing to know that the policies that these Tea Party Republicans support only help rich white men.

OK, enough of that. It hurts my heart to see what is becoming of this country.

Yesterday, I had three things on my to-do list...dig up more grass, plant a plant, and work on some small models for the up-coming open house. I got two models done and a hole dug but did not get the plant planted because I decided I wanted to go to the feed store and get some bags of compost to mix in before I planted the pink angel trumpet. Also, no grass got dug up. But Marc did finish the sandblasting on the window. Haven't cleaned it off yet.

It was breezy and gusty yesterday and it once again was raining pecans. I picked up over two gallons worth and still the ground was covered. Surely I am getting close to my 100 pounds I am holding back to sell. 55¢ a pound for 100 pounds. My neighbor says they had to raise the price because no one was bringing them in. I now have 6.84 pounds of shelled nuts. Not counting the ones we have eaten already. The wholesalers will buy pecans up until January or February if they are still getting people bringing them in. I'll shell until I get sick of it or until January when I will sell all the remaining pecans.

All except for the bag on the far left (leftover from last year) is this years harvest...so far.

It's warm and overcast today and we might get a few rain showers but I suspect not. Perhaps tomorrow when the cold front moves in. The fall blooming tall orange cosmos which volunteered and spread from the four plants from last year are blooming nicely and I saw my first monarch in about two years flitting among them the other day.

Today besides avoiding the news, I will continue on with yesterday's chores. And since the local wholesale nursery has not opened it's little retail stand so far this fall I will have to drive further to get the pansies and sweet pea seeds I want.