Friday, September 24, 2010

Carving Project - Part 2

My last post got me part way through the biggest carving challenge yet - a three tile panel. Well, the carving of the panel is now done, so I'll bring you up to date.

The hardest part of the carving was the left tile, with only a grainy photo enlargement of a black and white catalog page, with very little detail.


I put my son to work, modeling the hand detail where the soldier is holding a spear.

I carved the details more pronounced, thinking that they would tend to disappear when the mosaic lines were added. After finally finishing the panel, I decided that I should cast plaster moulds before the mosaic lines went in.

Since this is a 3 tile set, it needed to be poured in 3 sections for pressing into wet clay. I started with the left side - the last part to be carved.


Success with the first mould - and with all the other sections too!


Then onto carving the mosaic lines.


It took me longer than I had thought it would to carve the mosaic lines in....about 3 - 4 hours, over 2 days time. Then on to pouring another 3 section mould set. The moulds are now drying and will get pressed next week, with another few weeks before they'll be ready for glazing. I'll open the glaze kiln with much anticipation, because that's the only time I can really tell if I've got it right!


You can find more photos of the process on my flickr page.

7 Comments:

Blogger Josje said...

Something must not be right at blogger, this is my third try in leaving a comment on your blog. This is what I wanted to say:
That looks fabulous Linda! I really enjoy seeing the process of your work.

September 25, 2010 at 9:52 AM  
Blogger Josje said...

Aha! Success at last! ;)

September 25, 2010 at 9:53 AM  
Blogger Linda Ellett said...

Oh yes, I got your comment on the other post too, and thank you for looking!!!

September 25, 2010 at 9:55 AM  
Blogger Felicia Kramer said...

Great job - stunning work!

September 26, 2010 at 8:49 AM  
Blogger Chrissy Ann Ceramics said...

I LOVE watching the process! Thank you for sharing with us!!! It is truly Beautiful! :)

September 26, 2010 at 8:59 AM  
Blogger Linda Ellett said...

Thanks Felicia and Chrissy Ann - I'm glad you enjoyed the process. It certainly became a much larger effort than I had anticipated, but with this experience under my carving belt, I'm ready to design and carve my own large panels!

September 26, 2010 at 9:22 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am living in a house that has the original of that exact tile set installed around the fireplace. If you would like a picture of what the original looks like, please give me an email to send it to.

Brian McNamara

May 9, 2014 at 10:01 AM  

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