Hey, they're really good! You've deffinatly perfected your bangle technique I'd say. The finish is amazing. My fave is probably the galaxy one - mainly 'cos of the name
That ammonites one is amazing though. How on earth did you do it? Is it black clay behind the white and you remove the top layer to show the black? maybe?
Very good though... Make hundreds and give us all one
close....the method is similar to sgraffito, a technique commonly used in ceramics with a bit of carving and back filling thrown in. this was more of an experimental piece so i will probably keep playing around with it.
i didn't get time to post a tute earlier so here we go (i also neglected to take many photos during making of this so if something is unclear please dont hesitate to ask me )
take one premade bangle. because you wont be able to do much in the way of sanding after you have finished the bangle (pendant etc..) should be sanded to a high finished (dont bother buffing and definitely no polish)
in this case i carved a basic out line into the bangle with a scribing tool (you could also use a thick needle or even the back edge of a craft knife but the scribing tool is easier particularly for somthing like this with a curved surface)
once you have carved your design take some well condition and softened clay (in this case i used black) using the back of a craft knife push the clay into the grooves and lines of the carving (think grouting tiles)
remove excess clay.
(here you can see the carved and filled outline of the ammonite and the section i have started to 'fill in'...i'l get to that in a moment)
next take a little more of the softened clay and working in the direction you will be scraping (ie if for example you are recreating hair you would want to scrape following the lines of the hair.) begin to scrape the clay over the surface of the bangle...kinda like buttering bread
(here i have spread the clay over the lower part of the design)
now take you craft knife and (gently!) begin to remove the colour you have just applied
once you have finished the design the bangle can be baked and sanded just sand any marks for example black finger prints..do NOT sand the design.
on items that receive more wear and tear for example bangles you may want to coat the area of the design in a thin layer of translucent or liquid clay for durability, items such as a pendant can simply be given a coat of varnish.
sorta tutorial for bangle blanks...
i use a mould to get the shape of the bangle.
to make your mould roll a thick slab of scrap clay. i used a a length of dowelling to create my mould but use whatever you have ..copper piping etc.....as long as its round. dust the dowelling/piping etc with a release agent (i used corn flour) and press into your scrap slab (make the slab as long as you can) i stack even wads of paper either side of the slab and use a rolling pin to press the dowelling into the slab so the depth of the mould is even. remove the dowelling and bake the mould.
to make the bangle roll a thick snake of scrap clay. dust the mould with corn flour (or you're preferred release agent) and press the snake firmly into the mould. remove the excess clay by holding a tissue blade level with the flat surface of the mould. remove the 'snake'.
for shaping the bangle i use a bean can...just make sure you can fit you're hand through it.
this is why you want the mould as long as possible. if the trimmed snake is long enough simply shape it around the bean can, smooth the ends together and bake. if the mould is too short you will have to join two or more lengths together before you shape the bangle around the can.
try to get the blank bangle as smooth as you can but dont worry too much as you will be covering it.
hope this helps
