The making of... invincible

 

Invincible was the first mini-art-feeling I made. As I mentioned in Etsy's Handmade Portrait, it is something I would love to be & feel always. It's such a strong feeling that encourages you to  go for it & face just about anything. Making the feeling is a complete different story. It's not as easy as it looks unfortunately and I must admit that I do swear and curse sometimes! :)
I start out by cutting the tail from a slab of clay. Then I place it on the base and trace where it should go. I make sure I add enough roughness and clayslib for it to be stuck really well. Sometimes, when I want to place the tail back, it breaks and then I curse. I roll out a very thin slice of clay and place it to the side to finish off the sides smoothly. I do this with a blunt, wooden tool. Then the magic with the wet paintbrush starts. I use a lot of paintbrushes to make things smooth and nice. And last but not least, the clay rib makes sure to smoothen out all the last bits. 
Ready to conquer the world now!

The making of... passionate

The feeling passionate is made with starting out to roll a slab of very thin clay. I cut out shapes of flames and save them in a wet cloth. Then I start applying the flames onto the still moist feeling. When all the flames are applied, I go over them with my clay rib to smooth them out a bit. Then I make sure that you don't see much of the rough edges of the flames anymore and use a wet paintbrush to go along them. It is then too wet to touch so I'll let it dry for a while and afterwards I use my pointy rib tool to make it all smooth. With a fine needle on a cork, I apply some lines on the flames so that it gives it a bit more depth. Our cat loves to sit on my lap when I work which is not always the most comfortable position but I can not refuse her to sit with me... :)

The making of... curious

To make the feeling curious, I have a little template I use to transfer the 'keyhole' onto the feeling. I trace the template with a blunt pen. Then I cut out the sides and the hole. When the clay is still soft, the sides usually get a bit wonky so I use a thin piece of wood to make it even again. To finish it off, I use my paintbrush with a little bit of water. That last bit is the most intricate part of it all and practises my patience...

The making of... ambitious

I like making this ambitious feeling. The process involved is straighforward and fun. First I roll a thin slab of clay. Then I place a little paper tie onto it and cut it out. I trace the tie onto the feeling and scratch the surface a bit on the feeling and the back of the tie. Then I apply some clay slib and press the tie onto the feeling. I finish off the edges with a wet paintbrush.
Do you feel ambitious sometimes?

The making of... naughty

Naughty is a fiddly feeling to make. The tiny pigtails are very vulnerable and they break quite easily while applying 'em to the feeling. So I always make a few before I start applying 'em to the bottom of the feeling. I mark the spot where it's supposed to go and then apply some clay slib and stick the tiny tail onto it. I press lightly with a clay tool to make it stay and finish it off with a wet paintbrush. It usually takes me about 4 or 5 tries before the tail is stuck on it's bottom. So naughty is also a bit stubborn...

The making of... creative

When I first started doing ceramics, one of the first things I did was raiding my dad's tool cabinet. There are such interesting tools you can use to apply texture to pieces and this hole maker has given me much pleasure so far. I use it to make holes into ornaments but also to apply to the feeling creative. When I make 'creative', I usually make a few as it's easier to work in batches. I always start with the biggest circles and last I make the smallest ones.
I always apply my logo and a number on the bottom. Creative is a popular feeling, it's together with curious one of the most bought ones.
The images are a bit off color but that's to blame on the lousy weather...

The making of... love

The making of love is not very hard but applying clay to clay is just a tad bit more tricky then taking away clay and takes time and patience. For the heart, I roll out a very thin slab of clay to cut out the heart. I use a heart cookie cutter but because I find that hart a bit too long, I cut away a piece so that the heart is 'rounder' at the bottom. Then I roughen the place where the heart is placed and the back of the heart and add clay slib so that it's 'glued' together. I finish the edges with a wet paintbrush.

The making of... comfort

The making of the feeling comfort is quite an ordeal. First I roll out a thin slab of clay and add squares to it. Then I roughen the feeling and put clay slib on it. I wrap a piece of the squared slab around the feeling and try to fit it nicely by cutting away parts. It's tricky to connect the parts together. It looks quite messy and it is in a way. Then I cut away the excessive clay on the bottom. I go over he 'blanket' with my clay rib to get rid of the mess I made while attaching the slab. That does make the lines go away but I go over 'em again with my knife. And then comes the most fun part: applying the 'stitches'. I love doing that.
I think I might crawl underneath my blanket now!
Have a lovely weekend everyone! :)