I am still feeling so intimidated by this swap 
though i have a vision of what i want to do.
I oddly love music but always forget to turn it on. So I usually do everything in silence. I haven’t turned the TV on in my apt for years either.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! (Grumbling because now I have to get out of bed and go to work)
My family thinks I am weird because I don’t turn the TV on every day. They turn it on for noise. Even if they aren’t watching it. I find that weird. LOL!
Same tbh. But I’m just pushing through and doing the best I can. It’s definitely not going to be the intricate sculpture of my dreams but I’m happy with how it’s coming out.
My sculpture dried but I wasn’t happy with some parts of the shape so I went in and added a little more clay in some parts (using thick slip and small amounts of clay). From my research I think it should work but if it all falls off then I guess I’ll get to start over 
Edited to add - it looks like it’s drying great!! After it’s dry I might touch up another couple spots but I should be able to start painting soon.
I was able to really dig into this today. I might’ve bitten off more than I could chew with the project I went with. 
I’m hoping I can still easily add other things, since I had to stop and do life stuff. I covered with with wet paper towels and a plastic bag to slow down the drying process.
While I was working on my test project with my son I needed to make something called slip. From the videos I watched it looked like I could make it and use it right away. Definitely not. My son and I used clay water instead of slip
I dropped my greenware sculpture off at the studio yesterday, and I’m going to need all the happy vibes that it survives, even until going into bisque fire. We’re super backed up eoth one kiln waiting on repairs and our huge storms coming through putting everything on pause for several days over the past couple weeks. There is a LOT of work waiting to be fired. I’ll be back over there on Friday (if not sooner) and I’m hoping it will at least be in a kiln by then. My community studio is a surprisingly well-oiled machine of a lot of people, so as long as something didn’t get bumped by accident, I think all will be well!
I’ve been worrying that you were caught in the floods - hope everything is okay out there!
Things are progressing and I have a plan on the final steps. I also got some good reference photos while on a hike today (no spoilers 
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I like to listen to music and podcasts while crafting, but lately I’ve been working on sculpting while watching Critical Role with my partner since it doesn’t require as much visual attention. Tbh I craft through every movie and show now anyway.
I thought of you when I saw the floods on the news, too, @Mountains_and_Clouds. I hope everything is okay your way.
I tried painting my sculpture, and I was convinced I ruined it. So, I decided to pivot to my backup sculpture. While waiting for the paint to dry on that one, I worked on the first one, and now I like it again! Whew. What a roller coaster.
PS - I painted the sculptures with Mod Podge and let that dry overnight before painting. That seemed to work and hold the paint.
Not for this swap but asking here since we’re talking about clay and I know we have a at least one potter 
Does anyone have a recommendation for a tiny tabletop wheel? I’m interested in making little pieces out of air dry clay and was looking at something like this. Thoughts?
I personally don’t like the tiny wheels, BUT I think it’s just because I’m super used to using a normal wheel. I think any tools can be learned… that being said, I feel like Vevor is a pretty solid brand and I think I’ve heard decent things about their (bigger than that one) tabletop wheels.
The issues I had when I tried a tiny wheel were mostly because I couldn’t really put any pressure on rhe head without slowing the speed, but the one I tried was a super cheap one from Aliexpress or something, and it was a really long time ago. I think tiny wheel technology has vastly improved since then.
And again, my opinion is just based on my own experience with the equipment I’m used to using. 
I got a couple layers of white acrylic on my sculpture today to seal it and spent some time in my sketchbook brainstorming how I want to paint it. I think I’ve settled on the design but need to finalize colors then get painting.
@gozer I also put two kinds of acrylic on the Sculpd tester piece I rolled out a couple days ago and the paint adhered perfectly. I really think it’s their base coat that made the paint slide around so much on my previous pieces. When I use the Sculpd clay in the future I’ll skip their base coat.
It had been a crazy, crazy week at work and home so I’ve been largely quiet online. I shipped yesterday so I’m excited for my partner to receive her sculpture. It’s headed to Canada though so I don’t expect it to arrive for several weeks.
Check-in question:
I am almost always listening to an audiobook if I’m not programming. I like TV as background noise (or music) while I program, instead. I can tune out TV enough to work through it, but my mind wants to pay attention to my audiobooks .
Ok, we loaded up the big kiln today and I got my sculpture in… hopefully it will survive and be on its way soon!
And a teaser photo… it’s hiding back there in the shadows!
Thanks for your input!! I decided to go for it and it just came today. It’s so cute! It’s small and does bog down if you put pressure on it at low speed but I found it was ok if I turned the speed up. The only thing I know about wheel throwing is what I’ve seen on Throwdown and the Pottery to the People YouTube channel so I’ve got some leaning to do. But I didn’t have any clay go flying off so I’m considering that a win Overall it seems like exactly what I was looking for and fits my space really well so a perfect way to get started! And it was only $30!
On the swap front I painted 3 different tester pieces this morning and I think I know what I’m going to do for the final piece. I kept trying to make the paint more complicated than I had in my head but I think it just wants to be more simple. Hoping @Rlynn likes it!
I’m sure I’ll love it.
My first try at painting was a fail. Doh. But at least the bandaid is ripped off. I’m going to go over it all with a few layers of white gesso, sanding in between, and try again. Good thing I have a little time.
I’m convinced painting is actually the harder part of this swap
I think i might be finished. Im going to let it sit a few days to make sure. And if so, pack it up to send. I had so much fun and frustration with this swap.
I got a few more materials yesterday, mostly because I realized my air-dry clay was hard as a rock (and from 2019…). I made good progress the other night and it might be dry enough for some sanding and working on the next complication.
Check In Question - Do you think you will create another sculpture using the method you used for this swap?
Me, Yes. I already have plans for a smaller item using the air-dry clay, but I had fun with the sculptures and can see more in my future. 
Definitely, I think so!
My son and I painted our devil fruits. (My practice sculpture piece) And I had a lot of fun with that. I tried to copy some techniques that North Of the Border uses on YouTube. I love his videos!
I definitely will think twice about making another ——. It’s been hard to get certain things the way I want them. Lol.
