Traditional Ceramic Tile Process Journal

[Lukacs]

Greetings Fellow Light Pushers, Form Builders, and Creatives of all kinds !!
Normally I don't have the time to snap pictures as I'm working, 2D or 3D, but in the weeks leading up to GenCon Indy
I had the opportunity to take a whole bunch that will document the ceramic tile process I was taught in college
(by Tom Phardel, David Ellison, and my Wife) from start to finish.. The single frieze mold is limiting in terms of being
only slightly 3D, and there's much more to ceramics in general that I won't cover, but I thought it worth sharing with
CA just in case there was anyone interested in Ceramics ??


:: MAKING THE MODEL ::

I try to keep the sketch simple, leaving a little more opportunity for serendipity than in a painting.. Starting with a
printout of a sketch, and accounting for clay shrinkage, (the final tile will turn out substancially smaller than the model)
I roll out slabs of No.3 Roma Plastilina modeling plastisine, cut out the major shape, and trace the design on to the base
surface.. I've not worked much with Plastisine, but it's worked out great for the last couple molds I've made, and you'll
see later that this time it worked by the numbers yet again..

In terms of content, I've long had a fascination with Ancient Maya, the way their brush work melds with typography in
story form, I find it all amazing..
This design being a sort of Mayan leopard guardian, I wanted it looking sort of "Moebius Deco" or Airtight Garage..
Yes, that's Rodny there for comic support..


Tighter shot, w/ some tools.. Nothing too fancy.. Here the teeth have been added..


The wood panel I'm working on is sorta fancy, it forms the bottom of my casting box, as to not damage the model
when pouring the mold..more later.. Here's a couple process shots.. I'm keeping in mind to fill in any undercutting,
so the process of pressing tiles will run smoothly, and little damage will take place in the surface of the clay when
you pop it out..



I'm pretty happy with it at this point.. There's some grit that I brush smooth with either Mineral Spirit, or WD40..

[Lukacs]

:: POURING THE MOLD ::

Pouring plaster takes practice, I still have to scramble to mix more plaster, or find that I've mixed too much sometimes..
One can also make multiple piece, 3D molds, as small as a pea, or as big as a memorial bronze, and each process has
it's differences.. So here's my disclaimer, as I don't wanna wreck anyones originals.. If you've never done it before,
practice.. Practice on a bottle cap, or something that you won't mind being distroyed..

Here I've got the model all smoothed out with a brush and WD40, inside my now assembled casting box that I use for
small tiles.. You can assemble just about any shape, one piece casting vessle with as much as thick cardboard, and
duct tape as well.. So, long as it's watertight, sturdy enough to handle being filled with pancake batter, and on a
plank of some kind that you can shake a bit, it'll be good to go.. At this point you'll also need to locate a straw of
some sort.. I use a brass tube nowadays, which is also pictured (covered with plaster) as I've had a plastic straw
crack on me mid-process, which in turn wrecked a mold on me.. You will basically need something to blow the
liquid plaster into all the little cracks, so as not to get bubbles and subsequent holes in the mold..




Mixing plaster in and of itself is a subjective process.. You don't want to make too little or too much, and you don't want
to make the mixture weak (as it will endure a lot of beating when pressing clay into it).. Therefore, it's best to keep
enough plaster and water around to mix up a batch on the fly if needed.. As it's an organic product, plaster is also
quite inconsistant from company to company, so I don't have or use a qualified water to plaster ratio..

The best way I've learned is to, estimate a little more than half the volume of your casting vessle in water, out in a plastic
bowl.. Then, start slowly sifting out (with a flour sifter or through your fingers) the plaster powder... It will hit the surface
and sink, while slowly building up an "Island" in the water.. Mix enough plaster into the water so that this "Island" pops up
past the surface of the water... Then mix with your hands to smooth any lumps of dry plaster into the consistency of
pankcake batter.. If it's a small amount you're pouring, you've gotta work quite fast, and if it's a larger amount you've a
little more time, but not much.. Within around 2 to 5 minutes after mixing, the liquid will become unpourable, and set, so
it's a race against time.. I start by flicking the plaster that's already on my one hand on to the model, making sure it's
being forced into the grooves around the perimeter.. After a few seconds of this, I pour the mold up to the lowest surface
detail on the model.. Then I start in with blowing the plaster into all surface details of the model, making sure that I'm
not adding any air bubbles, also if you blow too hard, the WD40 can form bubbles as well.. When it looks like every
surface of the plastisine has a thin coat of plaster, I then pour the remainder of the plaster along a side, as not to pour
directly on the details just coated, until the model is completely covered by around an inch or more.. Directly after the
mold is poured, I shake the whole casting vessle in order to vibrate any bubbles to the surface.. Jewelers have an
ultrasonic vibrating table for this job, but knocking the base of the casting vessle against the table works pretty good..
VERY IMPORTANT Mind that you don't make the tragic mistake of vibrating your model away from from the base !!!
No fun there...

Here's the poured mold, sorry I couldn't get anyone to take shots of the pouring process..

[Lukacs]

:: CLEANING UP & RELEASING MODEL ::

After 20 minutes of setting, I break the mold out of it's box..



I clean up and bevel all the edges of the mold with a rasp planer, then title the new matrix..



2 or 3 hours after pouring.. This is show time.. At this point, you've either a solid mold, or nothing at all.. I heat one
end of a ball of plastisine with a lighter, and press it against the flat back of the model, as shown.. Then I pull it out,
and as you can see this time it's gone completely by the numbers... With a few little touch ups, the model is no
worse for wear..



I like to do a fare amount of cleaning on the mold.. You can actually level out surfaces in reverse, that you couldn't
when you were carving.. Then it's on to drying, if you've a kiln firing, or a dry source of heat somewhere, like a
furnace, place the still wet mold near it to dry... In a couple days it will be dry enough for it's task..




More later, on the actual tile making, and Ceramics process..

[GentleFood3]

I guess no one's commented because there doesn't seem to be much to add, but I have some questions to assault you with.
I've never casted anything before, and I'm not really sure how to go about making molds of my two current pieces. Rev. Meat has some undercutting, but could I fill it in temporarily and cast it that way? You mentioned slip casting, but doesn't the copy shrink during firing? Does it require firing? I really know nothing, and I don't know what materials to use
Then there's the matter of the hole in the other piece. http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71450

I'd really appreciate any advice

[Vishaka]

I know nothing about ceramics, but this is really gorgeous. I can definitely see the mayan influence. Post more of your ceramics stuff!

[Lukacs]

Hi GentleFood, thanks for the reply, and for your cool meatboy sculpt as well.. I want one, if you make copies..

Rev. Meat has some undercutting, but could I fill it in temporarily and cast it that way?

Rev. Meat looks to me like you could do a two piece mold (one pour for the front, and another for the back) without too much more work to your model, IF you take off the left arm, the hair bun, and maybe the burger, and cast them as seperate parts to be attached later.. Either that, or it would be a 3 or 4 part mold as it is.. It's a very rounded form to begin with, so I don't see that you'd have to do too much more work besides fixing those undercuts.. The figurative form would be at least a 3 piece mold, from what I can see of it, and the hole is the least of your worries, I'd actually not suggest a plaster for this one unless you have a desperate need to cast in ceramics.. With both though, it'd be a good idea to cast in latex first, and make mistakes with plaster or wax copies instead of the originals.. I've done a couple 3 piece molds in plaster, but I'd not feel qualified to pick your cuts on that figure.. It is an art form in and of itself, sort of like what a master printmaker is to an engraver..

You mentioned slip casting, but doesn't the copy shrink during firing? Does it require firing?

Yes firing, and Yes shrinkage.. The liquid clay slip shrinks a bit from drying alone, but it shrinks again in the biscuit firing, and again if/and when you glaze..

Gracious thanks for the interest !!! I'll get more into Ceramics in the next entry..

[Lukacs]

Gracious thanks Vishaka, I've always dug the thin line between image, and typography in Mayan Art... With any luck this post will kick me into putting more of our tile work on the website, but for now I've painting to do..

Back to work

[egerie]

Earthenwood : Maybe it's just me but I find there's a LOT of plaster for a piece of this size. Usually I'd do small a mix #1 (1mm of water floating on top of the plaster) that will pick all details but would apply it thinly on the piece. Followed by a mix #2 (plaster looking like a dry riverbed but still turning gray before 2mins of soaking) to reinforce the first mix. And end up with a mix #3 (plaster being white on top of the water with a few cracks after 2 mins).
When majoring, we used to consolidate our last plaster coat (third) to save on the material, being broke all the time and all. So I'd take hemp or unravel a hemp rope -great hand exfoliant!..-, spray water on it and mix it with my #3 plaster. Basically it turns hard as friggin' rock ! I even used fiber glass on the modling of a lifesize bust... Sure it will look super ratty compared to your exquisite mold but... well it's just a mold

Thanks for posting this by the way! I can't wait to see more of your designs. Are you selling these at cons or.. ? Final question, did you make your own casting box ? I'm a bit suprised of the use of WD40 for this task. I'm sure it beats vaseline

Hope you don't mind adding my 2c of knowledge here...
Little note to our n00b plaster mixing forum friends; plaster can get REALLY HOT depending on the type and brand you select. Be carefull as wider loads will have an exponential catalisation process. If your piece becomes too hot, don't be afraid to gently lower it in a tub of water at least after 5 mins.
Also, if you want to gain a few seconds on your work time before it hardens, use icy water. You'll get used to it. (there's another way that building contractor use but... let's move on. )
Wait for your plaster to harden in your mixing bowl before washing it; you will ruin your plumbing if you always rince your bowl while the plaster is still soft. Using a flexible plastic bowl helps since you can twist the thing a bit and the plaster slivers will just pop so you can throw them away.
You can pre-mix as many mixes as you want without it starting it's catalisation process; the trick is to put your recepient on a sturdy floor (concrete/stone) and super gently add your plaster without mixing or touching the water. Just make absolutely sure that there will be NO VIBRATION of any kind around the mix. Setting it on a table will probably fail since it only takes a little tap to one of the leg to start the reaction.

ok I'm out!

[Lukacs]

Great additions Egerie...!!! It's all great advice for a subject that has so many different facets, and minutia.. I especially like the bits on spraying the initial coat, and also not rinsing down the drain.. This has cost me hours of being prone, and cursing at pipes.. Achh aye... Both plaster & clay can clog your drains, and some glazes can eat at your drains, or even be quite toxic to the water table.. Best kept outta the sink..

Now, are you casting ceramics or something else?? I can only speak from the small work I've done, but I might stay away from the El Dante' bath you described at this size, unless the mold is for Bronze or Glass casting, where you're going to want to bust up the plaster in the end.. I've always thought that shocking the catalisation process, effects the solidity of the plaster ?? My bad, if that's not the case..

Maybe it's just me but I find there's a LOT of plaster for a piece of this size.

Since this is a small press mold (I will eventually press clay into it, and smash it with a wooden mallet) (coming soon) one could argue that it's not enough plaster..?? There's not only strength at play, but you also want enough porous material around to draw the moisture out of the clay as it sits (this becomes more important in making a "consistant" liquid slip casting mold, so you can determine the thickness of the shell, by the amount of time it takes for the plaster to draw out the moisture).. This mold had a good inch and a half around the model, and it won't endure a lot of abuse, so the casting box (a cheap bloodbath & beyond display box that I was able to dismember as of bad glue joints ) was a decent fit this time around.. It's also good for stackable storage if all our molds are the same flat size, even if you're not using up the whole area..??

Glad you mentioned embedding things in the plaster as well..!! Since I've had matrix molds break, from hammering them too hard, I sometimes add small lengths of hemp cording or corn husk finishing on the outside for extra strength as well.. Mostly the bigger 3D garden ornament molds.. I've heard of folks embedding heating elements to make their process go quicker.. And there's an art tile manufacturer nearby, Motawi Tile, that embeds an air compressor nozzle into each of their molds so that they can blow the tile out almost immediately after it's been pressed, very time efficient..

Are you selling these at cons or.. ? Final question, did you make your own casting box ? I'm a bit suprised of the use of WD40 for this task. I'm sure it beats vaseline

My appologies for the sales pitch, but check out our websites in a couple weeks and we should have our crap together :: www.chucklukacs.com or www.earthenwoodstudio.com

As for releasing agents, I've brushed on Murphy's Oil Soap when the model is made from wet clay, to diluted Vaseline, to WD40 for the plastisine.. The only real differences in the WD40 that I like is that I can smooth out roughs with a brush on the model, and spraying keeps an even coat of release all over the box..

Well it's great to hear similar techniques from someone who works at your scale, I'm way envious !!! And it's nice to know folks are keeping the traditional knowledge around, even though it's not the easiest way to work anymore... Gracious thanks for sharing...

Back to work...

[egerie]

Originally Posted by Earthenwood

and also not rinsing down the drain.. This has cost me hours of being prone, and cursing at pipes..

YIKES! I've always been deathly afraid of causing major mayem to my appartment block when I witnessed the ravages that these could do elsewhere. Acrylic paint can be a bummer too :/

I'm not very good with ceramics; only did one course of it which is why I'm interested in your work; hoping to pick up a few things and learn. Thanks for mentionning your URLs. There's no shame in self promotion!
The El Dante's bath ( ) is really only when we make super thick plaster stuff. It's actually very rare that a piece will freak out on us. Black cement reacts quite violently tho and can split a mold just because of the heat, which is why we lower it in a water bucket. You're probably right when you mentionned the catalisation shock affecting the solidity of the plaster.. In any case, dousing your piece should only be used when you think the heat will affect the final product or damage your mold.. Sorry for being an alarmist!

Since this is a small press mold (I will eventually press clay into it, and smash it with a wooden mallet)

Oh right! See, I didn't know the following step. Everything is clear now. So did you reinforce this mold as well or is it 100% plaster only? Would reinforcing with hemp affect your moisture control ?

I should've thought of the shadowbox.. duh. I'm surprised bloodbath & Beyond makes sturdy enough boxes (minus the glue) for them to handle the pouring of plaster and not spill all over the place. I've used lego bricks before to do the same thing but with a silicon mix. Same principle, takes a bit more time but so much fun

Mostly the bigger 3D garden ornament molds.. I've heard of folks embedding heating elements to make their process go quicker..

:o *WHAT?* ? Wow. Not sure I'd like that in my molds... I don't rush the plaster and usually let it set for 12/24 hours (except when I'm casting my own arm with a 2 part mold + alginate and am stuck in there... Good times!). The air compressor nozzle is genius for this kind of specialisation.

Well it's great to hear similar techniques from someone who works at your scale, I'm way envious !!!

Actually, I haven't touched plaster in 10 years...... I use to make clay busts, mold them and then make a plaster and black cement replica, life size human figure, etc. and turned to other things. But your post was very inspirational and fired me up!! I was just excitedly saying to a co-worker that it really made me want to run home and start cracking open the "Sculpting" bin of supplies and finally start those idling projects. Thanks!

By the way, if it wasn't done before, welcome to the boards!
over and out

[Lukacs]

Again, thanks for the interest.. I'll be able to answer the remainder of questions in the next pics entry, so for now all I can say is thanks for replying..

I was hoping to spark a light in a couple of wigs on slightly more traditional techniques and materials with this journal, and I'm really glad it's done so, so far.. When we left school, small Ceramic sculpts were one of the only affordable paths to take once we lost the use of the big studio equiptment, so we just never grew out of our small kilns..
Some traditional Crafts still have great potential in the new millinium..!!! We know folks that are contracted to manufacture their Artist tile for architectural ornament, or install custom fireplaces and backsplashes... It's not glamorous film work, but you can still make a TON of cash, while leaving a historical footprint that few Artists ever achieve in the Fine Arts ??

[Lukacs]

:: Ceramics - Pressing Clay ::

Here's the tools; a couple covered wooden mallets, a couple flat wedge shapes, a long spackling knife of some kind,
a clay-cutter or wire strung across a hacksaw, and a couple of my plaster sig. stamps..



And Clay...
M&I use about 4 different blends of clay for different effects in different situations, but for this tile I'm using a "tem-stone"
claybody from our local clay dealer.. It's a mix of stoneware, and a 1/4 terra-cotta to give it some color with the iron..
Sometimes we'll have to "clean" a mold if we want to press it with another color claybody, as certain glazes will react
differently if some of that iron is picked up.. The older the molds are, the harder it is to tell what clay has been in there
last.. But this one's brand spanking new..



After a couple days of drying, and after cleaning the mold a bit, I like to do a dry-run with a small chunk of clay to pick
up some of the plaster scrapings.. If fired, plaster chunks can and will blow a chip of your tile off if it's near the surface,
or lead to cracking if further in..

[Lukacs]

The next couple pics are pretty self explanatory..but I'll add a couple things.. That worn effect (like in the last pic)
can be achieved with dry chunks, and crumbly bits from the same claybody, strategically sprinkled inside the mold,
and thereby forming a broken/aged surface when it's popped out...

Start with a pancake of clay, making sure that your fingers and thumbs press the clay into all your grooves and duggets,
making sure you don't create any bubbles in the tile.. The edges, and corners are always a particular bugger for me, so
I take special care to press them twice or three times... Lift clay over from the sides, or add another ball of clay, making
sure there's a good inch or so of clay above the back of the mold.. Afterward, I give the clay a couple wacks with the mallet...
Not too heavy handed, mind... I've broken details off the inside a mold, and whole molds this way before, and it's pretty
painful to say the least.. Reinforcing the mold (like explained in the plaster discussion) helps, but it's best to just not
"kill" it and make sure your on a wooden table, or one with some give.. Bigger tile fabbers use a hydraulic press
for this, it insures you get all the details out of the mold, and it doesn't give you carpal tunnel...

Plaster molds can be glued together if broken, but it's best to pour another and use the broken one as matrix..



The next couple shots might seem gratuitous, but you'd be surprized how the finished back of a tile can be a selling
point.. It is ultimately the makers mark that shows that this object is HandCrafted, and if the tile isn't going to be
grouted in a project, than it's going to need a hole to hang it up on the wall.. In school I used to joke, and call this
the LowArt to HighArt converter, as it finally took tile from the floor and on to the walls, where it belongs..



After around 2-3 hours of drying you'll see this, the edges of the tile have broken away from the mold, and you can
easily pop the tile out without too much shock to the mold.. I do this by placing a piece of foam on a table, and
lightly tap the mold until the tile pops out... It is a touch and go kind of time, as the tile can pick up some scratches,
and dings, on it's way out... Kind of like lifting the print from the block, but each mold has it's particulars that you
get a better and better idea of as you work with it... This is a fairly small tile, so drying and shrinkage aren't going
to be an issue, but for larger pieces, the way the clay bends as it exits the mold can effect how flat it will stay in
the kiln... Some blends of clay have a "memory" of how they dry, and sometimes can warp more than you'd like..
The clay is in it's "leather-hard" stage at this point, and I finish off the back of the tile with the rasp planer, and fix
any small damage that might've occured during the process...




After the tiles are as good as they're gonna look, I lay em out on a sheet of dry-wall, or a metal grid sheet near a firing
kiln or furnace to dry out completely.. Since there's no glaze on anything at this stage, M&I normally stack as much
stuff in the kiln as possible... There is still a danger of cracking, or spliting in the bisquit firing, but the dryer the clay
is the less the risk..

[Lukacs]

:: Firing and Glazing ::

This is more than likely the last entry for this journal, as I'm anticipating being utterly swamped in the upcoming weeks..
Yeaaah, book deal in the works !!! Gracious thanks for ayebody that was involved, or is interested in ceramics,
with any luck I'll be able to do this again in 07'... I'm usually good for one new design per year...

Okay, here we have the tiles after the bisque firing (Cone 04) and there are examples of two different color clay bodies..
Notice that one of the eyeballs has a chunk taken out of it, that could've been a piece of grolleg too close to the surface,
or a little tiny piece of plaster that didn't get cleaned off..



Glaze can be applied pretty much after you can touch them without being burnt, although I do so little tile work lately that
I tend to stock pile my bisque ware until I'm ready to fire a whole couple kilns worth of them... Here we have two tiles
glazed with two different Cone 6 glazes, one of their applications being quite a bit thicker than the other...

And here's the finished product !! I've got to take some better pics for the website, but you can tell here how some of the
thicker glazes tend to take out detail in your sculpt, but can also add serendipitous elements as well.. I can now make
20-30 of these to grout into a table lip, or a couple to hang on either side of a doorway or outdoor deck ??



Well that was fun, thanks again for your interest, and now I'll have a linkable post to show some of our process in clay...

[egerie]

Thanks again Earthenwood. I really enjoyed that you shared all this with us; very inspirational!

Oh and congrats on the book deal

[Lukacs]

Gracious thanks for adding Egerie..!!!!

[Lukacs]

Well, I've no time to do a sculpt this year before Indy GenCon, again, but I wanted to share another aspect of
traditional ceramics. This technique can be done much quicker and easier nowadays with a 3D printer, but
back in the old days this technique was one way that folks shrunk small forms to make things like coins
and super tight button molds. The basis is simple, most Clay shrinks at least twice in the firing process. If you
repeat the process I've shown here, every subsequent mold and model will shrink down by the clays shrink rate..

My Wife makes ceramic jewelry, very cool steampunky looking ceramic jewelry at the moment, and although
we've not taken anything this big, down to the size I want it (which would be wearable as a pendant) I think it's
doable without too much distortion..

More later, here's the shot I've had time for today :: it shows where I've got the model down to so far after two
molds :: the file is also equipt with metadata tag, as by the looks of this ignorant Bill being rushed through
Congress and now Senate, I've gotta get in the habit of doing it for every file.. and trying to forget I have no
Bloody retroactive Rights to my work anymore..??

:: PLEASE tell your Senators to vote down this new Orphan Works Bill ::