To create the right color of clay I mixed equal amounts of purple, silver, and turquoise to come up with this beautiful shade of purple.
The next step was to cover the jar and lid with the clay. I used a glass baby food jar with a metal lid and coated the jar and lid with tacky glue to help the clay stick to the smooth surfaces. I let the glue dry then wrapped the clay around the jar, making sure to press out any air bubbles.
Then I stamped the dolphins around the jar. I tried using the stamp while it was still mounted to the wooden block, but that didn't work out too well. So I carefully cut the stamp off the block and had much better luck getting nice clear impressions. I was able to wrap the stamp around the jar and press it deeply into the clay.
I changed the position of the stamp each time so the dolphins look like they're in motion. I was thinking of a whole school of dolphins leaping through the water as I made this.
Once the dolphins were stamped onto the jar it was time to add that special Pearl Ex shimmer. Once again, I knew exactly the color I wanted, and that required mixing several colors of Pearl Ex. Over time I've gotten pretty good at figuring out what to mix to create a certain color. This project required a bluish purple, which I achieved by mixing Sky Blue, Interference Blue, and Reflex Violet.
I adjusted the amounts of each color as necessary and came up with this beautiful shade of purple.
I used the pad of my finger to rub the purple powder on the raised surfaces of the clay. Then I decided I wanted the dolphins to stand out from the background a bit more, so I rubbed their bodies with Sky Blue Pearl Ex. I wanted to add a little something extra to the background, so I used part of another stamp to impress swirls and lines of movement. It's amazing what a difference a tiny little thing like that can make. Now it really looks like the dolphins are leaping through the water.
I also added a base and used a different part of the stamp to add texture. I sculpted a wave for the lid and stamped watery swirls on it as well. I dusted the wave with Sky Blue and Interference Blue Pearl Ex powders. I put the jar in the oven for it's first bake at this point. I didn't want to mess anything up and I wanted the wave to be baked before I added the dolphin.
Once the jar cooled I added a string of beads along the base, added a rope of clay around the top of the jar to give it a more finished look, and added another string of beads around the lid. I sculpted the dolphin using shades of blue gray clay (a custom mix, of course), and posed him on top of the wave. I applied liquid clay to his belly and pressed him firmly onto the wave to be sure he was attached well.
After two coats of high gloss varnish dried I glued blue felt to the bottom of the jar, wrote a special message on the felt, and called it complete. Now it's ready to be shipped off and make Monica very happy ;-) The one thing that I added that can't be seen in pictures is plenty of love and positive energy. The entire time I was working on this piece I was thinking happy thoughts of my friend and all the fun we had together. I think that comes through in the finished product. I want Monica to smile and be happy every time she looks at this jar. :-)
Thanks for stopping by and following me though another creative adventure!
~Michelle of CreativeCritters
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