Rambling: Why Are All My Ideas So Half-Baked?!

As an artist I constantly have a hundreds ideas floating around in my head, I write down maybe half of them, and I create a forth of those at best. In my mind are all the possibilities, but my hands can only fabricate a limited amount of my ideas into existence. I imagine all creative people, whether it’s musicians, writers, chefs, or architects, have this same problem. Actually, everyone has this problem. Some people struggle with it their whole lives. So, why do only one-eighth (1/2th times ¼th =1/8th) of my ideas come into fruition when I have all this free time with only being employed part time? Examining my creation process in a flow chart might help.

With how many conditions that need to be met to create a simple image, most of the time I’d just rather watch Grey’s Anatomy and that is my problem. TV is just so damned entertaining.

My Quest for the Perfect Cold Porcelain Recipe Part 2

Hello all! It's been awhile but my life has finally settled down (I changed jobs, bought a house, and got a new puppy!). It’s past time for my very belated, promised cold porcelain recipe review.

I had a few comments on my last post (My Quest for the Perfect Cold Porcelain Recipe Part 1) and they led me to the third recipe (Thanks Rosebug and Julie!). It's based on the video of Sangeeta Shah and unlike the first two recipes this one uses the microwave instead of the stove top.

On-hand Ingredients

Ingredients:
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup Tacky Glue
2 tablespoons baby oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon tempera paint
1 tablespoon Nivea Creme

This recipe includes tempera paint and white vinegar, which were not in my previous recipes. I did not have tempera paint (for color?) so I skipped it. She specifically says Tacky Glue and Nivea Crème, but I wanted to make it with what I had (Elmer's Glue & Ponds). I also decided to half the recipe because I'm running low on glue and cornstarch.

Mix, mix, mix!

Lucca and Chloe

This recipe is slightly more involved than the first two, but I had two helpers with me. The black dog is from my post: My Pets Aren't Fat, They Have Big Bones and I'm happy to report that she lost 20 pounds! :) The blonde one is our new puppy and I will have plenty of silly antidotes about that "little" ball of trouble later.

Stir, stir, stir!

Micro power!

One of the biggest differences between the microwave and the stove top is the time it takes to "cook".

This looks familiar...

Blend, blend, blend!

The total "cook" time is 1 minute 30 seconds in 30 second intervals with a pause
between each interval to mix the "paste". I accidentally set my microwave to 1 minute for the first interval but it did not seem to hurt it too much. There was some slightly discoloration in what I'm assuming was the glue. It all came together in the end. (Taking one handed photos and demonstrating is difficult!)

At the end, I kneaded the paste into the cold creme I had spread out onto a cutting board (as depicted in the video). I taped a piece of cling wrap around the cutting board to protect it. I would have rather used wax paper or parchment paper but it worked out rather well though. (You can see the blue painter's tape I used through the board ^_^ )

At first, the dough was separating and becoming more lumpy but I soldiered on kneading it. It came together about halfway through. I kneaded the dough for a good five minutes until the clay began to become sticky again. It has a pleasant rubbery texture.

The video instructs you to store the clay in an airtight bag you've covered with more cold creme for at least 24 hours. After a day, you're supposed to take it out and put it in a fresh bag with creme but it does not say if you should wait longer or if you can begin working with the clay. It ends by saying that "the paste is almost ready to begin working with your projects..."

...Your guess is as good as mine. Use your best judgement.

No cracking! I couldn't wait so I started sculpting before a full 24 hours had gone by and I think that caused more shrinkage than is normal. The second unicorn I made did not shrink as much. Some of the bits fell off but they can easily glued back on. Overall, this is my favorite recipe by far but I might try to find another variation.