20
votes
Trying to turn a vintage wash basin into a vessel sink. How can I get rid of this standing water?
If you don't object to a transparent substance in the bottom of the basin, you can use acrylic casting resin, aiming for a product which specifically advertises itself as clear, as some of the ...
- 7,231
10
votes
Accepted
How can I keep my warm hands from making polymer clay too soft?
I might try two things, one handle the clay as little as required, the less you touch it the less heat it will absorb. And maybe try something like Wristband coolers. The link is to one brand, but ...
- 1,153
7
votes
Accepted
How can I avoid fungus in an alien water tank?
It looks like you're making something rather like a specimen in a jar, so why not do it the way the professionals do it: pure ethanol or isopropyl alcohol?
As long as the jar is properly sealed, this ...
- 2,325
6
votes
Accepted
Can I microwave polymer clay to harden it?
Maybe, but it's probably not a good idea.
For one thing, the package says not to do it. The manufacturer isn't just saying that because they want you to buy a toaster oven -- putting it in the ...
- 4,356
6
votes
Fixing cracks in air-dried clay?
My experience so far is that cheaper air-drying clays tend to shrink more than quality clays while drying. Many types of clay list the expected shrinkage on the package. If there is no information ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
6
votes
Concrete objects constructed to look blurred
The first thing that comes to my mind are the works by the contemporary German artist Gerhard Richter. He has a huge body of paintings that are famous for being blurred, like this one:
Or, to a ...
- 10.6k
6
votes
How detailed could we make a sculpture of the earth the size of a soccer ball?
You could only strive to make as smooth a ball as possible. Maybe just paint it.
The tallest mountain on that scale will be 0.11 [m radius of the soccer ball] / 6371000 [m mean radius of the Earth] * ...
- 239
5
votes
Accepted
Seats - Principles for comfort
are there any resources I can use to find design principles for comfortable seating?
Here are a few to get started:
Must-Have Measurements for Comfortable Seating
With a little work the drawing ...
- 436
5
votes
Can you bake a sculpture with a copper wire inside?
Copper has a melting point of 1085°C/1984°F which is well above your expected temperatures. There should be no danger of losing structural integrity of the sculpture due to melting of the copper wire.
...
- 7,231
5
votes
Accepted
Aggregate size and mix ratio for concrete sculptures
There are two scenarios to consider:
Molding and Sculpting
For molding, most use a 1/4" to 3/8" aggregate. Using larger aggregate may force aggregate to migrate to the surface.
The ratio depends ...
- 141
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a cheaper alternative to aluminum wire for armatures?
A couple of alternatives.
Firstly, cheap and cheerful, use metal clothes hangers (normally given free from the dry cleaners). However, this would only offer you a limited range of gauges.
Secondly, ...
- 1,338
5
votes
Accepted
How much concrete to order?
If each statue is 1.25x as large as the original, its volume will be 1.25 cubed, or a little over 1.95 times the volume of the original. If you can find out the weight of the original and the specific ...
- 66
5
votes
Accepted
Recycling Concrete
Concrete is a hard substance created from the chemical reactions of the various components mixed during the build, including water. Once cured, smashing the material into any level of coarseness or ...
- 7,231
5
votes
Accepted
How can I describe this alien-looking sculpture art style / concept to find other examples?
Organic Kinetic Futurist Sculpture
Adding organic and kinetic gives many similar results like the sculptures of Patrice Pit Hubert
- 976
5
votes
Accepted
Create a head bust (maybe plaster or paper mache)
Decide which media you desire to use. A good choice for a beginner would be the inexpensive medium of Papier-mâché, a composite material of paper pulp and binder. One can use newspaper, shredded ...
- 7,231
4
votes
Drying floam for sculpting
According to this link, adding more borax, starch or talcum powder will make the slime more rigid. Also kneading the slime repeatedly with dry hands will extract moisture, further adding to the slime'...
- 3,235
4
votes
Accepted
Building Outdoor Concrete Sculpture
Exposed to the public it will take a lot of abuse . So it needs to be as strong as possible. Use the hollow mold but put a steel rebar armature /core into it before you pour in the concrete. Use lots ...
- 1,245
4
votes
Is there a cheaper alternative to aluminum wire for armatures?
So I asked a Tinsmith friend and he suggested the followings:
Iron wire: it is cheap and has the big advantage that it can be fold at the same place several times without breaking. So you can reuse ...
- 1,205
4
votes
Diluting or thinning uncured Milliput
You can use water to dilute it.
Here someone suggest adding a little soap with the water, as this will not only let it mix better, but also increase the drying time, although I think this might be ...
- 10.6k
4
votes
Trying to turn a vintage wash basin into a vessel sink. How can I get rid of this standing water?
There is nothing you can do, except to put in another drain. You cannot tilt that bowl in any direction that will but the hole you have at the bottom, so there is no way to avoid the standing water ...
- 302
4
votes
Accepted
How to make rattling Kodama figurine?
To really mimic that sound experience, I'd recommend using multiple small pieces of something in the cavity. A single piece would have to bump against its enclosure to make a sound, but many objects ...
- 4,356
3
votes
How can I build and attach new plaster hands for a statue?
Your intention to salvage the statue is well placed. However, as already stated in a comment, your biggest enemy here is the fact that the structural integrity of the statue is affected, and therefore ...
- 1,768
3
votes
How much concrete to order?
This is not trivial , and from your questions it sounds like you have little experience. For openers you will need a remarkable elastomeric mold in several sections .
and some way to hold it together ...
- 1,245
3
votes
Accepted
How do I prepare plaster casts for casting tin figurines?
Plaster comes in quality ranges. The plaster sold for slip casting is a high quality and, no doubt the site or store will have an answer for the beginner.
That said, all moisture must be out or near ...
- 619
3
votes
How do I prepare plaster casts for casting tin figurines?
You need to minimise bubbles in the plaster of Paris mould. I do this by mixing the plaster of Paris in a rather runny state and after pouring into the former for the plaster tapping it to release any ...
- 539
3
votes
Accepted
Wooden camping utensils?
Wittling a spoon or butter knife is not that difficult, but a 5 prong fork might be a challenge. A two or three prong design would probably be easier.
As for "duplicating" the particular style and ...
- 3,235
3
votes
Accepted
How to determine the "correct" scale for your art project?
Deciding on the scale is part of the design process
When you decide to make a piece of art its size is part of the design process.
There is a huge difference between a miniature and a way more than ...
- 2,926
3
votes
Trying to turn a vintage wash basin into a vessel sink. How can I get rid of this standing water?
You could make another little flat hole on just one side of the round plate and have a little plumb to converge from there in the main central plumbing, so as the main hole will got the direct water ...
3
votes
Accepted
Alternative to Shapecrete - moldable concrete that is workable like clay
This question is premised on a particular cement product that could be handled like clay but appeared to dry looking like poured concrete. It turns out that is not the case. So the "simplest&...
- 11.5k
3
votes
Accepted
What does the gesture in art of the finger pointing upwards mean?
It depends on the context.
In your example, Raphael's fresco The School of Athens, the gesture is made by Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher.
He is pointing upwards because his philosophical ...
- 10.6k
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