Dragonfly Tile

Materials:

cone 06 white clay body (smooth, no grog)
tile cutter
wire tool
long straight rib
carving tools
2' x 3' heavy-duty 21 oz. canvas
cone 06 glaze
slab roller
kiln*
* Check local hobby/ceramic stores that have kilns that you can use for a modest price.

Steps:

1. With a slab roller, roll out a piece of clay a little larger than 6" x 6".

2. Smooth out the slab with a large rib. Flip slab and smooth out the other side.

4. Sketch a design on a piece of paper and transfer it by placing the picture on the tile and tracing it onto the tile with a pencil (figure B) or copy a selected image (dragonfly).

5. Visualize the image/picture in three-dimension.

• Pick out the elements of the image that would, in real life, be closer.
• Parts that are closest to you will be raised the most on the tile and those further away will be carved deeper.
• Carve the parts that are closest first.
• Using the larger triangular MRS tool carve the parts closest to you but don't go very deep into the clay. Just enough to see the image.
• Continue carving, cutting deeper into the clay for the parts further away (figure C).

6. When carving is complete, let the tile air dry slowly under plastic for a few days. Then uncover to let it completely dry.

7. Bisque fire the tile to cone 04. (1945 degrees)

Bob Donaghy provided the following steps (#9-#20), not featured on the show, on how to make a tile mold.

9. When making a mold of the tile you would skip step 8 until step 20.

10. To make a mold of the tile, place the tile face up on a flat surface. Use an old 12" x 12" floor tile. Coat the tile completely with a mold release agent. Tip: Mold soap or petroleum jelly works well.

11. Center the coated tile and fill in the bottom part of the tile with wet clay to prevent the plaster from flowing under the tile.

12. Build a wood box around the tile at least 1 inch larger around all sides of the tile and 2 inches taller than the tile. Fill in all the cracks and seams with wet clay. Spray mold release on the wood.

13. Prepare a water/plaster ratio mixture of seven parts water to ten parts plaster and mix together thoroughly.

14. Pour plaster mixture into the wood box and over the tile.

15. Using a rubber mallet, vibrate the wood box to cause the air bubbles to rise to the plaster surface.

16. Let the plaster harden for approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

17. When cured remove frame from the plaster block.

18. Remove the tile from the plaster and allow to dry for a week. Place the mold aside for about a week to dry. It is ready to use.

19. To use the mold, roll out a piece of clay into a flat slab. Then cut it close to the size of the mold opening. Place the clay in the mold then roll it flat into the mold with a rolling pin. After a few minutes the new tile is ready to be removed from the mold.

20. Allow the tile to completely dry and you are ready to fire the tile (step 7) and glaze (step 8) the tile.

E-mail: bob@help4homes.com

Website: www.help4homes.com