Color Cement Handicraft 13

Color Cement Handicraft 13

THE SECOND ROTATION is accomplished in the same way that the first

rotation was but not until the first layer has fairly set. The surplus

from the first mixture may be used. It is placed or poured carefully in

and the rotating done and the surplus again poured out, excepting that

it is poured out from the opposite side so as to equalize the thickness

of the neck section of the vase or bowl.

 

A THIRD ROTATION may be necessary if the bowl is a large surface or if

the slip used has been very thin. After each rotation the mold with its

layer of inside color should be covered over with a damp cloth to

prevent too rapid drying of the color. The second and third mixtures

should be thinner than the first.

 

THE WALL MIXTURE is then rotated over the color stratas and is made of

one part of cement and two parts sand. This mixture is necessary to give

the bowl or vase strength and to make it waterproof. If neat cement

alone is used the vase will check and crack in time, particularly if

water is ever poured into it.

 

FOR SMALL VASES only one rotation of color is necessary and the second

and third may be of cement and sand with a fourth finishing layer in

color. This finish layer may be of any color desired within the range of

color cements or of neat gray cement only.

 

THE FINISH ROTATION is the layer that will appear as the inside lining.

This is made of color and neat cement and is rotated so as to cover the

cement and sand mixture. This mixture may be placed in the mold after

the vase or bowl has been removed from the mold, and this permits the

possibility of carrying the inside color over the edge of the mouth and

partly down the side as a decoration.

 

AFTER THE ROTATED COLORS HAVE DRIED, which generally takes from two to

five days, the mold is carefully opened and the vase removed. Flaws or

bubbles on the surface, if any, are corrected by scraping with a

moistened knife parts of the neck that are not to remain and others

filled in. The false neck or that portion that extends above the actual

vase is now carefully trimmed away, leaving only the actual bowl or

vase.

 

CARVING AND SCRAPING of the surface can be done while the surface is

slightly soft which is soon after the bowl or vase has been removed from

the mold. Glazed color may be placed into the spaces carved or scraped

from the surface if the surface is moistened well with water, then

adding neat cement over which the color is dripped following the

instructions as given for the tiles.

 

TO HARDEN THE OBJECT molded it is immersed in a bucket of water and left

for several days. If the surface has had color added to it after it has

come from the mold, it cannot be immersed in water as the color would be

floated off. It should have water poured on the inside and left to dry

in a cool place.

 

TONING WASHES can be made of thin color and brushed onto the surface

after the bowl has been well dampened. This will permeate the fine pores

of the cement as well as gather into the crevices particularly of a

carved or relief surface and if a contrasting color is used, it gives

pleasing effects.

 

GLAZING BOWLS AND VASES is much more difficult than coloring tiles. The

curved surface requires careful application. Prepare a quantity of

desired color to be applied. Then spread it out in a pan or dish (a

platter will do very well), revolve the bowl on the fingers so that the

surface comes in contact with the color. The color will adhere and the

bowl should be kept slowly revolving until the color sets. The bowl can

then be filled with water and left to dry. If the bowl is kept in one

position before the color is set, the moisture will cause it to run and

mar the surface. After the first color has set an additional color can

be dripped on at the top or other colors added into or onto this

surface. Different effects will be possible, depending upon how soon the

color is added to the first coating.

 

Dry color can be sprinkled onto the wet color and permitted to become

absorbed, giving an interesting effect. The color may be applied with a

brush or palette knife, and other ways of producing variations on the

surface may be produced by experimenting.

 

A VASE FORM WITH MAJOLICA SURFACE will need to have the surface turned

as it is worked upon. This can be done by revolving with the hand inside

of it, or if too small turned on a right angle support, padded so that

it will not injure the neck of the vase. The vase may have one end

supported on something to keep the worked part from coming in contact

with the surface. After a part has been filled in, it should be left to

set for a minute before turning the surface, otherwise the color will

drop out.

 

After the color is all in position, stand the vase upright and with a

funnel fill with water and let it harden for several days. The water

will supply the color surface with moisture preventing it from drying

too rapidly.

 

Any cement surface (tile or vase) before it is very hard can have motifs

scraped into it so that the design is a series of shallow openings in

the surface. The color cement can then be dripped into these openings

similar to majolica work and completed in the same way.

 

A vase with a plain surface can be made exceedingly attractive by adding

a few simple motifs well chosen and placed on the surface in this way.

 

FOR SLIP PAINTING tile or pottery surface, various colors to be used

should be mixed and ground on glass or marble with palette or putty

knife until thoroughly smooth. The colors should be placed in order on a

glass or enamel palette. Other hues may be produced by the mixture of

these colors or lightened by adding a white cement. A small brush is

used to apply the color. The surface to which they are being applied

should always be damp and the complete surface to be colored should be

done at one sitting. The tile or vase is then placed in water as

previously explained.

 

It is best that the color be thin rather than thick, and avoid going

over a surface a second time. A second stroke will destroy the lustre

which will otherwise remain on the surface.

 

A VASE OR BOWL FORM to be used for slip-painted color will have to set a

few minutes to prevent the color running when the bowl is turned for new

working surface. The bowl or vase is carefully filled with water and

left to set for several days, care being taken that no water drops onto

the slip painting. The object worked upon must be set in the shade to

dry, where nothing will come in contact with it.

 

[Illustration: Color Cement Vases]

 

[Illustration: Color Cement Vases]

 

 

 

 

[Illustration]

 

CHAPTER 11

 

Glass Mosaic Tiles

 

[Illustration]

 

 

FRAGMENTS OF STAINED GLASS can be secured from almost any stained glass

works without cost, as much of the odds and ends of glass are thrown

away. These fragments can be used in making Glass Mosaic Tiles, and used

correctly will produce charming and interesting results.

 

Mother-of-pearl or abalone flakes can also be used as small bits here

and there in designs and will be found to give an additional rich

effect.

 

Semi-precious stones or glass beads can be used in many ways such as

handles and tops or as rests for tea tiles, etc. The beads can be sunk

into the cement until the hole through the bead is concealed.

 

TO MAKE A GLASS MOSAIC TILE there are four steps as follows:

 

1st. Making and tracing the design.

2nd. Cutting the glass.

3rd. Pouring the cement backing.

4th. Releasing the tiles and finishing.

 

FIRST STEP: MAKING AND TRACING THE DESIGN. To make a design for glass

mosaic, plan a very simple design for the first problem. A few squares

joined by simple bars, composed in a simple pleasing arrangement will be

hard enough. Objects such as flowers, birds, trees, etc., must be

planned in simple forms. Remember that each piece is to be cut from

glass and intricate outlines, etc., must be abbreviated. Decide what

direction of line will tell the most in the shortest length. It will be

found that designing for glass mosaics or for stained glass is one of

the best influences for recording large masses, for producing the

maximum amount of subject with the minimum means of line.

 

After the design has been drawn out on paper it should be colored to

correspond with the stained glass fragments that have been secured.

Right here it may be well to state that the glass mosaic need not be

entirely covered with glass sections. Much of the background may be

cement and the colored portions (stained glass and mother-of-pearl) may

be only a certain portion or design running across the tile surface.

 

After the design has been colored, make a firm tracing from it and place

the tracing upside down on the table and a glass over this large enough

to cover it fully. The stained glass sections are assembled upon this

glass as they are cut.

 

SECOND STEP: CUTTING THE GLASS. A small glass cutter with a wheel can be

purchased at any hardware store and with a little practice glass can be

easily cut. Once the wheel is placed upon the glass it should be pressed

slightly so that it grips the surface. Then draw the cutter firmly

toward you without changing the angle of the handle and without turning

the handle to one side or another. A few taps with the tip of the handle

on the under side of the glass and a “bending and pulling apart” motion

of the glass with the fingers will cause it to come apart after the

cutting. Some glass cuts much easier than others and a good cut with the

cutter will cause it to come apart upon the slightest bending in the

fingers. Do not run the cutter wheel over a cut line in the glass a

second time, as it will injure the wheel. Practice cutting clear glass

as well as stained glass. The glass cutter should be placed with the

wheel in turpentine to preserve the cutting edge.

 

To cut the glass in the right shape use either of the following methods:

Trace the design upon stiff paper and number each section of the design

to correspond with numbers on the original sketch. Cut these sections

apart and use them as patterns to lay on the glass. The glass cutter is

then run around the edge of the pattern in cutting the glass. The second

method is to trace the sections to be cut directly onto the glass. If

carbon paper is used, the line will be definite enough to follow.