Me Vase - Final, Process + Materials (Patreon)

Hi there guys,

I am going to be telling you about how I made this here vase. It was actually very easy theoretically in the sense that you could certainly do it yourself. My vase is about 10" tall!

First, the materials:

Plus air dry clay, no reason beyond the fact that it is air dry and that was very ideal for me. I shan't be baking things in the oven, I don't feel like it. This clay was very workable and heavy and great. Reminded me of any other clay I ever used in ceramics but way smoother and lovely.

Acrylic paint. I reckon it would be quite difficult to use any paint besides acrylic. I also used an extender for the slight variations in color. I used a cheap Blick brand.

Rustoleum crystal clear enamel spray (glossy). I just owned this already, but I think there's UV protection and dries super fast!! It also made the colors sooo much richer and beautiful. You could get matte too if you felt compelled and also if it exists.

The Steps:

First off, I started with the base, the little triangle at the bottom. I made this solid because it needed to be sturdy!! It also probably helps the very top heavy nature of this vase. You may notice that this vase is very differently shaped proportionally from my drawings. This was a skill issue.

I then began to build the vase shape on top of the base, where it is hollow and begins to rapidly expand. For the days of rapid expansion, I added very little height in one sitting. It needed to dry before adding more, otherwise the weight and softness would make it crush itself! So every day I would let it sit at least overnight, but used a bag or saran wrap to keep the raw edge wet so my new clay would attach. I used the tried and true coil method. Some people hate this method, me included, but it works well for me historically. I scored pieces to attach them yadda yadda. Just me, a bowl a water, a fork, and a bone folder.

At one point I ran out of clay and had to wait to go to the store to get some more. Perhaps a wise person would've removed the cling film and sprayed some wetness on the clay daily but that wasn't me. I got more clay (the darker color in the following image) and it was almost too dry to attach. Once I finished the pot, it has a crack along that area!! It seems fine, considering I dropped the vase once it was fully dry and it was fine.

 This was it in its final-er form. After it was dry but still crumbly, I used an xacto knife and carved away at the parts that allowed me to do so. I shaved off a lot around the neck and shoulders, if you will, and the edges. This sorta gave it a sea of thieves or arcane vibe, to the trained eye. I also sanded some areas.

Then I let it fully dry for many days, just to be sure.

Painting:

Once its hard enough to drop without breaking, its good to go for painting (Rhyme). BUT FIRST!!! I recommend, no I insist that you dust it off, rub it with a lightly damp cloth even. Get all the dust off before painting. I painted the entire thing orange, a mid-tone of the final colors. Then, I sketched out the drawing on top of this in pencil. The video I posted earlier was of this stage!

Then I started painting the colors on top of this. Sometimes red figure painting would have variations in color and I really like that, all still orangey. Like so:

 Apulian Red-Figure Volute Crater Depicting the Sacrifice of Trojan Prisoners by Achilles

So I wanted that on mine. I mixed my orange color with either lighter or darker colors and added a bit of extender so it wasn't fully opaque. This made the paint both more subtle and still let me see the sketch underneath.

 Then I added the white last and painted the lines on!!

 The entire time up to this point I was like this is the ugliest thing I've ever seen but then it finally started coming together. I bought the thinnest brushes known to man and dedicated myself to this very detailed work for one full day. The good part about acrylic is it dries so fast, so as soon as I was done with one figure I could rotate the vase in my hand and the figure before it was already dry. I didn't have to stop and wait for each one to fully dry.

The next day was the most fun, where I painted all of the dark background. It looked very excellent. Some areas I went over twice to get it a little more opaque, but ultimately I love a streaky finish. This was the vase before I sprayed it:

 I wish I took more pictures at this stage, but the two I took at night time will have to do! You can see the very large crack next to Ellie's head. I've come to love the large crack, its very ancient-vase aesthetic.

Then the next day I sprayed the life out of it. I painted and sprayed this tiger I made many years ago first, just to make sure the spray wouldn't react strangely with the paint. I would recommend you do this in all aspects of unknown traditional art mediums.

 I loved it, so I sprayed away on the vase and I love how that turned out too!! Feel free to admire the depth of colors.

 Hope you enjoyed my tales. Have an excellent day ~