Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Want food tutorials?

I'm going to make this as short as I can, because I know how much people hate reading ;)

Basically; if you want the ultra short version (I recommend reading the rest); I made another channel, which I will begin uploading on in the beginning of 2017. Here's the link;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX_3MvaRY1HrjgjC60zZ4Jw

Why? when? how? etc...
Youtube is my job. And unfortunately, with the way youtube is set up, there are certain videos that I can't upload without basically killing my channel. In general, I have to simplify a lot of the projects to avoid complaints about people not having the tools I use (eg, soldering supplies, lathe for wood etc), people not finding a tutorial for apples as interesting as McDonald's etc - and don't get me wrong, it's great that you love McDonald's! However, food is one of my absolute favorite things to make in miniature - and I'm talking things like fruit and vegetables, roasts, cooked fish, pork chops, cakes made in different 'cake pan shapes' etc; to sum it up:
And that's where this channel comes into play... but I NEED YOUR HELP.
If you're excited about this and want to see this type of tutorials, please go subscribe to my new channel. I will be going through 2 trial periods.
the first one will be between now and the end of the year to determine if enough people are even interested. The second (if the channel passes the first trial) will be the first 4 months. This channel technically means that I'll be working even more over-time-hours than I already do, so I do need to see enough support/interest/small growth. I'm not expecting huge numbers as it IS a new channel, but I also can't prioritize making the videos if they get a couple of hundred views each.

What I would like you to do now;
Subscribe to the channel to show your support, if this is something you're interested in.

Why is it called gourmet? it's the first name I came up with, that had to do with food,.. don't judge ;)
I won't be 'packing the videos' with lots of elements. They'll focus on 1 thing at a time. eg. a video on radishes, a video on waffles, a video on a standing rib roast etc.
And I will be uploading once a week :)

I will still be uploading some food items on my main channel,. I also might upload some non-food related items on the gourmet channel (though it'll be MOSTLY food),. it's complicated, I don't want to waste your time explaining this as I still don't know if the channel will pass the first trial ^^'

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Spring! (More ceramics)

I need to remember updating on here once in a while - even more than usual as I've been kept busy with the patron blog.

I made some more ceramics as a test firing and picked out most of the pastels for a picture - reminds me of spring.


I got some new clay - hence the 'test' firing. My old clay had gotten pretty stiff (have had it for probably more than half a year) and so I decided to buy a new pack as I'm too lazy to spend THAT much time reviving and kneading it... Problem is, that the store I used to get it from went bankrupt last year and I couldn't find any other danish sellers offering that particular brand/type of clay *sigh*
So I got a new one - recommended to me by a lady at a different shop after I explained what I was going to use it for, the firing temperature I usually use etc.. Good news is; it is SO much better to work with! - SO much easier to make handles and mold things without small pieces drying out in a matter of seconds AND I can even use it with my silicone molds to be able to make a larger variety of pieces (the rectangular dishes, squared plates, heart shaped plates, pie dish and ramekins were some I originally made from polymer clay and I then made molds from them).
The problem (which may not even turn out to be a problem) is that I'm scared the glaze will crackle. I had that happen to a lot of pieces after a few days/weeks with the old clay, although I didn't have any problems since I changed to a different clear glaze and switched to a higher firing temperature.. Yet I'm still worried that something similar will happen to these, so I'll be keeping an eye on them before making more and before using these for anything.
I'm thinking that 1-2 months should be an okay time frame to judge? - you see, the next fair is in the last weekend of April (I think), and I would love to bring ceramics to sell. If there are any experienced ceramists out there, I'd much appreciate a second opinion as to whether or not I need to wait longer than that before selling any of the pieces made from this new brand of clay.