Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thanks alot, Cindy!
While I should have been working, I got sidetracked, thanks to Cindy, and took another mini tour of some Asian miniaturist's sites...just a couple though! The first site was http://www.h6.dion.ne.jp/~home_w/indexGalleryHyoushiBack.html, but I like the next one better, particularly the bread and plants (especially the cacti): http://milkymocaskitchen.kt.fc2.com/dollsecondtop.htm.
A
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dear Kiva ,what a wonderful blog you have.Your work is amazing, I love it all.
ReplyDeleteAn Award is waiting on my blog for you.
Greetings from Karin
*snickers softly*
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome, just repaying the favour ;)
sorry about the hives though :~(
wow! yep I've seen them before, but they still astound me everytime. seriously, i can't imagine how she sculpted that airy texture in the bread, except for using baking soda. HMMM. but wonderful! :)
ReplyDeleteWOW!! Thank you, KC-Design!! I am so honored! And you know that I think your work is just jaw dropping, words fail me! But how do I pick up my award? I feel like such a newb!
ReplyDeleteSnowfern, lol!!! Hey, it was worth a small bout of itchiness- although I didn't find that blasted book, I did find two of my Japanese miniatures books....which I haven't seen in years! I WILL find that one today, though!
ReplyDeleteJocelyn, I'm with you on that bread! WTF?? Has anyone actually added baking soda to their clay?? Is it doable?
i'm jealous of your collection. one of these days, one of these days....:P
ReplyDeletei've read somewhere, i can't remember where though, that some people do add baking soda to the clay, but it has to be the light, mousse type of japanese clay, and then bake it. back then i hadn't started working with minis yet, so i'm equally frustrated as i can't for the life of me recall the source.
Garie from Singapore has come up with a way to make a pretty good cake texture. if i had spare material i'd experiment with it a little more, back then i don't think liquid polymer clay was readily available. his site is really chock full of information though.
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/miniature_cake.htm
Cindy, YES!!! You know, when Jocelyn mentioned the baking soda, it triggered a memory I had of reading something about using that for bread. I thought maybe I had imagined it! DAMN you Asian miniaturists!! Always ahead of the curb!! It figures ;-). I think maybe I need to take a trip to Japan, Singapore, and China to get SCHOOLED! I was there a couple times when I was much younger....but miniatures weren't really a part of my consciousness then. The materials you lot have access to is enviable. As it is, I have to order almost all my supplies online. We have one semi crappy crafts store chain here in Hawaii...with Sculpey :-/. Sculpey, for me, is akin to using chewed bubble gum.
ReplyDeleteok you're sorely misguided :P over here, we have no 'decent' craft store either, and they only seem to stock sculpey...
ReplyDeleteWHAT'S UP WITH THAT HUH??? i -hate- sculpey. you're right about the chewed bubble gum texture LOL. i often had to leech out my sculpey before i could use it, and even then it's horrible to use. i've long given up on it.
as with you, i have to now turn to online stores for my polymer clay needs. you might think air dry clay is easy to obtain here, yes, if you know who to turn to. so far i've only found 2 small craft stores that stock reasonable amounts, and the range isn't wide either. but yeah, i shouldn't complain, we're a lot closer to Japan and Thailand (they have their own popular type of air dry clay i've read) than you are....:P
Cindy, I buy bricks of Kato from a seller on ebay. He's an excellent shipper, thank God! I was once down to a small piece of translucent and had NO backup. To be out of translucent is my worst nightmare :-p. In the meantime, I had to dig into some Premo. Now, for alot of people, Premo is their numero uno and it works brilliantly for them. For me, it is still too soft.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what we do have in abundance here in Hawaii? Paper clay!! Alot of crafty types make flowers...for decorative arrangements, hair adornment, etc. They're usually life-sized, though. I go to craft shows sometimes and see them sitting at tables and making these paper thin petals. One of these days, I will take the plunge and break open a packet of that clay, Cindy!
Thailand makes ALOT of miniatures, both food and accessories, am I right?? It seems like a cottage industry over there!
Kiva, i haven't yet made enough stuff to use up my stash, but i know what how your fears of using up translucent is! in fact, since i have so many painting mediums, i've sworn off other colours except primary colours, and am determined to only stock up on those, white and LOTS AND LOTS of translucent if i do order in the future.
ReplyDeletei can't work with soft clays. they say, cold hands warm heart, warm hands cold heart..man, that's harsh. :( i have warm hands, sculpey literally melts into the ridges of my fingers when i mix it :( i guess premo would be the same if i ever touched it. yuk.
YEAH! there's lots of paper clay here! in fact i just blogged a lengthy entry about air dry clay (lightweight, i think it's paper clay but it's very fine)...OPEN THAT PACKET! i already did ;)
i read that there's a whole section devoted to miniatures in JJ (chatuchak?) market, it's because they offer mini 'foods' to their Gods, part of their culture i think? last i was in thailand i was 12, so i don't really know....we see plenty of those here though, if you know where to look, their work is so ornate and realistic, just not 1/12th scale.
Cindy, you should give Premo a try- you might like it! It is firmer than Sculpey...but since I'm hot-handed like you are(plus, we live in humid climates, right?), maybe you should pass.
ReplyDeleteOk, that is very interesting! I didn't know that the whole Thai miniatures thing began with making offerings to the gods! But yes, alot of it is larger than 1:12 scale. Also, sometimes the food looks a little crude. But I do buy dishes, bowls, and platters sometimes. It can be a gamble, though, because you can occasionally wind up with stuff that's too bulky....or downright massive!! I've made the mistake of buying stuff without checking measurements, so I have some stuff I'll never use, like enormous platters, lol!! I'm talking way bigger than even playscale.
I'm off to read your post on paper clay :-D!