Remember When... I did a favor?

The Design

My niece, Abby, has found her match in Adam. Their relationship has weathered many highs and lows in the 10 years they have been together, including: a 2 year long distance relationship, the loss of Adam's father, and 3 months backpacking through southern Asia. They developed a real knowledge and respect for each other and a strong, binding love. It was wonderful to hear that they had gotten engaged and I was so pleased when they accepted my offer to make their wedding favors.

In February 2019, Abby and her family came to visit.  While here, Abby and I started to brainstorm ideas. When my first nephew was born, I started creating and buying a yearly Christmas ornament for the family, so Abby wanted me to make an ornament to honor their wedding.  

 Abby and her mother had found some ornaments online that were clay impressed with plants with a light stain similar to the ornaments above (from jewlerybymondaen on etsy.) I had not seen the actual idea, so I came with clay, a leaf cookie cutter and some thoughts as well.  While sitting at her grandmother's kitchen table, we played with clay and plants until we settled on a design. I wish I had taken a picture of this because it would show how well we both saw the vision out of some bits of clay. 

photo curtesy of Etsy.com/shop/SparkleUpcycledGoods

 While discussing what type of clay to use, stoneware or porcelain, I retrieved this porcelain acorn by Margaret Furlong to show what porcelain would be like. When Abby said this was one of her favorite ornaments we decided to use porcelain and raise the design.

Mold Making

The goal was to make 170 ornaments made from two separate porcelain tiles shaped like leaves, joined by ribbon, (doubling the number of pieces.)  The plants they choose were a palm from her bouquet and eucalyptus berries from Adam's boutonniere. The berries were easy to source at Floral Designs of Mount Joy,  but their palms were too large so I purchased a miniature palm at a local greenhouse.

To produce that many tiles and to make them consistent, I would need to make molds.  Each plant was pressed into spare clay. Unfortunately, despite being the perfect size, the  palm did not leave a deep enough impression to work for the project.

 So I tried a fern, which looked - wait for it - like a fern.  Luckily I found an artificial palm at Joann's Fabrics which worked beautifully.

The plan:

• Create two porcelain leaves, one with a palm, the other with berries, that mirrored each other.  
• They would be joined by a ribbon.
• A stamp with the date would be on the reverse side of the back leaf.

Challenges:

• Creating plaster molds to speed the process of making so many of the same design
  • Making a press mold for clay
    • ​Create an original piece out of any clay you have. Make sure any edges are slightly beveled out so it will release from the mold.
    • Coat the clay with oil to help it release later (optional).
    • Place it in a container larger than the piece of clay, that will hold Plaster of Paris, sold at art & hardware stores.  The latter option is considerably less expensive.
    • Pour mixed plaster to cover the clay at least 3/4".
    • Pop mold out of the container and remove and dispose of the clay.
    • Allow the mold to dry and start pressing clay!
• Making a raised image
• Determining where to stamp the clay while still in the mold so the raised image will not get flattened but ...
• Also deciding how to stamp the back so it is not lost when cutting the leaf

I created three different style of mold before settling in on the final solution.

Final mold:

• Make an over-sized leaf out of Femo clay (hardens in a normal oven).  Press plants into that clay to create an impression.
• Add some sides to this and bake, creating a mold that will produce a raised image.
• Use the Femo mold to create stoneware clay pieces to use as an original to cast in plaster.  
  • Note: Plaster molds were made because they pull water from the clay and allow the leaves to release resulting in a faster process and consistent results.

Collaboration

It was time to check in with Abby and Adam.  

• Did they want the image raised or impressed?  Raised.
• Did they want the palm or berries on top? Berries.
• Did they want the edges to be curved or more rustic? Rustic but smoothed.
  • Note: laying plastic wrap over clay before cutting gives a nice rounded edge.
• They did not hang well with one hole so did they like the two? Yes.​

Production

 Now I had the green light to begin.

• Create 10 new molds of each embossed leaf. Eliminate molds that weren't up to standard.
• Have a stamp made.
  • Note:  Cathy at Atlas Stamp Company, York Pa. is fabulous.
  • I like the rubber cover  on the  stamp so as not to leave an outline.
• In the future have the stamp checked to avoid having another one made with 2019 vs. 2018.

Presentation

• Press porcelain into mold.  
• Create stamping guide lines on the palm mold for stamp placement.​

• Remove from mold recut and add the holes.  
• Note: A template was created for the holes.  A hole punching tool was made with a brass tube as the cutter and wooden skewer as a cleaning tool.

• Call  my sister, Lee, to help! 
• Repeat molding, stamping, drilling 170 times with each leaf.
• Once dried, smooth the edges with a damp sponge

• Let dry completely
• Note: drying on drywall helps them stay flat and dry faster.

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• Fire them in a kiln.
• Note: normally pottery requires two firings; cooler/bisque and hotter/glaze. With no glaze, they were fired just once at the hotter setting.

• Pack up cooled pieces and head to Mom's house.

• Make it a family affair! 
  
• Lee & I wove and tied the ribbon.

• Mom/Grandma slid them in the cellophane bags.
• Note: We could not keep up with her and she let us know it!

• Abby and her family added the ribbons and put them out for their wedding guests to enjoy. They placed a beautifully written message to their guests beside them which you can read at the end of the post.

 I  realize how many times my ideas had to be reworked to get to the final project.  I don't see any failure in that - simply learning. Doing custom work gives me the opportunity and freedom to learn as I go with the confidence that through collaboration and perseverance I will find the answers in the end to create something that will speak to the wishes of my client.  

When I started Remember When Studio, I did not plan on offering my pottery or stained glass skills but this project has taught me to be open to using any gifts I have to benefit others.   Need a personalized favor for your wedding or special event?  We can talk about that.

Abby's thank you to their guests:

Thank You

Ever since I can remember, my Aunt Jean has been creating beautiful, sentimental gifts for Gerdes family birthdays, holidays, and celebrations. Over the years she has made jewelry from my grandfather's cufflinks and teddy bears from his suits; custom clay portraits of beloved family pets, and personalized aprons for the time we spend baking together.  

I treasure everything my Aunt Jean creates but I have always especially loved the ornaments she makes for our family every Christmas. Every year without fail, she crafts something special for us all to hang on our trees - an ornament that commemorates a significant moment from the year, imbued layers of symbolism and heartfelt detailing. I treasure these ornaments because collectively they tell a story of our family, a story we can look back on and celebrate each Christmas season. 

So today, as our family grows, we’d like to share this tradition with each and every one of you. As a gesture of our gratitude for sharing in our wedding celebration today, we hope you will take one of these ornaments which my Aunt Jean has so lovingly made. The ornament’s botanical detailing is inspired by our wedding greenery (specifically the plants used in my bouquet and Adam’s boutonniere), and the overlapping leaves signify the coming together of two still unique and distinct lives.

It brings us so much joy to be able to celebrate with you all today, and it’s our hope that now, each December as you put up your tree, you’ll be reminded again of our gratitude