100 Days of Progress: Iron Sides

That formerly too-small soup pot has been successfully transformed into Rana's PERFECTLY-scaled iron tea pot to hang in her hearth. When the little top knob decided it wanted to be a mushroom, the patch of grass decided to grow on the lid beside it. I know grass really couldn't survive the heat of the hearth's fire, but it was one of those Halfland magic things--just had to be this way without reasonable reasons.

I'm proud of the grass especially. I used a small piece of expensive German model train landscaping grass, that is too small for Halfland itself but perfect for the kettle, by pulling out small clumps at a time and hand-applying them into pools of matte medium. The arc of the former handle was bent to be like the Japanese kettles Paul has here. The kettle should now hang nicely on the hearth's iron crane (in progress).

I used air-dry polymer clay to form the spout, sanding down the join when dry to a smooth join. An iron handle was built with a slice off a pvc pipe, cut off with plastic pipe cutter. The snug angles trimmed to fit with scissors. A small bottom loop made from a part stolen from the working inside of a ballpoint pen. After these pieces were glued on with jewelry glue (vapor the only toxic material I allow; using only at window and/or with respirator, depending on how much gluing will be done) the whole pot was painted with iron surfacing paint.

Once dry, the newly iron pot gets a careful treatment of rusting solution to look oxidized where moisture might collect on a real pot. The red spots were made to look like inlay by using dimensional paint that was painted red when dry, with the iron paint applied around them.

Comments

  1. Anonymous8:24 PM

    Everything in this film has such a warm, loved cozy worn feeeling to it. I just want to be there.

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  2. Anonymous8:24 PM

    Everything in this film has such a warm, loved cozy worn feeeling to it. I just want to be there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Everything in this film has such a warm, loved cozy worn feeeling to it. I just want to be there.

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  4. hee hee, I'll fourth that!!!

    Thanks you guys for visiting here on Christmas eve with all that you must have to do!

    You're the best! True friends.

    Merry Christmas to you, and your loving families.

    xox

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  5. I jest luv those sophisticated finishes solutions, don't you? Very innovative way of building your own tea p0t.

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  6. That grass looks perfect! Is the air dry polymer the faux porcelain?
    Looks amazing either way.
    Merry Christmas and happy holidays!!

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  7. Jewellry glue! I was wonderning how you glued those parts onto the pot. Love the grass, love the mushroom and ofcourse perfect finishing. Looking amazing!

    Mery Christmas!!

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  8. Fanx, Mike!

    xox Emmy, the liquid porcelain is another product, an actual liquid. I'll have to post about it. Still haven't found source for it online. It gave a great translucent hard finish to things.

    xox Yazzy, Yeah, I use toxic glue only when pushed to by a weird angle or need for more durability. You'll see I used the same glue, like an instant glue in gel form, on your shell pins.

    WHICH!!!! has been shipped to you on the 23rd! Woo hoo! Finally!

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  9. The magic of your fingers never cease to amaze me. Perfect! I am sure it will be an amazing New Year for you and all the world of Halfland.
    Love
    Marcie

    Package going out today!

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  10. Hooray, Marcie! Thank you so much! Can't wait! Thank you!

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  11. (^ I've been watching a 1980's full blown stop motion version of wind and the Willows lately.
    i thinks some of the work would be a good study for you, and I've found 90% of it is out on youtube.
    here/ I want you to see this one specifically , as a belated Hanuka gift:

    Wind in the Willows: Yuletide Entertainment (Part 3 of 3)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr5zPhrdCEg



    I was told Purves worked on the show but hated it because he .. well never mind. I guess if you're going to work THIS INTESIVELY on anything, it'd be nice to have a driving passion for its content.

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  12. H U G E fan of this series, YES!!! So much charm and many fine touches. Caring-ly done.

    I couldn't get over the EYES.

    Thank you for these links, hadn't seen these.

    I can see how working on things as sweet as this wouldn't be everyone's cuppa!

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  13. Warm, worn, cozy... yeah, like they said!

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  14. Thank you, NICK!!!

    You should receive your holiday greeting by Saint Swissons Day. And I've packed up a small packet of my aging tricks and small knits for you that should finally go out this week as well!

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  15. I googled St Swisson but didn't find anything - patron saint of muesli? Swiss army knives? But whatever day it arrives will forever after be St Swisson's Day to me!

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  16. Hee hee, I've had it wrong, it was St. Swithin's Day... (is 15 July, a day on which people watch the weather for tradition says that whatever the weather is like on St. Swithin's Day, it will continue so for the next forty days.)

    *It isn't a holiday, it's like a groundhog day, folkloric day of indicating weather.

    It's July 15th so, hopefully you'll have your mail before then!

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  17. Shelley, where can I get some of that iron surfacing paint? I'm doing a photo story, and I need a cast iron curtain rod.

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  18. Hi Thessaly, this is the magic stuff:

    http://www.dickblick.com/products/instant-iron-and-instant-rust/

    Could be at your local art supply shop too. It's by "Sophisticated Surfaces" and it a two part faux finishing product, first iron particles in water, dry, then add the second (inert) chemical that naturally rusts the iron.

    Keep the iron bottle shaken regularly or it dries out. And learn to control the rusting by how much you apply and where. You'll learn the more you use it.

    I use it for a lot of art. It's great for making anything look old.

    Have fun!

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