Way Kewl! I really like seeing the start to finish pics, they are wonderful for us tufachallenged peoples. :)

Marly that is beautiful, and as GreenFeet says it is good to see the start to finish pics. Fantastic job.

Jilly

I like that a lot, Marly, and a cool thing about it is it's just going to get better as it cures. Do you have any plans to distress the surface, or will the 'clay' be smooth?

peak

That's a wonderful piece, Marly. But........are you making this in your KITCHEN? I make such a mess when I work and that is in the barn!! Lucy

Marly, that's great! I really like the handles. And thanks for the armature picture. Your friend will love her vessel.

Eva

Marly, Great Job looks fantastic! I also liked you posting the pics. I'm a visual person seems to stick better in my head if I look at something than reading it. So keep posting pics when finished.
Sandy:)

Thanks everyone!

Peak, I think I'll be aiming for the smooth clay finish and I might incorporate some Hebrew writing onto the surface as well!!

Lucy, yes I do a LOT of my mudding in my kitchen. I have got my method perfected. I just bit the bullet and do my cleanup IMMEDIATELY so that there is no residual mess. I also always have a bucket of water handy to do quick washups.

I think I am a 'visual' learner as well guys, that is why I keep posting all these WIP... because I know how much they help ME!! lol

Marly

Marly,

I've been wondering how to get a shape like that--I love the look of water vessels and Italian pottery.

Right now I'm widening a path in my yard to make a small paved patio area with border/retaining wall blocks that I'm making. I'd like to make some interesting pots with an "Old World" feel for the patio.

Thanks for sharing--you've given me new ideas.

How tall is it?

Deb

How tall is it?

Deb that sounds like a WONDERFUL idea!

My vessel is 17" high.

I just uncovered the vessel to measure it... and I've decided I am NOT going to smooth it over anymore!! lol I just love the rustic look waaaaaaaaay too much. Afterall, it IS supposed to look antique, right? lol

Oh, and I just tried to LIFT that baby up... it is SOME heavy! Hope it lightens up as the water dries up.

Marly

Marly,

My Thessaloniki vase is at least 2" thick all around and is really heavy, too. It doesn't seem to have lightened up much, even after a couple of weeks!

I'm looking forward to hearing how you do the writing. It might help me with my masque eket.

peak

Fantastic job Marly!! I always love seeing your stuff though and your detailed instructions are great. Love the vase!:O)
Anela

Excellent Marly!
Very well designed! Is that a dome topped basket? My monitor here at work is terrible. I second your decision on the finish.
Leigh

Marly,
That looks really great! Did you take the trashcan out yet? :-0 ???

Li

OK... I'm done!!! Yabba Dabba Doooooooooooo! lol

This is the lettering I wanted to do. These are the four letters of the Tetragramaton, or the Hebrew name of God... "Jehovah". It seemed to go with the scene that we are working on with the old well.

I hate to give it away now! Whaaaaaaaaaa! Good thing she is such a good friend... I'll get to see it often!

{{gwi:71767}}

{{gwi:71768}}

Thanks Leigh, for the 'thumbs up' on leaving the finish rustic! I used a couple of brushes to sweep away the loose particles and to even out the finish a bit. Some spots were smoother than others and now they are all equally 'rustic'.

Li, no, the trash can stays inside. It wouldn't be possible to remove it after because of the shape of it, plus I wrapped the whole thing with chicken wire! It is in there for good! Sometimes you just gotta leave it inside!

Well, I have a great sense of satisfaction today... finished what I started! Now I just gotta work on making the well!!! Boy, that is going to be a BIG job!! Have a great, creative day you guys and gals!

Marly

Wow! I'm stunned at how much the lettering adds to the piece. Really. A truly wonderful job, Marly.

peak

Hi Marly !

Is there no end to your creativity???????

It is time for you to go commercial...OR
....co-author a book.....one that Oprah endorses would be nice!

Really, really like your water vessel.....Smithsonian???

AND.........I knew we had some common genes....
my workspace is in the kitchen too!

I use my stove-top with a flatten cardboard box....carefully selected for size from a local retail shop's trash. Of course I keep several back-ups
in the corner. When the box softens....it always does...
I replace it. Microwaving and Crock-potting is way I cook.
Staight from the can or refrigerator or garden is good for me too!

Guess you could say I'm a stand-up kind of guy....
just cannot 'work' sitting down....using my table top made me 'hump-over' too much.

In the process of duplicating your PaperCrete Flat Bowl/Dish.

Thanks for all your great tips and instructions!

Best to you in all you do!
DicktheHick

Marly, that lettering was the perfect finishing touch! Your vessel is fabulous and what an amazing gift for a good friend!

Eva

WOW! Great Job! Love it!

Li

Hi, Marly,

WOW again to your wonderful vessel! I feel dumb. I thought I could go back and look at your picture of the lettering and all of your tools to figure out how you did it, but I can't. Did you chisel out the letters? Could you please explain? They're great!

Eva

Marly, really, really great, has your friend seen the finished vessel? It would be tuff for me to give that one to my best friend! Just maybe she would prefer smooth AND you can keep the vessel ;)
Bonnie:)

Marly
The vessel is great as is the topic of your project
Michael

bump

Marly...possibly the only thing better than your great & informative posts...are the finished products. That is one sweet piece. Glad you left it "rustic", the lettering is perfect with the finish. You obviously live by a rule that a wonderfully cranky old Greek art teacher once enlightened me with...he growled..."the only G-- d--- difference between a 'good' artist and a 'bad artist...is a 'good' artist knows when to Quit". Words to live by courtesy of the late George Pokorny, The Texas Academy of Art.

LOL... Tango! Thanks for the laugh.... sooooo true! I must remember to be a 'good artist' more often then! lol

Marly

bump

bump

bump

I want to be sure HennieTx gets to see this...

Thanks for the bump/reminder...Hey Marly...how's that wonderful jug doing these days? Is it aging out nicely?...planted? Update the pix and give us all a peek!

Hi Marley,
I too am impressed with your work. Can you tell me the exact ingredients and ratios for your mix for this kind of finish? Also, did you end up finishing off the piece with fine sand cement mix? Did you add oxide or other colouring to the mix?
Thanks so much for your assistance, love this info sharing thing you guys have going here. I used to do the same thing in my field, laying stone floors and fireplaces,etc.
I was castigated often by my peers.
Oh well.
Slate1

Slate1, WELCOME!!! I don't recall seeing you post in here before.

I usually use a 1:1:1 of portland cement, all-purpose sand, sifted peatmoss. I didn't add that slurry after all... I liked the rustic look just the way it was. No colouring was used in the tufa at all.

I like to share my ideas, creations and tips... cuz if no one ever did that for me I wouldn't have learned a thing! Pat yourself on the back for having shared your tips with folks about your stonework. I would have loved to be looking over your shoulder when you did your work... I might attempt something like that some day!

Tango... I haven't seen that water vessel since I left it at my girlfriend's place last summer!! I will be going back for another tufa weekend this summer and I'll be sure to take pics of how it looks now. She tells me that the water vessel AND the well we made survived the winter just fine. She left the vessel out all winter with no protection. I can't wait to see them again! Sigh! It was hard to leave my creations behind! But I have MANY MANY more creations around me here to keep me happy! lol

Last night and this morning I was making a turtle planter from recycled aggregates. I'll be posting a pic when it is done. Didn't take any step-by-step pics because I already posted the method I used in the Hen's and Chicks thread. Mr. Turtle is now under plastic, curing.

Ciao!

Marly

Your work is awesome and and inspiration!!
I wish I had a friend like you! I've never had anyone give me such a beautiful gift. Will be looking for pictures of it in your friends garden. If you've already posted somewhere could you please send me a link? Thanks!!

Hullo again, Marly,
I meant to ask, how did your piece end up with a natural terracotta colour? Did you use grey Portland and yellow sand, and ordinary Peat Moss?
Also, I've looked around on this forum, but I can't find the all-important info on texturing Tufa.
Did you stipple and brush the Tufa while it was still wet/moist? And when pouring Tufa into a latex mold,(supported), what consistency do I make the tufa mix? I am a complete Newbie to this, so basic info would be much appreciated, I am interested in doing statues with a Tribal/primitive theme, and have a few projects going at the moment. The trouble is, I can't settle for second best at any stage of the piece. It's a curse you learn to live with!
Thanks again for the help already, this is the only forum I keep visiting on the web,
appreciate the detailed presentations posted here,
Bruce from Down-Under.

Hi Bruce... sorry I misunderstood your question. I just used normal grey portland, normal sifted peatmoss, and regular all-purpose builder sand. I didn't do any texturing at all to the surface... just left it as is.

Also, I hate to tell you this but I think that 'terracotta' colour is actually from the lighting in the room when the pic was taken! :( The vessel looks more on the grey tones in 'real life'. Here is a pic of the vessel outside with the 'well cover' we made. Keep in mind that it hasn't fully cured in this picture.

{{gwi:71769}}

As to using molds with tufa, I'm afraid I don't have any experience with that because I prefer to sculpt right from tufa. Any molds I make and use, I just pour mortar mix into them.

I would be happy to help you with texturing techniques in another thread if you like.

Marly

Tons of great How-to in this thread.

Hi Marly
What zone is your well in?
Has it went through a winter?
I doubt I could get away with that in my Z3, ground frost heaves would destroy the base unless it was rebared and sealed.

Hi David,

I'm in zone 4a but my friend is in zone 5 where the well was built. It came through the first winter (and it was a ROUGH one let me tell you!) without any obvious cracks. Even hairline cracks weren't to be found. We do expect it will start to break down eventually. It is built on extremely sandy soil so I don't know if that is more or less prone to frost heaves?? Here is a picture of it this summer to show you how it fared over the winter...

{{gwi:71770}}

Marly

It looks terrific Marly.
Sandy soil with good drainage should be good.
Your friend needs a mediterranean blue pot or jar to set it off perfectly, but that's JMO.:)

That's great -- been wondering how to make that shape.

Hi Marly,

The well cover and vessel look absolutely wonderful...and it's so nice to not only have a step-by-step tutorial, but also pics of your pieces after they've survived a year outside! Somehow I missed your original post last year, although I've been lurking here for a while.

Gives me even more inspiration to keep on experimenting. Just wish I had a digital camera, so I could take pics of my WIP. Hey, it would help me remember what I did, and when - and I need all the help I can get!

I'm still waiting for my various newbie projects to cure, or be demolded. Once I can borrow a camera, I plan to post some pics. My BF and I have been playing in the mud for the last 3 weekends, although timidly...at first! Now we just dive in! Completely differing styles and interests, but I'll get pics of his work, too. They're great!

This is all so much fun! AND I'm making some Christmas presents, (hope they turn out) which, believe me, IS A MIRACLE! ;) Usually, I'm scrambling for gifts at the last second! LOL!

Keep up the creating and teaching - it's very much appreciated!

- Lisa