These balls pictured are 16", 14", 12", 10"
After cast half of the 12" I decided the 16 was too big so now the bottom mold will be the 14" the top 8"
It will still be huge.

I have these globes from 18" to 4" in 2 inch increments so in theory I could make this 8 light boxes high.
That would be one heck of a lantern.:)

Wow! You are very ambitious with this project! Neat design. Will be very interested in seeing the finished lantern. Don't get distracted with other projects... ya gotta finish thish one!

Marly

Um... 'thish' shoulda been 'this'!

Honest, I haven't had a drink all night!

Marly

Hi Marly
The balls are just muscle work, I'm getting sick of making bowls and balls over and over. But it was a great way to experiment with colors, aggregates, and recipes.
All the challenge in this lantern is in the base, the hats, AND the proportions. It could end up technically great and looking bad.
But I have a backup plan to use the individual balls as hanging lanterns.
I did one big sandcasting of a birdbath and it turned out OK. But sandcasting the 'hats' for these balls will be challenging because each has to be in proportion to the next. I need to find something to press a bamboo pattern into the sand.
But I'm doing it balls only first. The hats will be disks that can be inserted between the balls so if they don't work out it will simply be a stack of balls five feet high.:)
If the stand doesn't work out I'll just put one bigger ball on the bottom.:)

So it will get done one way or the other.
I think just a stack of 9 different colored balls from 20" to 4" would look very cool. It would stand 10 feet high.
I have all the round molds.:)
I wish I could afford the bigger ones but after 18" they get very expensive.

OK, I know we're all thinking it...I've just gotta say it! That is one BALLSY project, TE!

Now for my questions: What are those globes made of, (the actual forms, not the tufa ones you are making) and where did you get them? Do you plan on molding the tufa on the outside, or the inside? Is the mold material split in the middle, or how do you get the molds off of the tufa? Do you cast the balls with voids for the 'windows', or cut the holes after the tufa is set? Seeeeee....told ya I was a newbie! LOL!

Here's a thought for getting the bamboo pattern imprinted in the sand for the 'roofs'...how about checking out thrift stores/yard sales for those old bamboo rollup shades? Snip, snip! Press! Presto! Don't know whether the matchstick ones would work better than the actual split canes, but either might be worth playing with.

Can't wait to see your progress!

- Lisa

The globes are acrylic lighting globes. Any lighting store can get them. They go up to 30 inches. Not cheap but I use them over and over and they are barely scratched.
I cast on the outside 1/2 ball at a time them mortar the halves together. I use a thin strong plain recipe for the halves then coat the entire ball with my finish coat light weight perlite concrete.
I cut the holes when the crete is wet right on the ball mold, with a large thin ring, like a cookie cutter.
I don't remove the window until after the tufa cures.
For these I will use a small cookie cutter to cut the windows in the frame as well, rounds windows in a round frame. These will just pop out after the whole thing cures. So after the half ball is covered making the window only takes a few seconds. Is that clear? Just like cutting cookie dough and the window will always be a perfect fit.:)

I've been checking the dollar store for patterns like bamboo. A fake plastic bamboo would be great but you can nevr find something when you need it. One of those bamboo rollup mats would be great.

My brother has bamboo that the previous owner planted. Coming up everywhere (even through the asphalt) You can probly find someone near you who will let you cut down some stalks and use them. Just a thought.

P.S. but be careful they might want you to cut them all down. lol

Brighteyes, I live on Delmarva, and I have seen bamboo here take over everything. Had to "ROUND UP" the stuff!! I am very careful NOT to plant it, now. It even comes out the bottom holes of pots and starts spreading!! But, yes, that is a good idea. Anyone with a huge stand of it would probably give it away gladly!!

BB, I think that "bamboo" you are talking about might be Japanese Knotweed. It grows really fast and might make some great bamboo like castings, and this will help get rid of the pesky plant. (oh! you can eat it too!)
TE, does this stuff grow where you live? You could tie up a bundle at the top and spread it out into your circle shape and make some lovely roofs.

Here is a link that might be useful: japanese knotweed

butterflybush,

My brother tried cutting it down and then using round up to penetrate it. Still coming up. hes dug it up, which created new shoots from every little piece of root that he missed. been a mess. hes getting ready to put a barrier down. but hes probly got over 1000 sq. ft. of the yucky stuff.

The top right hat in this picture would make the perfect pattern. Imagine it with a hole in the middle for the ball above to sit in.
I could just reduce the size of the hat for each level.
These are so cheap but I can't find one to use.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:73840}}

If there is a Party Store near you it might have what you are looking for. Several near us and I haveppicked up some interesting things.
Paws

I'm not have a good time with these 'hats' at all.
I have spend all morning with cardboard trying to get a shape that looks good between the balls. I give up.
I'm going to make it as a stack of balls first.
I'm thinking of adding a fifth ball (6") and I've casted two more halves today. I'll post pictures of this process and the recipe soon, when I get to the 14" ball. Until I get all the half balls cast there isn't much to photograph, it's endless repetition.
I'm losing the battle with myself as to finish. I keep telling myself a nice peaty outer shell will give me the look of age and be more traditional. But I really want to do each ball in a different pastel color.:)

just got one of those bamboo hats at second hand tstore. I got it for a birdbath but it would be perfect for the top of a lantern.

TE
COOLITE BAMBOO PRODUCTS
Vancouver, 917 E.Hastings

Wow ! terrific project !

Take a large cheese box ( they used to give them away, the huge cheese wheels came in them, about 20 inches diameter?) Drill a hole in the bottom, or even cut a hole 3 inches wide in the bottom. Get plastic raffia. And start wrapping. from the hole in the bottom to the top edge and around up thru the hole again. Go all the way around. You will end up with something that looks like your hats but the inside of one. This will give you that same texture on the outside (top) of the casting you make. To make your own, take some bendable plywood (like paneling) and make a ring, tall as you like. Epoxy that ring to a circle cut from plywood. Cut the hole in the center, and start wrapping. You don't need raffia. Plastic wrap would do the same, cheaper. Keep it very tight to avoid slump when you put on your tufa/concrete.

Hi kobold Thanks, I forgot about them.
I was at COOLITE this spring buying rolled bamboo fencing, but it is a very long drive.
They are very difficult to deal with on the phone (non English speaking staff sometimes)but I might see if they can Courier me some stuff.

BB I like that idea using raffia, although I don't think I've seen the stuff myself. I tend to buy all my craft supplies from industrial suppliers.:)

Sorry to disapoint everyone looking forward to seeing my big stack of concrete balls finished but there will be a delay of a couple weeks. I'm frankly sick of making these balls.
I have an aunt who wants a trough for her winter herbs so I'm going to make that first. I will post pictures of the process. I do troughs a little differently than most methods I've seen.

I've had a few requests to see my 'manly' lantern.
Let me add I did not plan this.
I was copying a lantern I found on the net.
This strange little guy was my first attempt at hand casting and technically I'm happy with it. All the pieces are very strong and fit together like a glove and require no mortar to hold it together. It's just a little 'odd' looking.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:73842}}

I would put that in my yard in a heartbeat.....Just to get the neighbors talkin.....lol I actually think it looks pretty good.....

and you can always argue that if thats what they think it is then they have the dirty mind not you!!!!

Thanks Brighteyes.
That picture is the least suggestive, viewing from other angles is much more of an eye opener.:)
We had some rather hilarious discussions about my 'Boy' in the Japanese gardens forum and another group.
I only wish I had planned it to look that way.:)

Maybe a basket store would have what you need.

Hey, is that a bamboo curtain on that window? Cool lantern. Do you have an Asian town near you? They have all kinds of those type of hats in China Town, in So. California & I've seen em at swap meets. Those hats would look so good on your tower. If I had one I'd send it to ya. Anyone out there have one to send? Peg

Hi Peg and Fleur
It is such a long drive to a city that I usually save up my business to do all at once. So by the time I get done I'm usually too tired and stressed to enjoy hitting new stores.
I generally hit the Dollar store then head for home.

Thanks Peg. I don't care for the lantern but then I'm not happy with most of my work.:)
I'm considering leaving off the topknot, tilting the roof and planting a grove of small tufa mushrooms on a modified base. Then it becomes a mushroom lantern instead of a 'manly' lantern.
Yes it is a bamboo curtain.
That big window gets hot afternoon sun but I like the breeze we get as well so the bamboo on the outside firmly tied down allows enough light and the breeze to flow through.