Someone yesterday mentioned that they use bisque clay (once fired clay) for their stamps. So do I – in fact, I’m developing quite a stamp collection. Although the high-density foam is easy to carve and doesn’t get wet or stick to the clay, it does wear down over time. Someone once told me that the foam is perfect because the stamps break “just when they’re about to become cliche.”
Bisque stamps, on the other hand, are very durable. As long as I don’t drop them too many times, they could last me a lifetime. Many of my bisque stamps are “roulettes” that I carved so I can roll them evenly around my pieces. Boy are they a pain in the a** to make!!!! But they are excellent and very useful when they are done. I don’t know what I would do without them!
I have some bisque stamps that I made over 10 years ago–maybe even more….b-mix or porcelain carved when nearly dry is the bomb!!!
Those rolling ones are the pain in the a** for me, I can’t seem to get them evenly round once I start carving on them and then they are wobblers!!!
Fun stuff–
It’s fascinating you use “roulettes”. They sound like the same technique used in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago to identify property. I guess if it’s a great idea it lasts.
Ok, being a non-clay/pottery person,….HUH????
Mary of Brush It On
Hey Mary – sorry if I lost you! I make my roulette stamps by carving a pattern all the way around a small clay cylinder. Then the piece is fired in the kiln once to a low temperature (my finished pottery would be glazed after this point, and fired again to a high temp). The resulting “bisque” piece is hard, porous and perfect for stamping.
Thanks Amy…how very cool (I now have the concept in my head). You’re limited only by your imagination!! I love that you can make your own stamps….makes every single piece of pottery unique and individual AND you can make “signature” pieces. I GET IT!!! LOL
Mary of Brush It On