Sunday, August 15, 2010

Innovation In Ceramic Wall Hangings

It's been about a year now since one of our customers on Etsy asked for a custom order steer skull. I have a mold that is of a steer skull that is a figurine; great for putting on a bookshelf or tabletop, but not suitable for hanging on a wall.

When I got the request, initially my response was that I could not make it hang on a wall, but after a couple of day's thinking on the matter, I decided to give it a try.  Now, if you have ever worked with wet clay, then you know this can be a tricky business!

I started by pouring the usual figurine, releasing it form the mold. While the piece is still very wet, I sculpt out the back of the skull very carefully (without squishing or mutilating the piece - hopefully - lol) cut away the back to form a new surface that will lay flat against a wall.

With a little trial and error, I got it right and I have been very pleased with the results, as was the customer!  Since then we have made several of these handing ceramic steer skulls, with our newest addition being the steer skull with rattlesnake pictured below.

I am very grateful for this wonderful innovation by way of customer request that I may not have thought of on my own.  It just proves that creativity can come in all forms from places you may not expect!

Please leave a comment if you like this post, or if you have any innovative ideas of your own!  :)

Steer Skull & Rattlesnake - A Dangerous Combination!
Our original Hanging Steer Skull Creation In Bronze Limited Edition Glaze