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During shows I must be ask this question by 95 % of the people I encounter. Unfortunately, it isn't a cut and dry answer that takes only 15 seconds to answer. I have decided to somewhat document the making of a figure for anyone interested in the process. My biography states that it does take months from concept to completion to create a new figure, but perhaps a more visual representation would be helpful and make things clearer. It would be a difficult concept to grasp if someone was totally unaware of the construction process. Shown here are the molds made from the original clay parts. They take FOREVER to dry before they can be used for pouring. Once they are dry (which usually takes about 2 weeks) liquid clay (slip) is poured into them. After several fillings and required absorption time, the excess clay is then poured out to form a hollow piece. 
After several hours the pieces dry and harden somewhat and can be removed from the molds. Further drying time is required until the pieces get to the "leather hard" stage. The pouring spouts and seams are removed at this point and the pieces are further refined. The parts are then left to dry for about a week before being loaded in the kiln for firing. A lot of other parts are included in the firing as I always fire with a full kiln to keep my firing costs down.
I have been working on the parts for the new collage figures that I want to make. Here is a picture of the original parts molded out of clay. The wheels shown are the larger set of wheels I have for the figures on wheels. I also have smaller wheels that I actually like better. The shape/style are nicer. When I ordered the wheels from the wholesaler they were out of many sizes, so I might place another order to get even larger ones. The molds for the parts were made, and they came out quite good. Now I am just waiting for the darn things to dry. I have been putting them on the patio to speed up the drying process a bit. Seems like it's taking forever!
So this is my second attempt at creating a Blog. I made one last week, but I didn't like the way it looked. I couldn't find a template that I liked and just a plain black background wasn't offered. When I tried to add another post it just got lost out in cyberspace somewhere. Just don't have the patience for that sort of thing! This Blogger seems a lot cleaner and simpler. It also has a more consistent look with the rest of the web site. I will try this for now and just see how it goes. So far though, I think this is exactly what I have been looking for.
During shows I must be ask this question by 95 % of the people I encounter. Unfortunately, it isn't a cut and dry answer that takes only 15 seconds to answer. I have decided to somewhat document the making of a figure for anyone interested in the process. My biography states that it does take months from concept to completion to create a new figure, but perhaps a more visual representation would be helpful and make things clearer. It would be a difficult concept to grasp if someone was totally unaware of the construction process. Shown here are the molds made from the original clay parts. They take FOREVER to dry before they can be used for pouring. Once they are dry (which usually takes about 2 weeks) liquid clay (slip) is poured into them. After several fillings and required absorption time, the excess clay is then poured out to form a hollow piece. 
After several hours the pieces dry and harden somewhat and can be removed from the molds. Further drying time is required until the pieces get to the "leather hard" stage. The pouring spouts and seams are removed at this point and the pieces are further refined. The parts are then left to dry for about a week before being loaded in the kiln for firing. A lot of other parts are included in the firing as I always fire with a full kiln to keep my firing costs down.
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