That isn't even my best. I've also been trying to clean a bit for some overnight house guests we will have this week. Usually I can average close to 60-some in a day. That usually involves working the length of four-seven feature length movies.
I will preface this by saying that all this could easily be avoided if I would just have the discipline to work steadily throughout the winter/off season. However, seeing as I do not, here are a couple of photos to show what batches of Timid Monsters look like pre- and post-oven.
I long ago sacrificed one of my CorningWare baking dishes to bake Monsters in. Well, two actually. I started off using a tiny baking dish for souffles or some sort of food I never made. I never used the dish so meh! Who cared if I got it all polymer clay-y? But as I started to make more and more I decided to start using my large, shallow dish also. People have asked me how I keep my Monsters from burning on the bottom. All I can say to this is that I've always used these glass baking dishes, and I've never burnt a bottom. It is fun when they come out of the oven though. They are baked to the dish enough that I can hold it sideways without any falling out/off. And I like the slight "breaking" feel as I remove each Timid Monster.
I use $1.99 jewelry supply sorting boxes from Michaels. They sometimes go on sale for half off and I buy a bunch at a time when this happens. I am up to twelve that are used for storing/transporting Monsters to and from street fairs. I have another six or so that I use to store Timid Monsters in after they come out of the oven but before I sign and number them. Then I sort them into the normal storage boxes alphabetically and change any labels regarding who through who is in each box.The ones in the picture are in the transition stage from oven to fair boxes. That box currently has Benjamin, Dale, Apples, Doris, Bill and Gloria. All still need to be numbered and signed.
The photos are of Monday's and Tuesday's Timid Monsters. In total I made 78 Timid Monsters and four clay jars. This is only about a quarter to nearly a third of the amount I want to have done for Sunday's show in Cranford. This isn't to say that ALL will sell. But I'd rather have way too much and come home with more for the next street fair than go with not enough and sell out early.
Hey they look good enough to eat! What is your backing schedule and times, or do you do it in one shot? Thanks. Chris
ReplyDeleteIf I'm working on re-stocking, which is basically when I make more Timid Monsters, I usually bake between 20 and 35 in one dish, depending on how many fit. Usually if any have tails or arms or are a non-standard shape, then fewer fit.
ReplyDeleteI tend not to preheat. Because I'm lazy. And I have a crazy theory regarding the correlation between not preheating and smoothness.
I set a timer for 25minutes. But usually when the duck quacks--I may or may not have a quacking duck timer--I'm in the middle of something and mentally take note of the quacking, plan on getting up to remove them in just one second after I finish whatever it is I'm doing, then get them anywhere from one to 15 minutes later, hoping no horns have burnt.
Sometimes my fiance wanders by the oven, is good enough to check if there is a timer, and calls to see if they should be taken out.
I'm VERY precise.
Ok I get it, I'm not that precise either . Speaking of horns I would love to show you some sculpture pieces I'm working on and get your opinion. Over here...http://floatingwoo.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-sculpture-designs.html
ReplyDeleteThanks!