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Make a Ceramic Tile Informational Sign - PEP BB community.straw.infotile

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posted 4 years ago

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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum. Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Community.

In this Badge Bit, you will make a ceramic tile informational sign and mounting post! These are great because they are naturally fairly weather resistant.

Here is what a ceramic tile informational sign might look like: (it just needs to be mounted on a post)

(source: Pinterest.com)

The minimum requirements for this BB are:
- Make a ceramic tile informational sign and mounting post
- 2 additional points if you made the tile from local clay

To document this Badge Bit, provide proof of the following as pictures or a video (<2 mins):
- show materials for creation of the ceramic tile, making the tile, and the finished tile
- show the finished ceramic tile informational sign on the mounting post

COMMENTS:

Nicole Alderman

steward

Posts: 21553

Location: Pacific Northwest

12040

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posted 10 months ago

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Last year my daughter was in a clay and sculpture class, and I got to tag along. I decided it would be nice to make a tile sign for their Feral Feline Foundry (it's the fort they made almost entirely on their own. We named it because that's were we found our two cats). It took me nearly a year to actually hang the sign, though

I didn't want to just paint on the slab of clay, because I figured the glaze would run and the images and letters would not be as defined. So I rolled out "coils" in the shape of letters. To attach them firmly to the slab, I "scored" (scratched) and "slipped" (got wet) both the letter and the place it would go on the slab. This took a while! For the cats, I did the same thing: I made the shape of the cat and then slipped and scored it to apply it to the clay.

After making the sign, it went through the kiln to vitrify it and make it hard. I forgot to take a picture of it before or after the kiln. But, I did get some process pictures of glazing it.

The colors changed and become much more vibrant after it went through the kiln again. I had put little holes in the top and bottom of the sign to screw it into a post. But, the clay shrank in the kiln! It took me a year to think of a permanent way to mount it. In the end, I found an old coat hanger and used the wire to go through the top hold and then hung it on the Elderberry tree at the beginning of the path leading to Feral Feline Foundry. That's where and how my kids wanted it mounted.