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Our signs of late use a wide variety of materials to fabricate the best dimensional signs possible in the most efficient manner. We'll use welded steel, carved concrete. routed Precision Board, Magic Sculpt and whatever else we need, often on the same project. We aren't stuck on any one medium or style.
Our CNC router saves us tons of time on many things. Although we can make the machine do absolute magic, sometimes its just much faster to do some things by hand - especially with the other materials at hand. One of those materials is Magic Sculpt.
Like everything new I had to suffer through a bit of a learning curve as I figured out what the material could do... and what it couldn't. I've figured out just how to incorporate simple wire frames or bits of galvanized mesh to hold things in place until it sets up. After more than two tons of the stuff and a bunch of projects I think I'm starting to get the hang of it...
Here's out latest sign out the door... a simple little sign for a memorial garden... but it is special because of the dimension possible with just a little more effort combined with modern materials. It's all hand painted with acrylic paints.
Having fun in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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I have a Magic Sculpt lily too. Mine was built on an expanded metal form too. But I doubt I'll ever use up two tons of it.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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I like them both. Donna your a laugh! 'Dan can you Paint?' That's one up for Donna!
-------------------- Sam Staffan Mackinaw Art & Sign 721 S. Nokomis St. Mackinaw City, MI dstaffan@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1694 | From: Mackinaw City, MI | Registered: Mar 2004
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I painted it all by myself - on my first try too. But I did miss Bec.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Kelly - do you have a close-up shot of your Lilly? Somehow, your lily petals appear to have a more delicate and life-like... maybe it's the distance of the photo?
How does 'magic-sculpt' work? Thanks!
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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I love the way Kelly's lilly came out. It has wonderful detail! Did you mold it flat and then bend it up just before it cured?
I molded mine in place and it does look kinda 'lumpy' compared to Kelly's - especially in the photo. The flower in mine was a little too small (for me) to create fine detail... I prefer to work in a larger scale. And the budget on this teeny project didn't allow for me to spend much time.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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It's gotta be tougher to work on something small like that...hope you didn't think I was disparaging your lilly Dan.. It looks nice...but something about Kelly's really says, "I'm real."
Again - it may just be that her photo was taken at such a great distance that it's impossible to see any textural detail...I'm not familiar at all with Magic Sculpt, so I am not sure what kind of 'finish' is attainable....
Great projects both of you... just wondering if it might figure into a project of mine someday - in some fashion.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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No offense taken Tod. I also appreciate Kelly showing her piece as it shows the varying results you can get with a similar project and the same materials.
After looking at Kelly's lilly I see lots of things I wish I had done with mine. I instantly learned too. If I had to do over I'd fashion it a little different next time... and the end result would be somewhere between the ultra smooth one Kelly made and the rather bumpy one I did... I like texture and a hand made look but a little less than what happened this time. Larger scale also is much easier to work in.
Magic Sculpt is very cool stuff. As you mix the two parts together it gets real soft and doughy... then over time as it starts the chemical reaction (and to cool) it gets more of a leathery feel and is harder to work. Both states are good to work in for different purposes... and THAT is the learning curve as you figure out what works for the project at hand.
To learn to use this stuff I would advise you get a sample kit and TRY it. Its a lot of fun!
The trial pieces will give you samples for your showroom... and the result will be experience and SALES!
Having fun and learning LOTS in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan your lily is just right for the sign it is on, just as mine suits it's home. They are very different styles and both would be out of place if their places were reversed. I thought it was kind of cool how we both took the same materials and created two very different looks. I've learned a lot from talking to you and following your posts, so in a way you own a little of this one too. I rolled mine out with a piece of 4" PVC pipe an cut the petals out with a template I had drawn up for the expanded metal lathe. I wet the surface and used a comb to pull the lines into a petal, and though it did a great job to make it realistic, I decided the effect would be lost from the distance it was viewed from and not worth the effort. The stamens and pistle are wire with sculpt. It's about 15", primed with Fresh Start and painted with Para. Although it looks fragile it is beefed up from behind pretty good. I think the birds will love their new home.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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