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Some of the best ideas are unexpected.

3D Clay Printing

“Whoever thought that this is a good idea?” is something I ask myself all the time.

We all have our ways of coping when times get tough, and do we sink deeper, or do we try and swim through the infested clay waters and hope you make it to the other side.

This is how I feel this month has gone. A rollercoaster ride of amazing wins, and then a curve ball in the face just when you think everything is great. Would I change any of it…nope.

Whilst trying to find my balance of which days to 3D print and which days to concentrate on drawing and admin I find myself feeling guilty I am not printing more. In reality, I need to rest my arms and hands to give them a well-deserved break.

Reworking clay and prepping it for printing can be a time-consuming process where patience and singing along loudly (and way off tune I might add) to my premade playlist is a must.

I have found when I don’t have the patience to prep the clay correctly, the print will show how I half-arsed my way through it, and I will have to start again because the clay consistency is not correct.

If the clay is too wet, it will extrude out too quickly from the nozzle and each layer that is printed (especially if the layer height is above 2mm) won’t hold its shape, and there will be additional air bubbles thrown in the mix.

If the clay is too thick, it could clog the printing nozzle, or the air pressure may not be enough to make the clay move. The printer has air regulators built in for safety, and the amount of air pressure usually won’t go above 6 bar with my compressor.

It is during these moments where I must take a step back, breath and not let the fact that I must empty the entire clay container… AGAIN…that I just filled with 3.5kg of clay… AGAIN…and had to seal using a well-practiced and time-consuming procedure using Vaseline, a spanner and brute force…AGAIN.

That is when I find my mind plays tricks on me and wants to make me doubt myself.

At the end of a hard day, I find taking a day out of my studio and doing other things like admin helps to keep me sane. Then once the day is passed, I am ready to enter back into my studio and tackle the next day with fresh enthusiasm where I have conveniently forgotten the fails of the past.

That has been my month…in the studio for a few days and working from home for a few days editing some of my Skillshare and Youtube videos.

The printer has been reliable, and I have not had any catastrophes this month. Which means I can rest easy and know I am in control whereas before I thought the machine was controlling me!

I have been creating some new designs and playing around with how much heat from the hairdryer I can use on the clay print before I need to backoff because it may crack.

It is like living on the edge, knowing your decision to keep the heat on could lead to regret, or take the heat off and the print could fall in…it has been fun.

Side note: If you are printing with clay and don’t have any crazy angles, you don’t need a hairdryer, normal air drying will do just fine, and cracking can easily be avoided.

I however never seem to take the easy road. It seems I would much rather prefer to walk through mud on a rainy day in slops where one foot will most definitely get stuck because I have absolutely no balance (ask any of my friends) and I will face-plant into a puddle.

It is just way more exciting, and luckily, I can laugh at myself.

Another side note: You can also print faster if your shape is a bit more uniformed and the angles are easily printed. It all depends on what you want to achieve and how much time you are willing to spend sitting and watching your print take form. All up to you.

I however am that person that constantly monitors and watches what is happening.

It is like when we were young, and the ad break came on during your favourite TV show. You knew you would have to rush to the bathroom and back in under 3-4 minutes, but then you would also  get distracted on the way back and you absolutely must grab a snack which is right at the top of the cupboard and now you first need to pull up a chair to reach it. By the time you get back to watching your TV show doing your well-practised sprint jump onto the couch (which you always found impressive) you’ve missed the first three minutes which reveals the plot twist.

In printing it could mean the end of your print if you get distracted and you only realise 20 minutes into the print that something went wrong because you got distracted by the latest Coldplay music video…so timing is everything and remember to keep your eye on the prize!

So, asking myself the question of “Whoever thought that this is a good idea?” constantly goes through my mind.

Then I remind myself, I am not crazy-mad and I am in the process of making. And that is exactly what it is…a process.

Thinking of things as bad ideas is never a good thing because some of the greatest things would never have been invented if someone thought it was a bad idea.

Like a slinky. I don’t think I would have coped in my childhood without a slinky. I mean all you needed to do was to find some stairs and you had hours of entertainment.

I quickly googled how it was made and turns out it was an accident and not intentional. So, it was not an idea at all until it presented itself unexpectedly.

Well, there you go, some of the best ideas are unexpected.

I must go and clean my printer now. Avoidance can only get me so far and I am fully aware that the reality of a clogged clay extruder will never lead to creating anything intentional or unexpected.

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