"Cold Porcelain" is quite intriguingphrase. It evokes associations with something majestic and at the same time fragile and graceful. In fact, cold porcelain is called a plastic mass for artistic modeling. There is no exact information about the history of its invention. All sources report only that cold porcelain was invented about 100 years ago in South America (or more precisely, in Argentina). One can only guess why this mass for modeling is called cold porcelain. Most likely, because the products made from it actually look like various porcelain things. And a lot of interesting things are made from cold porcelain. Fans of artistic modeling use cold porcelain to make mini-sculptures, floral ceramics, wall panels, jewelry. It is used in decorating various souvenirs and dishes. It is believed that this mass is ideal for any type of artistic modeling. It is very plastic, has a number of advantages compared to other masses for modeling and has virtually no disadvantages. Cold porcelain can be used by both beginner artists and experienced craftsmen, both adults and children. It can be purchased in a store, or you can make it yourself.
Composition of cold porcelain
The main composition of cold porcelain includes:corn starch, PVA glue and glycerin. By the way, domestic craftswomen sometimes use potato starch instead of corn starch. However, they note that porcelain products based on corn starch are more elegant and shine through in the sun like real porcelain. In addition to the main components, various recipes suggest adding citric acid, stearin, paraffin, baby oil, camphor, dry chalk, petroleum jelly and much more to cold porcelain. There are as many recipes as there are options for additives. By the way, hand cream (or baby cream), which is included in almost all recipes, is used in the process of kneading porcelain. The finished mass is white. In craft stores, only white cold porcelain is also sold. In order to make the porcelain multi-colored, acrylic paints are added to it. Some paint finished products.
Ways of making cold china
Craftswomen making cold porcelain at homeconditions, they talk about two ways of preparing it - on the stove and in the microwave. These methods differ only at the stage of brewing the mass. Any cold porcelain has the same recipe. First, all the ingredients are mixed in a saucepan with a non-stick coating (for brewing on the stove) or in a glass bowl (for the microwave). Then, on the stove, this mixture is cooked (stirring constantly) until it begins to lag behind the walls of the pan and roll into a ball. The dish with the mass is placed in the microwave for 30 seconds, then taken out and mixed thoroughly. Put it back in the oven for another half a minute and again taken out and mixed. This procedure is continued until the mass gathers into a lump. After this, the still hot mass must be thoroughly kneaded. Now the cream comes into play. It is generously greased on the working surface of the table, hands and the mass is kneaded for several minutes until it stops sticking to the hands. The quality of finished cold porcelain products largely depends on the thoroughness of mixing. Poorly mixed porcelain will crack in finished products. Then the mass is placed in a cellophane bag (food wrap) and put away in a hermetically sealed container for a day. After a day, the plastic mass is ready for work. Now you can try to mold something from it. However, additional tools will be needed to work with cold porcelain.
Tools for working with cold porcelain
Of course, when sculpting, the main thing isthe working tool is the hands, or rather the fingers. But in addition to skillful hands, it is desirable to have auxiliary devices. To make products from cold porcelain, you will need:
- a set of stacks (special sticks) with different tips: sharp, jagged, with a ball on the end;
- a small rolling pin for rolling the mass;
- molds for cutting figurines;
- Acrylic adhesive (PVA glue) for gluing of individual parts;
- toothpicks;
- wire;
- scissors;
- varnish for coatings of finished products.
All these tools can be purchased in stores.goods for creativity. If desired and with a certain amount of ingenuity, special tools can be replaced with improvised means. For example, a rolling pin can be replaced with a small glass bottle or vial (for very small parts), a stack with a ball on the end - with a knitting needle with a bead, and cookie cutters or molds cut from plastic bottles can be used as molds. And finally, a few recipes.
Recipes of cold porcelain
- The simplest recipe: mix in equal proportions (for example, a quarter of a cup) baking soda, starch and water.
- Improved recipe: half a cup (volume of utensils 350 ml) of starch, the same amount of PVA glue, two dessert spoons of glycerin, children's hygienic oil, one dessert spoon of lemon juice, 3 drops of formalin.
- French recipe: one glass of starch and glue, half a cup of water, one and a half teaspoon of glycerin, as much as a fat cream (with lanolin), ten drops of formalin.
- Cold recipe (no need to brew): one glass of starch, one teaspoon of dry chalk, two PVA on a vinyl base, six teaspoons of liquid petrolatum, six drops of formalin.
Products made from cold porcelain are obtainedunusually graceful, and the process of modeling brings a lot of pleasure not only to adults but also to children. Therefore, those who loved to model from plasticine in childhood and have not lost this ability with age should “tame” cold porcelain. This is a great opportunity to plunge into the world of beauty and feel like a real sculptor. We recommend reading:
