I have just discovered these videos and am now a huge fan! Learning so much from watching your process, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you're putting into producing these for us! Tuesdays are one of my favorite days. ;)

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I’m glad you found me!

You’re a machine! All that work! And then all the video filming and editing of you doing all that work 🤯 you are a tiki treasure my friend! Thank you 😊

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!

FANTASTIC... 28 YEARS AGO I LEARNED THIS TECHNIQUE. AND TODAY I HAVE PROFESSIONALIZED MYSELF IN THE SUBJECT AND HUMBLELY TEACHING FOR FREE ON MY CHANNEL... PEOPLE THIS CRAFTSMANSHIP OF MAKING SILICONE RUBBER MOLDS. THANK YOU FOR THE NOSTALGIA. THANKS PARTNER

My goodness I have gone down the rabbit hole! Watching all your content. Entertaining, informative and inspirational!!! Thank you for working hard to provide this for us!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank YOU for watching! 🤙

Thanks for posting videos of your process. Your mugs are beautiful. Even your molds are a work of art. Brilliant stuff.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you - and thank you for watching!

Tiki Technical Tuesday absolutely makes my week! :D Even though I have stopped casting and molding it's just such a joy to watch! Big hugs to you and the Mrs VanTiki

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

Im soooooo freaking happy I found you 😭 thank you soooo much for taking your time to do these videos! SUPER EXTREMELY HELPFUL 🔥💕

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I’m glad you found me too! Thanks for watching!

"I'll do a final cleanup with this drywall sandpaper stuff. Its grate!" :D

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

It’s the best!

You are really care about all the process details, great!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

I appreciate that!

Elric approves of your wielding of Stormbringer.

That must be what I’m doing wrong, I was leaving the plaster molds to dry open instead of together and that’s where the weird warping happened bc it’s ever so off and it makes cleaning up the piece that much harder 😅 thanks for the tip!!!!

@vantikistudio

10 ай бұрын

I hope strapping them while they dry helps solve your warping woes!

I see those Motion Graphics! Very nice

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Ha! Thanks. Sneaking it a bit of my old job 😄

My heart sank watching you destroy a mold. Now I understand how my family/friends feel when I rip apart a dreamcatcher to start over again. *giggles*

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

:)

Jeez well done! excellent job! love your vids!

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! And thanks for watching - be sure to share with any artists/makers who you think would be interested

Thanks again for another awesome video. 👍

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

your videos are motivational thankyou

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

It's my pleasure - thanks for watching!

First, great videos. I shared this site with my sister and we are both enjoying your videos immensely. Secondly, we come from a ceramics background and found your work inspirational. Thirdly, I really like that you recycle the silicon molds and wondered about what happens to the retired plaster molds after you smash them. I know that it is cost prohibitive to recycle the plaster by reheating, crushing, and grinding it, but it seems like they could at least be used as garden amendments.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

What to do with old plaster molds is indeed a dilemma. Old school LA mold makers remember a time when so much plaster was being used by Hollywood for set construction and mold making that there was a reclamation plant in LA. Sadly, those days are gone.

Love your axe technique! Keep creating and stay safe!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Busting up molds is always great stress relief!

@falconNL

3 жыл бұрын

To piggyback on that, what kind of Axe is that? I just have a old one and its been giving me trouble this last winter.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Good question! I call it Stormbreaker :) - its a splitting maul by Fiskars and it is AMAZING. amzn.to/3aK352I

I’ve got some older plaster I tried to use. Did a 5min slake. 5 min stir. Well by the time I was pouring it was thick and gooey.. couldn’t figure out why. Fresh bag of plaster. 5 and 5 is perfect. Your tip to put it in a plastic bucket to keep the moisture out is fantastic. Mahalo nui!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Sure thing! Yeah - here in the Pacific Northwest, and back when I lived in Hawaii, moisture is always an issue. Back in LA we kept the plaster in a big trash can, but it was a lot less humid there 😄

"The studio is not for Fashion..." (always wears FABULOUS SHIRTS...) 🤣🤣 FANTASTIC AS ALWAYS!! 👏 lOVE the graphics!!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks again! Believe it or not - the shirts are all "studio aloha wear" - super cheap aloha shirts from Target in Hawaii. I snap them up every time they have a new design.

Another interesting, informative video! I hope you played taps when you destroyed the Pier Post Bob mould. 🥲

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

We all raised a Mai Tai in its honor

awesome awesome i love your work broooo ¡¡¡¡¡¡

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

You are the Alton Brown of ceramics

I love your videos! You definitely deserve more views and subscribers! Question - I've read that you can potentially recover the plaster and turn it back into powder. Is this something you've looked into or do you have any concerns with this? Maybe contamination or is it too messy?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Aloha! Thank you for watching! Good question about the plaster - it is chemically possible to recycle it, but the process is complex and tricky. It needs to be held at high temperatures for a specific amount of time to drive all of the moisture out of the gypsum, then it needs to be milled back down into powder. I’ve heard stories from master Hollywood mold makers that LA used to have plaster recycling plants back in the days of filmmaking when plaster was the main product used to make molds and to fabricate sets.

Binging through these and loving seeing the whole process. Hopefully, one day I can own one of your masterpieces!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Hope to be a part of your collection someday!

the Alton Brown of mold making

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

😄

youuuu sinnneeeerrrr ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ diferent sockssssss?????? no problem bro we love you¡¡¡¡¡

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

😂

Great videos ! In you little infographic, you show how more molds allow faster production, but what about casting several times a day ? Is it not recommended since it would put too much moisture into the molds ? Cheers

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

Exactly! Where I live, the molds would not be able to dry out casting more than once a day

Great work and great personality! I have a question. In the original mold you poured plaster directly on the clay part. You mentioned once that the original art was sculpted using monster clay and monster clay melts at temperatures that the plaster should have reached at it's exothermic climax. How is it that the exothermic reaction and the heat created by that not melt the original art in the casting process?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Good question!! I was worried about exactly what you are describing, but friends of mine who have used plaster on the monster clay said that they never had an issue. The only problem I’ve had with the monster clay is it sticking to the plaster if it does not have enough release (this sticky may be due to melting and grabbing the setting plaster)

hello my friend, hope all your designs are coming out amazing. I have finally finished my silicone mold using rebound 40. I Had my wife help me mix the silicone while i poured. she ended up not adding all the mix in the yellow bucket one two of the pours and some how it still cured. so i got extremely lucky. $800 dollars later. is what my mold cost. yikes. Can you please answer this question. what are you using for the silicone release for the plaster casting. i was recomened ease release 200? do you use it? Also on the windex. do you use regular windex? and how much do you water down the windex. Thank you so much for all your great videos and help. your the man.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Congratulations on the mold! I don’t use any release to cast the plaster in silicone molds. For the windex, I use standard everyday windex. About 1 part to 10 parts water

Love your videos - greenhorn molding question - can you make a mold from a already fired and glazed mug . I made one in my pottery class and wondering if I can try to make a plaster mold from it. Trying to avoid having to re-mode it from scratch

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

You totally can! In theory, anything can be molded, as long as you have a working release agent and avoid all undercuts. the trick with molding a rigid model (your fired ceramic piece) with a rigid material (plaster) is you have NO WIGGLE ROOM with undercuts. Something to consider is making a silicone/flexible mold of your mug, then cast a silicone positive from that to make your plaster mold off of. does that make sense?

@JTREY

3 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio That totally makes sense - Thank you so much for the info and direction - You are my favorite tiki artist and love the content you are putting out!

just throw some palm trees on those crocs and BAM FASHION hahahah

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Nothing is sexier than FUNCTIONAL WEAR

Ok, got it. Don't clean plaster off things in the sink, do it in a bucket. But then where do I dump out that bucket?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Good question! Once the plaster level is about halfway up in the bucket, you dump it in the sink. KIDDING!! I’ll pour the water out (in the yard), leaving the plaster inside and set the bucket aside to dry out. Then the plaster gets tossed in the trash.

@jdhardisty3741

10 ай бұрын

Plaster like cement will eventually settle to the bottom. Water goes down the drain and the plaster can be dumped in the trash

Amazing content, thank you for your work. I have only one question, how much dobyou water down the windex? I cast plaster into silicone for the first time and the surface was full of bubbles 😅 Never happend before

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I do it roughly 10:1 water to windex

@jakubrafajdus1599

2 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio Thank you, BTW I used few different plasters but neither one of them was so fluid as yours. Could I send you picture how the bubbles in my plaster mold looks like? there is lot of tiny bubles on the surface of the mold.

Quick shoes and mix socks, we should be friends lol

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I always believe in good studio fashion 😄

If Alton Brown had a craft show.😅

It's nice work, lovely items. Just have to say ...never go to New Zealand, the Mauries would have a piece of you.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I Love New Zealand - reminds me of Hawaii, where I was born and raised.

I can’t imagine how you did all this in your little Kailua place.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

It was a challenge!! That’s why we struggled to make bigger editions

compressed air is good for splitting molds from masters.

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! Good tip!

Sar plaster Paris is like ceramic powder

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Ive only used Pottery Plaster in the studio

@designerpotandplanter1004

3 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio hair normally people not understand poetry plaster we can buy online only and online is very expensive then what I have to do please advise me thank you very much I want to do something different you see my pot I make this myself I never learn anyone just I see videos and make

Hi. I'm new to ceramics. Do you have to use the plaster that ceramics stores sell or can any supplier of plaster be used, as the ceramic store plaster is way more expenisve? Thanks

@vantikistudio

10 ай бұрын

If you’re going to use the plaster to make molds for Slipcasting, you need to use pottery plaster USG 1 or the nearest equivalent. It’s pricier than plaster of Paris, but other plasters won’t have the property that make Slipcasting work. I’ve tried other plasters in the past - they can work, but the results are not as good and they take forever to cast with.

I am severely struggling in my studio! I have 3 simple 2 part molds I've been using for a while now. I needed to be able to pour more pieces at a time so I tried to duplicate them with rebound 40. It came out great! I start pouring plaster and leaving the newly poured molds out to dry ( I did have the two parts separated while drying). I pieced them together to check the fit and the two parts of the mold don't fit properly :( they wobble a bit like a seesaw. I am now banding the molds together for my drying process, however what I'm worried about is even if I try to check the fit when I freshly pull them from the silicone, they still wobble. Does this make sense? If the master mold fits perfect with no wobble, and the silicone mold is an exact copy, why wouldn't the two pieces fit properly fresh out of the silicone? Thanks so much for all of the videos !!!!

@wgenterprises1

2 жыл бұрын

Also I haven't been able to get no.1 pottery plaster for the life of me. I am using plaster of paris for the time being. Mixing it 1 to 1. I just tried increasing the plaster by 50% so I will see if that helps. Also I am getting ALOT of air bubbles. Regardless of wether I mix with my drill, or mix with my hand. Any help you can offer would be a BLESSING thanks!!

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

Okie dokie - first off, plaster of Paris is terrible for molds - it is very soft, and tends to warp. I’m not sure what the recommended mixing ratios are for it, but you need to be meticulous when measuring and mixing plaster. Lastly, do you have boxes supporting your silicone molds to prevent them from distortion (like the plywood frame boxes I make)? They are a big help in keeping the silicone from moving. Hope that helps!

@wgenterprises1

2 жыл бұрын

Yes I do have boxes. Thanks for the quick response. I will try to order some pottery plaster.

Will you be doing more runs of the Dead Bastard and Lil Ammy? I went on the site and EVERYTHING is sold out. great for you, but no so much for US :D. Great work though!! Love It!

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

Aloha! Thank you for visiting the store - we hope to have more mugs in it soon. The Dead Bastard mug is a closed edition and we won’t be making any more of them. We will be doing another wave of Lil Ammy mugs in a new glaze - but before that that’s are a few new mugs we want to create. In the next few days we will have the preorder information up for the Giant Crab Claw mugs - keep an eye on our Instagram feed! ✨🦀✨

@kamikazehard

2 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio amazing. I'll be glued to your KZread channel as well. I just don't want to miss opportunity to purchase if I'm delayed in seeing the videos so I'll follow on the gram as well. Keep up the great work

6:02 - You said 'deflocculant', I heard 'deflatulant'. BRB, need another cup of coffee. ;)

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

😂

Are you familiar with USG's "Duramold" pottery plaster? It purports to have a longer casting life than standard pottery plaster. I don't know what, if any, tradeoffs there are, as none are mentioned on USG's website. I wonder why this wouldn't be a better material to use than No.1 Pottery Plaster. Either way, nice video as always!

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip! I’m going to reach out to USG and see if the Duramold would work in the studio

@SpencerOcarina

Жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio Following back up on this - Did you ever look into Duramold? I called USG and was passed around to 3 different people who were not able to provide much info. It's apparently seldom stocked by USG distributors. The closest place to me (NC) is Sheffield's in MA. Info online is non-existent, but I did ask about it in a Facebook group and got a single reply from a guy who says he uses 500 pounds of it a year and that it does indeed last longer than No.1. He didn't quantify that, though. 🤷‍♂

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

I gotta admit I haven’t done any research just yet. So scary to switch materials, especially if it is hard to get! Thanks for the reminder, I’ll try to get some to test this year 🤙

Did you say that you throw away your plaster fragments from your retired molds? If it's cheaper to heat the old plaster in an oven at 356°F for two hours and then grind it back down into a powder, you could be saving money on buying new plaster for slip casting molds. I've never tried this myself so I don't know how much time and energy would be required to recycle the plaster versus just throwing it away. Even then, I wouldn't know if the resulting recycled plaster will wick away water as well as the fresh plaster.

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

I do discard old plaster. Recycling or remaking plaster is an involved process that requires special ovens and equipment to grind the plaster down into powder. As much as I’d like to recycle it, there is no way I could pull that off in my studio. Back in the golden years of Hollywood sets were mostly made of plaster, and there was a recycle/refining factory in LA that would accept old plaster. Sadly those days are gone.

How do you decide which silicone masters get destroyed? Or do they all always get destroyed?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

If the mug is sold as a limited edition, the mold are destroyed once the mugs have all left the studio. If it's an open edition mug, I'll hang onto the silicone master molds for new releases.

What if one of the mugs is damaged or destroyed in the post and you've already destroyed the moulds though?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

I hang on to a mug or two, and hope for the best. We ship everything insured - so the damage would be covered.

Seems kind of silly to destroy the master mold. What if you client comes back and wants to order another production run? I guess it a good way to keep the value of your work high.

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I hear you - but if a mug is sold as a limited edition, destroying the molds is the proper thing to do. Just like how printmakers scratch up the plate after printing the final number in an edition, to ensure that nobody will create any more. If a mug is for an open edition, we will archive the mold (for example, the hidden harbor cursed monkeys fist mug has been done in several color ways).

Does the type of alcohol matter? Denatured? Isopropyl?

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

Isopropyl is best - it leaves no residue

How do you pour the slip in?

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I use a slipcasting table to pump and store the slip. You can see it in action here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/lqGembqif8eXe5c.html

What happens if you pour ceramic slip directly to the silicone mold, and not use a plaster mold..?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

I wish I could use silicone molds - but plaster is essential to the process. I explain it here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZKiJmNV7dJzYj6w.html

@gentamustaine

3 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio what happened to the ceramic when you used the silicone mold? Did it just took a long time for the ceramic to solidify or the ceramic did not form at all?

Can I ask the size of your studio thank you

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

I do a tour of the studio in this episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/c2qIs7OBdLfRYbw.html

Can I pour plaster in the sink?

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

Definitely not!

What kind of screwdriver is that?

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I picked it up at a big box home improvement store. I like it because it’s t-shaped and it is ratcheting. It’s branded iWork

@labreeaandrews4169

2 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio Thank you so much!

do you offer 1:1 classes?

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

No - I don’t know how I’d find the time! 😂

@kimmyy8376

3 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio Aw man I emailed you I had some questions !! Thank you

I have made over 150 production molds and never waste as much plaster as you poured into the bag. Why do you do that?

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I guess I’m just not as good as you! 😂

@frisbeephil

2 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio I was not implying that, I wondered if there was a reason. Mixing extra to ensure enough quantity, or more consistency in larger batches? Mixing more during fine tuning to a more precise measurement. I'm just curious.

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

Gotcha! I’ll mix up a larger batch than necessary for the first few pours to figure out the best casting order for the molds, and (hopefully) after a few rounds of casting I’ll dial in the amount of plaster needed to fill each mold (or group of molds). I’ll round up the amount of plaster needed to an easy number to hit while weighing, and that will leave me with a tad extra in case of spills, etc.

@frisbeephil

2 жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio thank you for sharing that. Very much the same thing I do. I like to test my psychic abilities and see how close I can come. I always have a 1 kilo batch of plaster and water pre weighed so I can top off a short mix and it really helps me dial in the exact amount I need to fill my mother molds. My main growler mold is a 3 piece. 2 at 11 kilos and 17 so I need to get everything I can out of a bag of plaster. At my ratios there is no slaking, it's dump it in, mix at high speed and then slow the mix down to drive out the air and then pour. I always mix and pour from a square bucket because I find it has a better stream to drive more bubbles out. You have a subscriber in me. Thanks for your responses.

@vantikistudio

2 жыл бұрын

I love the idea of having an emergency kilo of plaster on standby! Mahalo for subscribing and watching 🤙

The issue with you destroying your molds is that on the open market your mugs go for upwards of 10X the cost that you are selling them for.. I feel you are getting cheated out of the crazy hard work you do due to the rairity and difficulty of getting them to begin with. I totaly love your work.. just wish it was more available.... like a lottery system or subscription account for x # of peices ....instead of first come.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Whoo! The terrible sale dilemma :) I feel that mold destruction is an essential part of any artwork sold as an edition - that being said, I understand that puts a limit on the amount of work out in the world. As to lottery or subscription sales - for our small 2 person studio they don't really fit. Lotteries mean a lot more work in shipping and fulfillment (selecting, tracking down, and invoicing winners) - and in the end we're still only releasing the edition number - so there are lots of folks who will feel left out. Subscriptions would only mean that we are selling to the same group of subscribers every release, and I don't feel that would be fair. Also, I am uncomfortable with the pressure that a subscription would put on us to deliver only one type of product. Hope that helps to explain why we do direct sales :)

Clean in bucket, got it. Then what? Got a bucket of plaster water.

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

Ha! I put the bucket in the sun outside, once the water evaporates I have a disk of plaster sediment in the bottom that I toss in the trash.

@JoshuaFinancialPL

Жыл бұрын

@@vantikistudio brilliant!

Mold porn!!!!! Lovely episode. Well except the socks. Still kind of wrecked about that.

@vantikistudio

3 жыл бұрын

Those are my Yellowstone Vacation Panic I’m Out Of Clean Laundry socks!

Artificial scarcity. :(

@vantikistudio

Жыл бұрын

How so?