Liquid clay Glassymer by LUCY CLAY is a great medium for design prototyping, as it is very versatile, practical, resilient, flexible and colorful. In this article, a young Czech designer speaks about her project and experience of using LC Glassymer in her design project.
Project
My name is Veronika Balogová and I study furniture and interior design at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. My semestral task was to design a toy for children that will be innovative and develop children’s skills. I designed a stool that is also a stacking rings toys and when folded to the side, an abacus toy.
Colorful stacking rings
Once I had finished the design, I had to implement it. Complications occurred with stacking rings. I hesitated over the material to use. I eliminated the wood very quickly, mainly because of the financial demands (I would have to buy different stains or paints for each ring) and impracticality (wooden ring is easily chipped when throwing, the paint is easily scraped). Then I started thinking about silicone, but it seemed too soft for the rings, and I didn’t like the fact that it often makes bubbles. Moreover, this material also seemed too expensive to produce a relatively small number of rings.
So I finally decided to contact LC Tools (LUCY CLAY), with the original intention to make the rings of polymer clay. But in the end, again, it turned out to be little practical for my purpose. The resulting ring would not be resilient and flexible.
LC Tools offered me another material, LC Glassymer, which was perfect for making rings. Advantages of the material are: it is possible to mix any color from four basic colors, smooth surface, the possibility of molding, adjustable material transparency, elasticity, and affordability.
Realization
I had to test several mold tests to know which one would be ideal for the final shape. We tried everything from tin cans to paper cups and ceramic mugs. Due to the higher cost of the round shape, I finally decided to make steel tubes and then to lathe the rings.
Once the mold was finished, it was necessary to mix the colors. They were mixed from four basic colors. Twelve finished shades were then mixed with the base (LC Glassymer – glue). Altogether I made twelve different colors.
Finally, the rings were turned on a wood lathe. It was necessary to make a wooden cylinder on which they were mounted, which could then be clamped into a lathe. The material from which the rings are made can be ground, cut and sliced.
Conclusion
I would like to thank LC Tools. I think the created rings look wonderful and exactly to my liking. I am very happy about the result. I can highly recommend the material LC Glassymer. You can really do magic with it and there are no limits to imagination.
Author:
Veronika Balogová
balogovaveronikadesign@seznam.cz
Článek v češtině: Stool ČJ
Copyright © 2019 Veronika Balogová, Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art & LUCY CLAY. All rights reserved.
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