"Oh My Sole!" cotton linter fish casting

"Oh My Sole!"

cotton linter fish casting

Make your own "Oh My Sole!" cotton linter fish casting using my tutorial below!

Is there anything more fun than whimsical dishes?

Whimsy tropical fish and rabbit dinner plates ^

 

Textured embossed surface is on the backside of this fish (sole/flounder) plate ^

Whenever I see a unique dinner plate or serving dish it calls to me to bring it home and add it (and in some cases, them) to my dining hutch collection.
It's especially fun for me to serve meals using these dishes, when my guests least expect it.  It makes for stimulating and fun conversation and a lighthearted atmosphere to the evening.
Life is short and far too precious to eat on boring dinnerware.  In this house we eat our meals together, and we have fun doing so.  We drink our Sunday morning orange juice from champagne flutes, our ice water from wine goblets, our wine from beautiful China teacups and every so often our meals on whimsy plates.  Why, you ask?  Well, for FUN of course!

To the creative person, such as myself (and obviously you as well or you wouldn't be reading this tutorial) these plates can sometimes also provide a wonderful potential surface for paper casting.
Follow along for easy instructions on using your own pressed plate to cast an image that you can have fun embellishing and hanging on the dining room wall ... or anywhere for that matter!
It doesn't have to be a whimsical fish plate.  You can just as easily use any plate that has an interesting surface on the back or the front.  It could be one of those delightful depression glass pieces with their pinwheel patterns or your grandmother's devilled egg server.  
This tutorial can be used with any of those!  So, please join me for a little while and learn how to replicate your own favourite dish using handmade paper and a few other simple items.

You will need:

• a favourite whimsy dinner plate, jelly mold, cookie press or embossed/debossed surface
• scissors (straight, pinking or craft edging)
• spray bottle of water
• thin spatula or bread knife
• glue gun
• hanging loop (frame hanger, metal loop, pipe cleaner)
• small glass gems for weights (... you can even use pennies if you like)
• rigid portable surface (cookie sheet/cutting board)
• kitchen blender
• medium/large shallow plastic bin
• Arnold Grummer® large pour handmold kit (medium pour handmold will suffice if your dish is smaller)
• Arnold Grummer® cotton linter (you can use your own handmade paper from recycled materials but I love AG's cotton linter for its reliability in durability that can withstand the removal of the casting from the dish surface with no tearing AND its pristine, white finish when dry)
• small scoop or cup
• Arnold Grummer® large mesh screen
• cellulose sponge
• absorbent tea towel or terry cloth towel
• Arnold Grummer® couch sheets (absorbent material)
• Acrylic and/or watercolour paints (*If using spray paint ensure you are in a well ventilated area)
• Artist's paintbrushes
• Crafting embellishments (jiggly eyes, sparkly gems, glitter, buttons, beads, punched felt shapes)
• tweezers (for carefully placing embellishments)
• clear glue/glue stick/glue gun/thread (to attach embellishments)

Instructions:

First thing's first!  Choose your favourite embossed/debossed serving dish!  I chose my "sole" serving platter ... but it's not the only one I have.  ;)

Place a thick, absorbent tea towel or soft terry towel onto your waterproof working surface.  Your kitchen counter will do just fine.
Place your dish on the towel with the textured surface to be replicated facing up.  In my case it was the backside of the platter that had the textured details.

Prepare your paper pulp for the pour.  The number of poured sheets you will require will depend upon the size of the dish you are using.  My fish dish was approximately 12" in diameter so I made enough pulp to cast 2 sheets using the 8 1/2" x 11" Arnold Grummer® large pour handmold.  If you make too much you can always cast and dry or freeze the extra in a freezer bag or plastic container and reuse it later.  Better to have too much on hand than not enough.
Using a kitchen blender, fill the pitcher about 2 thirds full of water.

Tear your Arnold Grummer® cotton linter sheet(s) for pulping into approximately 2" x 2" manageable squares and place into the pitcher of water.  Let soak for about 2 minutes to ensure complete saturation of the linter fibres.  Blend well (30-45 seconds) on high (pureé on my machine) and pour into a bowl.  Set aside.

Assemble your Arnold Grummer® large pour handmold and place into your bin of water.

Using a scoop, small cup or even just your hand, scoop in enough of the liquid linter pulp to ensure full coverage over the screen.  Agitate the pulp using your fingers to evenly distribute the pulp. I sometimes pat gently at the surface of the water to even out the suspension of the fibres within the mold.  It's an amazing little tip that works!

Gently lift the handmold out of the water and tilt ever so slightly to allow the excess water to drain back into the bin.

Drip! Drop! Drip! Drop!

Undo the velcro straps and lift the mold up and away from the cast pulp, paper screen and support grid. You should have a lovely, generous layer of pulp ready for pressing.

Look at all of this thick, lovely, pulpiness!

If your pulp sheet is too thin, it can tear or be challenging to remove from the platter after it's dry.  You'll want a good, sturdy layer to stand up to its removal later.  A hearty 1/4" thickness should suffice.  If you're using your own handmade recycled paper fibres, such as egg cartons or other crafting paper, be sure to scoop in enough to make your layer good and thick.

Place your pulp layer on one side of the dish in such a way that when you flip it over onto the dish surface it will land just outside the edges of the plate, giving you a "lip" of excess.

Gently flip the pulp sheet onto the plate.

While the pulp is still wet (and this is where that tea towel comes in sooooo handy) press the screen against the surface of the plate, adhering the wet pulp onto it.

The screen should now lift away easily, leaving the wet pulp on the plate.  If some areas remain stuck to the screen, simply lay that area back down and spray the screen with water.  Press gently and it should release.

Repeat these steps for any subsequent pulp sheets required to cover your dish.

For any small areas where the dish has not been covered by the flipped sheet of pulp, you can use the excess.  Gently tear away the excess pulp and place onto the bare spots.  Spray the patch with water and gently pat into place.

Once you've ensured the dish is completely covered with pulp material, place your Arnold Grummer® large mesh screen on top and using a cellulose sponge, gently press the layer to extract the water from the pulp.

If your dish is glass, and especially if it is Grandma's heirloom, press firmly but gently.  This is where the tea towel underneath also comes in handy, as it will provide a buffer cushion between your hand pressure and the countertop.

Remove any overage, leaving about 1/2" - 1" around the edge to assist in its separation step later.

Once you've extracted most of the water using the screen and sponge, you can then begin to press out more with the sponge directly.  This will allow you to get into the grooves and depressions more easily.

Finally, use the wonderfully absorbent Arnold Grummer® couch sheets to remove any remaining liquid.  They are the cat's pyjama's when it comes to getting that last little bit of water out of your castings!  :)

With the help of a flat spatula or butter knife, slide the blade underneath the edge of the the dish itself between it and the tea towel.  Gently life the plate and casting (together as one) upward from the towel so you can get your hands underneath of it and place it onto an inverted cookie sheet or a wooden cutting board to dry.  Using your fingertips, you can tuck in along the perimeter of the dish lip to define your casting's edges.

Place the casting, dish and cookie sheet (cutting board) in a safe place to dry.

Once the casting is completely dry, you can separate it from the plate.

Press down along that "overage" edge we saved earlier to pop the casting away from the surface.  If need be, use a butter knife or crafting spatula to slide in between the casting and the dish to encourage it along.  With a little bit of patience, your casting will successfully separate from the surface.

Using a pair of scissors (pinking shears or crafter's edging scissors work well also if desired), trim away any excess edging.  

Snip! Snip! Snip!

Look at that detail!

Now for the embellishing!

Embellishing:

Personally, I love the characteristics of the white cotton linter and how it shows off the detailed impression of anything it is cast into, so I'll keep my *blinging* to a minimum (if I can help it) in order to show off the sculptural details of my piece but you can always paint, glitter and glam up your own casting any way you wish.

When using water based paint (acrylics or watercolours), keep in mind the dry casting is still very absorbent so be sure to utilize your paint carefully.  Watery paint will "bleed" out into surrounding areas.  That is of course, an effect I love to have happen in this case ... but you need to plan accordingly.  I use a spray bottle to encourage "bleeding" in the sole's patterning.

Hey!  Speaking of patterning ... did you know that sole (and other members of the flatfish family such as flounder and turbot) can camouflage themselves into their surroundings for protection?  It's true!  They do it just for the halibut!  Get it??  Just for the halibut?  Did I hear a groan??
Here's a cool YouTube video of a sole fish in full camouflage on the seabed ... courtesy of Seattle Diver.

I'd better give up the bad comedy routine and get back to my painting ... (but the video IS really cool so give it a watch and a thumbs up to Seattle Diver if you get a minute!).

For more controlled, detailed painting you will need to use less water in your paint or you can always treat the surface by using a flat, matte finish spray clearcoat or brush on a thinned-down découpage glue to seal it in preparation to accept paint.

Always use ANY spray paint or sealant in a well ventilated area!
You can read the product information by clicking HERE to visit Krylon's Website.

If you're using a découpage glue, water it down ever so slightly and apply it quickly.
Do not go back over areas that are already beginning to dry and become tacky or you will run the risk of the brush grabbing up the fibres of the casting's surface, which can ultimately ruin your piece!
A fun technique is using watercolour paint to intentionally "bleed" spots onto the fish's body where desired and then allow to dry completely.  Spray the dry casting with a matte clearcoat to seal and then go back in again with acrylics to paint in crisper spots and details.
Experiment on a scrap of dried casting to familiarize yourself with how your paint will react once it touches the surface!  Try some metallic markers!  Add beads and sequins and glitter as much or as little as you like!

Have fun with it!

Once you've decorated your casting and allowed it to dry, attach a hanger at the top on the backside using a glue gun.  Glue a few glass gems (or coins) along the bottom for weight when hanging and ...

Ta-da!!!

Oh My SOLE!

You're FINished!  
Get it?!??  
FIN --- ished?  
You'll be HOOKED!
I know ... I know ... but I couldn't help to use that LINE.  

(***Yes, you may insert your eye rolls here***)

Ok.  I'll stop now.  LOL!

If you're interested in seeing more of my creations, please follow me using the links below:

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