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Hello again Very good question .. consistency of size. It's a tricky one though because there are variables. You just need to bear in mind that cold porcelain shrinks as it dries and the extent of the shrinkage is dependent on how much moisture is in the wet mix. That's difficult to control. If I was looking to create consistent size shapes, I would probably mix the colour into one batch that would be sufficient for all the shapes that I wanted to replicate. I would then aim to complete the work on the same day if possible. Store the unused medium to minimise risk of drying which would reduce weight. Weigh the same amount of porcelain for each component and use templates where possible to help reproduce the same size object. If you can split your design into separate components .. create all the first components for each replicated object and then create all the second set and build in that way. If your first components are all the same size, then you stand a chance of ensuring the complete objects .. based on proportion alone would be a very similar size. Just be aware that when you add your second layer, the proportion of that second layer is going to seem slightly too big and that is because it will shrink as it dries .. this takes a bit of getting used to and is where templates are invaluable. If you have adhered to the size of a template for your first layer, trust the template and adhere to that for your second layer .. if the cold porcelain is from the same batch it will shrink at the same rate and as it dries, the proportions will align. Hope that helps .. happy crafting :o) Sally

Hello srjones What a lovely comment. I don't monitor my channel as much as I used to because I am working full time now, but it is always uplifting to hear from people. I tend to use food colouring gel when colouring cold porcelain along with white acrylic paint to prevent translucency, however if you are using cold porcelain items to embellish a piece of furniture, timber etc, you can always paint them to a colour of your choice prior to fixing, as this will provide consistency of colour, or you could fix them and paint the whole piece. I work with small amounts of cold porcelain at a time, so that it does not dry out and colour matching can be a challenge when the medium is wet, because the dry colour will be different. Hope that this helps. All the best with your project. Sally

Thank you

Hello Jeannette As far as I am aware they are one and the same but I have only ever purchased and used cornflour. I hope that helps. By the way, I always do a google search for the best price on Glycerin. It's generally available on eBay and Amazon. Happy crafting! Sally

Good morning Patricia Thank you so much for letting me know that the video was of help to you. I love to hear from creative people and you obviously belong to that group. Your project sounds absolutely amazing!! Very best wishes Sally

Hi Bill, it sounds as though you have got an interesting project in progress and I am glad that in some small way, you found the video useful although I can well imagine the problems that you would have experienced on a smaller scale. The folding can be tricky even at the original size. All the best with the rest of the outstanding work. Sally

@@GryphonArt Thanks Sally the project is working out well. I have almost finished my construction of a view camera using the bellows.

Good morning Marilyn Thank you for getting in touch and for you generous comments. I will strive to answer your questions below: I have always used an old non-stick pan, but I don't think it really matters because it is more to do with controlling the heat - much like making a sauce that you don't want to become lumpy :0). By the way, there will be lumps, but these can be kneaded out in the final stage. You can use all sorts of things to colour the cold porcelain, but my two favourites are gel food colouring which come in a vast array of shades and acrylic paint. I always tend to add some white, because cold porcelain without colour is translucent. Thereafter, the amount you used depends on the depth of colour required. It will always dry darker. The little book was something that I designed myself at a time when I was holding craft courses from home :o) I hope that this helps. Best wishes for happy crafting. Sally

@@GryphonArt Thank you!!!

Good morning Roy You need to leave the Cold porcelain 24 hours to settle after making it and if it isn't holding a shape then you may not have cooked it enough. You could add colour and work it to remove excess moisture and this should resolve the problem. I would recommend testing a small piece to see if you can improve the situation rather than trying to work with the whole batch. Hope that this helps Sally

@@GryphonArt thanks a lot I'll try that ^__^

Hi Charlotte .. Cold porcelain will dry extremely hard but if the item is thin .. 2mm for example then the PVA content gives the medium flexibility. If you bear in mind the PVA content, then this also means that whilst lumps will dry very hard, they will not shatter like traditional clay when dropped. One of the main benefits of working with cold porcelain is that you can achieve really fine detail with it. The reason for this is that the granule size of corn flour / starch is extremely small. There are downsides and the main one is shrinkage which can cause distortion of your items. I get around this myself by layering. I use smaller dry elements of the medium and combine them with wet cold porcelain like a mortar and this means that shrinkage is not really an issue and the drying time is significantly reduced. If you are creating large items using this method (I am building a life-size hare), then you can apply a layer of cold porcelain to the dry project and then thoroughly wet the surface of the wet layer down, to smooth it and prevent curling along any edges as it dries. The only other think that I can think of to forewarn you, is that once the cold porcelain is dry, it is not water-proof and will take on moisture again if it is exposed to it. You could not submerge an unprotected project in water. I hope that this helps and that you have lots of fun and plenty of success with the medium. Sally

Hello Jeffrey I am so sorry that it has taken me a little while to respond to your kind message and to thank you for your insights which are useful. It has been a while since I have needed to create a bellows fold, but if the need arises, I will take on board your comments. I would also add, that I found that if you creased the folds well, then the bellows seemed to sort themselves out with minimum guidance as you found for yourself. Additionally, it certainly has astounded me that someone has or had, such a creative mind that they have been able to come up with these designs and solutions!! All the best wishes for successful projects. I hope that you managed to find time to give the graduated version a try ... it's quite surprising what a different approach is required. Happy creativity Sally

Hello Roo Gray Thanks you so much for your kind comments and the honest answer to your question is that I don't know, although in your position I might be thinking in terms of coconut oil or something beeswax based. It's all about trying to prevent the PVA glue in he medium, sticking to your hands and utensils. Testing with small amounts of cold porcelain is possibly the only way to find out. Sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you. All the best wishes Sally. By the way, Google have changed the rules and although I have worked hard to build my channel they are now dictating that you have to add a video regularly, in order to monetise a channel and unfortunately, now that I work full time, this is not an option so I am planning to use my videos elsewhere and this channel will be taken down, along with my website. If you want to retain the recipe for this cold porcelain, do download the .pdf file whilst it is still available on GryphonArt.co.uk.

@@GryphonArt Hi Sally, thanks so much for your reply. I guess I'll just have to try a few things out and hope for the best 😄🤞 except beeswax as that's not vegan ☺️ So sorry to hear CZcams are forcing you to have to shut down your channel 😠 that's really unfair, especially as I've only just found it. I'll head over to your website to watch your vids instead then😀 Thanks again and take care.

Hello Russell Puryear Thank you so much for the positive feedback which is very much appreciated. I am so sorry that it has taken me such a long time to respond to you, my life is going through a very busy spell. By the way, Google have changed the rules and although I have worked hard to build my channel they are now dictating that you have to add a video regularly, in order to monetise a channel and unfortunately, now that I work full time, this is not an option so I am planning to use my videos elsewhere and this channel will be taken down, along with my website. If you want to retain the instructions for the bellow fold, do download the .pdf file whilst it is still available on GryphonArt.co.uk. Very best wishes Sally

Hello Khan Sis and thank you for your comment which made me smile. Very best wishes Sally

Good morning Jackie Thanks so much for getting in touch and for asking a very pertinent question. The truth is that you can use this cold porcelain recipe for very large sculptures and in doing so, you can achieve some very fine details, but the downside is that it is a patience game and takes .... forever :(. Cold porcelain contains water and therefore shrinks as it dries which is unpredictable especially with large pieces, so the only way that I have found to get around this is to build the piece in layers. If I want a completely solid piece then I usually create a number of small "building blocks" that can dry overnight and I can then begin to build my shape using wet cold porcelain as a mortar. This means that the majority of my shape is already dry, so shrinkage is much less and also more predictable. As the pieces get bigger and I want to add final layers, I cover larger areas with a thin layer, but then wet that top surface, to create almost a slip, which helps to bind wet and dry layers together without any resulting cracking or curling of edges. I hope that this goes some way to giving you some understanding. I work full time, but cold porcelain is a hobby for me, so I currently have a life-size hare on the go. The piece is very heavy and I am hoping to give it a bronze finish. It will certainly be worth the time spent! :) Happy craft, best wishes and Merry Christmas Sally

@@GryphonArt thank you for that wonderful response, it really made so much sense. I want to make miniture bull terriers to scale. Thank you so much for this as I have bought air dry clay and now know how to deal with shrinkage.

I am so glad that I could be of some help and wish you every success with your project which sounds amazing!! Sally

Good morning Jim Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a positive comment, which is really appreciated. To be honest, as long as you keep the clay in an air-tight container and only add colour when you need to use the clay, it can be kept at room temperature. One tip though is to grease the container with cold cream so that the wet clay can be more easily released from it. Happy creativity and all the best with your house project too. Sally

Hi again. I have made this recipe so many times now it’s great. However this time I made it I experimented “ nothing to loose lol” I had an old block of air dry clay that dried out . A cheap one from $ store clay not great but soaked it down added a few large spoonfuls to your mixture. It was a big surprise I thought it would ruin it , it sculpts great holds its shape and it dries a lot faster. You may want to try it, I have two I can use now your original and my modified clay. TY again for your great recipe ❤

Hello Pilar Mehlis I am so sorry that I didn't respond more swiftly but for some reason, I only picked up your message today. Cold porcelain is a very strong medium although it is susceptible to moisture so needs protection if it is going to be exposed. You can make very large items out of cold porcelain but it is a patience game. You cannot treat it like clay because large amounts take ages to dry and there will be shrinkage which is unpredictable. The shrinking process can also alter the shape. I have a large hare in progress which is life size, but I build it in layers allowing each thin layer to dry overnight before applying the next. Once I have completed a layer, I wet the surface to create almost a slip which I can smooth down and this ensures a good bonding to the dry layer, preventing cracks and curls. I have chosen this medium because it is inexpensive, does not require firing and will take really fine detail. Hope that helps you and I wish you all the best with your project. Sally

@@GryphonArt Hi Sally, thank you for your thorough response. I will be trying out this medium through the next few weeks at an artist residency. Thanks so much for your help. I am trying it for the same reasons as you

You are very welcome and I wish you all the best!! An artist residency sounds amazing!!

@@GryphonArt Thank you :)

Hello K8 B ... that's a very kind comment to make .. thank you! Sally