How I Made A Faux Stain Glass "GlowLight"

Fig 29

35. Now it was time to make a base for the GlowLight. I decided I wanted the base to be textured instead of smooth, so I pulled out a texture sheet and dusted it generously with corn starch so it wouldn't stick to my clay. (Click on the thumbnail for a closer look.)

Fig 30

36. I conditioned some black clay, rolled it through my pasta machine on medium and trimmed it into a rough rectangle. Then I placed it on top of the texture sheet and ran them through the pasta machine together on the same setting to impress the design into the clay. (Click on the thumbnail for a closer look.)

Fig 31

37. To fill out the base and make it fuller, I took a chunk of mud pile and ran it through my pasta machine on the largest setting and then cut it the shape and size I wanted for my base. I covered that top and bottom with the textured black clay, pressing and pinching the ends with my fingernail so the top and bottom layers sealed together nicely without damaging any of the texturing. (Click on the thumbnail for a closer look.)

Fig 32

38. I placed a tile on top of the base and baked for 10 minutes at the manufacturer recommended temperature to firm up the clay. (Click on the thumbnail for a closer look.)

Fig 33

39. When the base cooled, I placed a small rectangle of mud pile rolled out on medium and about as long as half the width of the base  in the spot where I wanted the GlowLight to rest and centered it. This gives the final layer some contour. I smooshed down the edges so they were not squared off and blended them just a little into the black base. Next I conditioned some blue clay to match the stained glass and ran it with a texture sheet through the pasta machine just like I did the black clay in Steps 35 & 36. I cut it into a design that looked pretty to me and would fit onto the black clay and would cover the mud pile rectangle on top. Once that was in place, I created a couple of stops for each side of the GlowLight by wrapping a blue log with a square of textured blue clay - making sure the texture was on the outside - and pinching the ends together. (Click on the thumbnail for a closer look.) I dipped my finger into undiluted TLS and rubbed a very thin layer onto one side of the textured logs and pressed them firmly onto the surface so the TLS was between the log and the base. I used the GlowLight itself to make sure the distance between the two stops was perfect and the whole thing was centered.

 

40. I baked the base for one hour at the manufacturer recommended temperature. Once it cooled, voila! I was finished. I placed the GlowLight onto the base, plugged it in and still enjoy looking at it.