Friday, July 21, 2017

July 2017 Soap Challenge - Fluid Acrylic Pour

Wow this month's soap challenge was certainly something else! This pouring technique was unlike any other I've tried before. It not only required speed but was also a bit dangerous. Still, with proper cautionary measures, the fluid acrylic pour technique allows for so much flexibility and creates unique pieces of artwork. I will definitely be trying this one again!

I decided to use Brambleberry's Moroccan Mint FO (since it was one of the more well behaved FOs that I had on hand) and chose my colors to match. I went with an apple green, vibrant green (which is more of an earthy green before gelling), teal, zippy blue, and dark blue (blue mixed with some activated charcoal). I didn't want my colors to get too muddled, so I actually left about a third of my soap batter white to pour in between colors.

For my pouring technique, I poured a very thin layer of white on the bottom, and then poured the five colors in different spots throughout the mold. For each layer, I ended up pouring some white and some color on top before blowing with the straw (I used a Starbucks straw for this). I rotated the color placement for each layer. Here's a picture about 2/3 of the way done...

The batter definitely started thickening up towards the end. I found this part to be particularly dangerous, because I could see small bits of soap batter flying into the mold walls from the force of blowing. At two points, I had to pause to clean my face, because I felt like small bits of raw soap batter had landed on my forehead and cheek (fortunately I at least had googles on). I think I'll try using a longer straw next time so that my face doesn't have to get as close.

Here are pictures of the wet soap before heading into the oven to gel:




I ended up planing the tops since there was quite a bit of soda ash. The designs hidden underneath were amazing! I love how abstract the results are, and seeing what was under the surface was like finding hidden treasure. :D I'm tempted to keep these all of myself.











Funny how these soaps ended up looking kind of aquatic. I think I shall name it "Luminous Mirage." :) Thanks for reading!

17 comments:

  1. So gorgeous, Sarah! I love the kinds of designs where you don't know what you're going to get until you cut into them! Always such fun surprises! Really beautiful colors and a nice balance of white as well. Great job!

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    1. Thank you! Yes this one was certainly fun to cut!

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  2. I love the colors! The design that you managed to get is quite lovely!

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  3. I LOVE all the blues and greens together. These look amazing!

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    1. Thank you Natalie, I feel like you can never go wrong with blues and greens ;)

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  4. Sarah, very beautiful colors, a great combination. I wish you good luck in the competition.

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  5. I love the colors and the design of this soap. I bet it smells great too. All of the bars look great!

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  6. Absolutely Stunning. I really like the color choices.
    Wonderful job!

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  7. Beautiful! Love the colors. Great job.

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