Finally cleaned up my brushes today and separated my findings from the ribbons in the craft cupboard. Later, I was debating on the viability of some of the one year old clay in the claybox. It looked like some were still usable - like Grace and Hearty (which I liberally mummified with tape and more tape a year ago) and such - though what was left of the lump of Cosmos hardened even within its packaging.
Pulled out one of the older ochre Grace clay stick to mix. There was no mixing chart for Grace on the new Padico clayscale I got from BFJ (http://www.bestfromjapan.com/moreinfo.cfm/users/mylist.cfm?product_id=867&actioncode=add) so I just went along with a rough gauge. (Makes me all more determined to get a set of Modena colours just to play - but I do have to finish up all the year-old clay first). Love the pick that comes with the new version - it has a sharp tip and a flattened end; extremely useful!
The menu this evening was anything small and baked and a batch of macarons. What more could you ask out of year old clay! These should be dry overnight in cool air-conditioning for coloring tomorrow.
Decided to try the clay release master from Tamiya on my molds - you can just use baby oil on a budget. There is no marked difference except you get a bonus facial on your fingers since you would be getting baby oil on your skin. The Tamiya version comes in a nail polish sized bottle with its own brush. One small difference was the longer time the oil stayed in the mold. With the Padico and brandless ones, the oils dry up quickly. This retails locally for $6 a piece. If your local Tamiya supplier do not have this, visit Stargex at Paya Lebar if you're in Singapore and you should be able to find lots of products from the Tamiya Decoration Series as well as this item at the store.
Since my workspace has shrunk to half a table after some living arrangement changes, I have swapped to using a mini standing magnifying glass instead. But its still tiring to look at small stuff when it gets later into the night. I'm still trying to work on my scales (though most of the time, it ended up being a "feeling" thing aka it does not feel right). Maybe it's time to find a niche area that does not demand too much of scaling ._.
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