Resin Art - Wavescape 

Thank you so much Beth. I pass all compliments on to him. LOL its quite funny to see him blush. 🌺

Chris Cross I started playing with resin after watching your videos. You inspired me. The resin / wood “cup” is really cool.

Thank you Beth. The cup is gorgeous. Its still a new thing but he is working thdough all the little hiccups. 😀

LOL We cant take credit for the levelling board ..... tripod levelling is an old woodworking thing and I saw the boards on LIF. One thing I learned was ziplock bags have a way round. LOL you need to put the slightly longer piece on top or it fills with resin and ruins your legs hahahaha

Chris Cross giggling.

Thank you so much Crystal. 🌺🌺🌺

❤️

Thank you 😀 I am Australian

😋😂

Happy to help if I can

LOL you gave me the nudge. I sacrifice upload speed for a pretty good download speed so it takes forever to load. We can’t take credit for the leveling board idea. I saw it in one of the facebook groups after the frustrations of living in an older house where every surface is just a bit off.

My Pleaseure. 🌺🌺😍

😄 I liked the first one as well.... It was just not the colour I wanted. Both are special in their own way.

I have a short video on the making of one of the small levelling tables that should give you a great indication of how to DIY one for you.

@@crisscross104 oooh great, I'll check it out, thank you very much!

The absolute guru of these orbs is Heath Knuckles and he does some wonderful youtube videos. I suppose hubby was an experienced turner before he started adding the resin to the wood so he already had all the jigs and tools and understood the foibles of his lathe. Finding the right resin is also key. Some resins will turn beautifully but you need to work slowly as the resin gets too warm and slumps, others are hard as nails to turn but polish magnificently. If this is your first go at turning I would practice on softwood and get the feel of your machine and tools. Start small and work safely. Like everything experience is the key. Do something small every day and you will quickly progress.

Elizabeth Calloway she’s right check out Heath Knuckles, JedRek29t, Andy Phillips and Nick Zammeti

Pam i use high viscosity resin and don't overheat so it doesn't travel as far or fast as normal art resin. I think I have explained that I use electeical tape on the edges. I leave overnight and then in the morning I heat the tape alightly with a heat gun in low. The resin does not stick to electrical tape so it comes off cleanly. You are not the firat to ask so if I do another piece I will do a give addon showing that process.

@@crisscross104 Thank you so much. I am glad to hear and see from a master. I think I get in a hurry and make a mess. I need to slow down and clam down. Love your work so0 much. Thank you again

The more you do......the more you understand the time frames of the resin you are working with. No need to rush... just be organised and take it one step at a time. You will nail it and the good thing is that if you are using wood boards you can sand the bottom or even cover with felt or material

Thank you so much 👍🏻

Did you see the quick video on the making, you can either get the ready made ones with the turning knob from the hardware store (they are also the adjustable feet on the bottom of kitchen cabinets) or if you want to make then they are bolts and t-nuts from the hardware store. Any size as long as they match. This is a link for the t-nuts at our local store so you can see the picture. www.bunnings.com.au/leggz-1-4-x-5-16-steel-t-nuts-4-pack_p3940070

Chris Cross thank you Chris

Thanks Erin 🌺🌺🌺

The terms are bandied around but for art purposes. Epoxy is a type of resin that is mixed together. There are different types of resin and epoxy is one of those types. Pigmentation of resin depends on the combination you have. I have used everything from ink to powders to paint with differing results. I hesitate to say definately as I have had some colourants that do not mix well. When you start off use colourants specifically designed for resin and once you get comfy with it then experiment. Resin art is all about how the resin cures. Try to keep your mix as clean and carefully measured as you can. In short, Yes you can use some part A and store for a short period but unless you have a pigment that is difficult to mix it can be wasteful to have it sitting around potentially unused. Resin has a shelf life so fresh is best and gives you the best cure....... Which should be your goal.

Oh thank you. Have fun with your creativity.

Thank you Janice, glad you like it. The pigment paste is by Artisue a local Australian brand. Lovely pigments. I used quite a few different brands and types of pigments. They all have something different to offer so I used was worked best in the piece. Same with resin I was more wedded to high viscosity resins and how it responded rather than brand. I have a limited social media prescence so youtube and closed FB groups are about it. 🙃. I never did a lot of videos just when I felt I had something a bit different to show.

Chris Cross thanks for your response. Do you know of comparable products in US? Stone coat paste? I know Le Rez now has some. I am developing quite an allergy to resin. If it gets on my skin I see remnants for weeks. Hate to think what it does to lungs. I do use a respirator. Any US resins you like? Thanks again, Chris.

Sorry don't have a lot of experience with US product. Le Rez is comparable pigment paste. Be safe with your handling of resin, full respirator, long sleeves, venilation and gloves. Resin allergies are no joke. Stay safe and remember once you have a reaction it will compound. The great thing is that the skills you learn using it will serve you well with other fluid and wax mediums. Enjoy

Sadly resin is expensive so I tend to wait until sales or discounts come up. The types of resins for outdoor use are normally the countertop resins. Make sure they have proper UV filters in the resin. First up let me say that I don’t really do anything with outdoor furniture. So a few things you might want to consider. Whichever resin you decide on it will expand and contract in heat and even soften if exposed to the high temps we get in Australia. Your glass table will also go through significant expansion and contraction. I highly doubt they will do it at the same rate which potentially will lead to delamination even with a paint grounding layer. Secondly you will need to consider the quality of pigments. Cheaper pigments, inks and dyes are not lightfast and will fade and change quickly in UV light. If you can and the table has wonderful legs and base I would switchout the glass top for a more stable braced and sealed wood panel. Resin is a wonderful medium and I am sure you will have a lot of fun with it.

Thank you. I don’t sell my pieces. I just enjoy creating them.

Thank you.

The board is a 40cm round. Sorry I was confused at the start but corrected it later in the video.

Thank you. Go for it and enjoy. The colours are wonderful

The piece will take at least a few hours to cure so if you do not have it level it will slide off and you will loose your creation.

Thank you Tracy. 🌺

The wood can be anything as long as it is flat. Mine is chipboard that is painted to seal it. The hardware that goes into the wood are called t bolts. You need something to turn the round head bolts that you use as legs. You can buy plastic knobs or just glue some wood to the bolt. Let me see about the video. We can’t take credit for the idea it was discovered on youtube somewhere

Julie. Thank you. I tend to mix them up by eye using a combo of the liquitex 4 blues and greens. Not an exact measure but between the 4 blue green shade, deep turquoise, Phthal blue and phthalo green.

Andy thank you. The pastes are by Artisue who no longer sells them but you can get a similar product from Art Tree Creations. the inks are by Liquites and are the Phthalo blues and green plus the deep turquoise.

@@crisscross104 awesome thankyou I'll take a look

Thank you so much. I haven't done any resin for ages either. Lucky hubby is still incorporating resin in his woodwork so all my surplus does not go to waste.

@@crisscross104 awesome looks beautiful

😃Thank you Debbie. Hubby cuts them for me from sheets of mdf but I understand that most of your hardware stores will do them for you (at a small fee). Keep in mind that I work relatively small so when you go larger you need to use birch plywood sheets and support them. The birch is lighter than MDF.

@@crisscross104 thank you for your reply! I'll have to see if they can cut them for me. I noticed from another one of your videos (yes, I'm watching a bunch) that you use tiles. I never thought of using those... so cheap... especially when trying to practice techniques! Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

LOL. I don’t do that many videos these days. I like tiles. They are great to learn on because most of them are flat and you quickly learn about level surfaces. Our local tile shop generally has a reject pile where they put oddments and they are very cheap or even free.

Resin is designed to be a top coat. You would only sandpaper it if there are imperfections and you need to fix before putting on a final coat. Yes you can you other pigments to colour your resin but....... a big but..... Only you know the temperment of your resin and the different colourants. Do some very small experiments by mixing a few of the different colourants into a small amount of your resin. Only use a very small amount of colourant. See what happens to your resin. Every combination will be different. Some with mix, some will disperse and others will stay clumpy.

Thanks Dianne. Yes I do occasionally use acrylic inks.

Not a silly question at all Garrett. The glossy look is what resin delivers in spades. You can get a type of gloss finish on your acrylic paint pours with varnishes and mediums but if you want that thick luxurious gloss then resin is your answer. If you want it on your acrylic paint pours then let them fully cure before coating (not just dry) but let the paint fully bond and cure anywhere up to three weeks depending on your climate and environment. You cant rush that part. I like both acrylic pours and resin art pours. They each give something unique. Paint gives you crisp cells and great contrast where as doing the art piece with coloured resin gives you softer edges, more blending and lacing. Lots of ways to skin this cat. (No cats were harmed for this response 😄)

Thank you for the info!! Very helpful!

I started using alcohol ink on yupo paper and making faux wood designs, i would cover them with clear resin. Then I found acrylic ink and how to colour resin. I learned by being hands on and just experimenting.

When I am using a power pigment that may be a bit clumpy I premix in some part A just so that I have time to disperse it properly before mixing with part B. Pastes, inks or liquid pigments I add after I mix.

Thank u for such a fast response. I have never added it before mixing the resin, butbhave always had probs with clumps! Thanks so much for the jint

Hubby cuts them from sheets of MDF. They are 40cm diameter.

Debbie, It is a bit easier for me as I don’t sell my art. To finish I let the piece fully cure, then using a sander I clean off any stray resin from the back and paint a neutral colour. The sides are very clean from the tape so I sand if it needs it and replace with clean tape, foil or paint. I prefer sharp edges rather than resin flowing over but that is a personal preference. You can also of course let your resin flow over the sides for a more rounded look.

I use both depending on what I am trying to achieve. First the torch. A must for spot work, clearing bubbles and when you need some finer detail. Heat guns on the other hand tend to heat a larger area so (I use a low heat and speed setting). I use when I need the resin to get to an even temp. Don’t forget your hair dryer, its another valuable tool for moving resin.

Deborah. He casts the wood and resin into a block mould and once its has cured he puts on a lathe and using wood turning techniques makes the final pieces.

@@crisscross104 thanks

That is a tricky question to answer. All pigments, powders and inks made specifically for resin use are very highly pigmented and you can alter the opacity and tone by how much you put in. It doesn’t take more than a dab on the end of a stirstick to give you a rich colour. More will almost give you a black. The liquitex inks are less pigmented and so I use about a dropper full for a rich colour and less when I want a lighter or more transparent colour. It would be wonderful if there was an accurate measure to give you a particular colour but in my experience you tend to gravitate to a value or depth of colour that suits your style. I admit to being heavy handed with mica because I use high viscosity resin and I want it to stay where I put it. LOL

The white is a pigment paste called snow white from an Australian company called Artisue. Its a lovely white to work with.

Liquitex inks are highly pigmented and you only need a few drops. Even though resin and water don’t mix it can handle this amount of ink. The same as if you used a small amount of acrylic paint. The jar was the white pigment from an Australian company Artisue. Its a lovely white and laces easily. I love mica’s so I tend to use them rather than metallics.

Thank you Chris for speedy response.That is very helpful.

Thank you. The board is 40cm diameter and these generally use about 200-250mls of resin. I tend to mix more than I need. The resin is a 2 part epoxy so 1/2 part A and 1/2 part B

The globes are made using a blank mould where the wood in the bottom and then the rest is filled with resin. The whole mould is put in a pressure pot to remove any bubbles. When the combined blank is cured he puts them on a lathe and turns them into a globe its cured he

Chris Cross Ah- ok. Thank you! So it is not a wooden ball painted with acrylics and covered with resin, but the ball already made from wooden pieces/sawdust and then pressed into a sphere molded form? Wow! Your hubby is a genius inventor! I guess, you guys don't live somewhere close to Austria / Europe by chance?🤔 I would come for a workshop and could learn from you creative couple so much to finally turn my ideas into reality.....😊😍

Theresa Mueller LOL not quite. The wood in put in a tube mould and then the mould is filled up with resin. The the result is a mixed wood resin log that is then put on a wood lathe and he uses wood turning tools to carve the ball. :) He still is a genius. I live in Australia so a bit far from you. Thank you though for the compliment

Chris Cross Oh- downunder! ;-) With a tunnel right through the other side... it would be a breeze! 😉😁Thanks so much for your kind answers. And give a Bussi to your hubby. You are a great example and role model for many ppl, to proof the theory, that, when male and female energy come together and are mixed with love and respect, wonderful alchemy for the world is happening! Blessings to you both! 😇😍🤗

I use torches, heatguns (two sizes) hairdryers and airbrush, I like to work with resin on the cool slow side. I suppose each tool has its role to play. Torch for bubbles and lacing, heat gun to thin blend and spread, hairdryer for wider movement, airbrush for quick flashes of movement.

He is quite shy and the process is quite involved. If you want to watch some youtube videos then have a look at Heath Knuckles. He is a master turner of these orbs and other wood projects.

Nancy. When I use tiles I normally use the matt ones and like you clean thoroughly. If I happen to use gloss I sand lightly to scuff the gloss coating. All my mdf boards for resin are primed with house paint front, sides and back. But I gesso for acrylic paint pours. In the early days I did have some minor lifting but that was completely my own user error and using the wrong tile. Try and make sure your tile is the same temp as your resin when you pour. Heat it slightly first.

Oh thank you so much. These are floor tiles. Not really glossy, but I will sand from now on. It is so upsetting to have them lift. This is quite awhile after they were poured, too. I will also make sure to really clean them with the alcohol. I love this resin, micah and acrylic. They are so beautiful. All because I saw your video. Thank you so much. I love your videos, and your accent!

Lol thank you Nancy i am so glad you get something out of them. Happy pouring. 🌺🌺🌺

I only use a small kitchen butane torch which is very manageable. The thing is that the torch is the best way to deal with bubbles but there are other ways. You can carefully fine mist with alcohol, you can also blow directly on the resin. A heat gun will heat up and thin the resin so the bubbles will rise quickly but you may still have a few that come up in the settling period that you will need to deal with.

Firstly all paints seem to have their own point of failure when mixing with resin, the amount of water is determining factor. The general rule of thumb is that adding more than 10% of any additive will effect the bonding reaction in your resin. If you want a mild soft colour then you add less if you want deep opaque colours you add more. (To a max of 10%) I would love to have a standard formula but sadly it changes all the time. 🙃 it is not crucial to use alcohol it is just a thinner to even our your mixes.

Sorry Mary I missed this. Different imperfections will have a different answer. If you have dust or raised imperfections..... you will need to sand smooth before a flood coat. 2-3 days before you can sand. If the imperfections are dips or dimples you can pour after the initial cure of your resin. Normally 4-5 hours or the next morning.

Thank you. ❤️ This is epoxy resin and all the brands are slightly different but as a general. Light touch cure in 4 hours, first hard cure over night or 24 hours and then fully hard 3-7 days depending on your environment, hot climates are quicker, cold climates are slower. Each brand should give you an information sheet on its particular properties.

LOL. Thank you

Harry thank you. 🙏🏻🌺🌺

They are called rectangle or square cake or jelly molds and I bought on ebay. No reason you can’t use round ones I just was using the square for something else as well. 😋

I was looking for rounds and squares actually...I find rectangles everywhere. I am looking to make resin coasters..I will check eBay...thank you so much!

The ones for coasters are called 4” pie molds.

Thank you. Yes you can resin on most surfaces but...... canvas will sag and distort your resin over time. I do pour on canvas but they may fail over time. I like using mdf or tiles so that I have a strong stable substrate.

@@crisscross104 thanks a lot

Ruchi Shah I know of other artists that just pour straight on their MDF but I always seal/prime both sides with a coat of house paint. MDF is a composite material and can give off fumes of its own when heated to some of the temperatures we get to with resin work.

Yes I could have gone over the previous one but I prefer the stark white of the new pigment over the white board. You can mix the white very opaque but you may still get a ghost image of very dark undertones of a previous pour

I use a few different brands but back then I was using alumilite, glasscoat and barnes resin. The inks are liquitex and the pastes are an aussie brand. I like the low viscosity resins that are slow movers.

No secret. The cells happen when there are different types of colourants are used. The difference between them breaks the surface tension and allows one to fall through the other. In this case it is inks over the top of pigment pastes. I suppose the only trick is to get the top one (blues) in a thin enough layer to work properly. Thats where the heat gun comes in. Heating the resin and blowing it out and over the white.

Thank you Chris, there certainly is a lot more to learn with this media compares to acrylic pouring. Looks like back to the drawing board and try, try again. Have to say though that I have only used inks or pigments on their own, never together. Thanks again. Bob.

Thank you Chris, Cannot wait to give it a try.Bob

If you are using reusable bowls then either turn upside down on some baking paper or leave a stir stick in the bowl and use that to pull out the cured resin. With my measuring cups I wipe out the main excess with a paper towel and the remainder with some handy wipes. Same with tools. Wipe with disposable handy wipes

The resin does not stick to the plumbers tape so it is removed after the piece has cured. I then add a clean strip to get the black edge look.