Ocarina/Claywhistle Making (new poster!)

Wotcher

this is my first post and my first real project with polymer clay
ive fiddled with it a bit but done nothing amazing. anyone was just
wondering
has anyone tried to make Ocarinas or clay whistles from polymer clay. it
just
that polymer clay dosent seem to shrink like normal clay which would make it
useful
for tuning. well any information would be really appreaciated!

Heiko

I've made ocarinas for SCA and Renaissance fairs before from other clay..
never tried it with polymer clay before - wouldn't think it would work...
but I'd be interested to know if anyone has tried too..

Shayla

I toyed with it once, but got side tracked. I even tried taking a
square toy one apart with the intent of attempting a mold. This was
before the good mold materials were out, but I didn't have a lot of
success. I think I got side-tracked after that. Here is a how to using
eath clay that I thought I might try some day.
http://www.hominid.net/whistle_making_sequence.htm
Let us know what you find out. I'm thinking you need to pay close
attention to the way the airholes line up.
Denise
http://tanstaafl512.tripod.com


On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 01:46:52 GMT, "Shayla Anthony" Shayla @
PittsburghPolymerClayGuild.org wrote:

I've made ocarinas for SCA and Renaissance fairs before from other clay..
never tried it with polymer clay before - wouldn't think it would work...
but I'd be interested to know if anyone has tried too..

Shayla

Hmmmm. . . I could have sworn that I responded to this thread, but it seems to
have disappeared. I'll do it again, but do apologize if it's a duplication!

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Ocarinas, etc, can be made from polymer clay . . . here is some info from my
website:

A polymer ocarina whistle can be made from two pinch pot hemispheres... add a
tube parallel to the top into it; the secret to getting a good whistle is to
insert a thin stick into this tube, through it and into the hollow body. The
top of the stick must be aligned with the inside top of the clay body. Using
any sharp tool, cut an angled opening in the top of the whistle ...The edge of
the opening must be vertical and at the point where the stick enters the clay
body. The other edge must be at an angle (say, 45 degrees). ...angle, width,
and length of the opening are variables to play with. (width should be no wider
than the stick, and the length should be about the width.

(great lesson for earth clay ocarina, but should work for polymer too)
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...s/whistle.html
other ocarina lessons:
http://ianchai.50megs.com/ocarina/ (lesson with polymer) and
http://www.yahuba.com/ (listen to ocarina sounds)
http://www.cr.k12.ia.us/hard/Arts/Visual/oc1.htm and
http://www.kidsncrafts.com/61/cat61.htm?501 and
http://www.hominid.net/whistle_making_sequence.htm and
http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/%7eflute/egm.htm

One alternative, safetywise: if you're going to make something like an ocarina
(or a flute), say for a school project, you could get a short piece of food or
medical grade plastic tubing and slip that over the stem. That way, something
safe would be in contact with your mouth. It would also give the mouthpiece
some 'give', so if the user has a tendency to bite neither the ocarina or the
biter is likely to be damaged. And the little piece of tubing can be easily
replaced if it's damaged.
....I cracked quite a few before I realized what was going wrong. You have to
stick a bowl of water in the oven with the bamboo flutes, that way they won't
dry out and crack, and they will keep their tone (at least all the ones I've
done that way have worked). Jen
....I'm thinking of taking a trip to Home Depot and getting some thin copper
tubing. Drill my holes, veneer with my choice of patterns, and then it won't
slump when I play it. Also have to figure out sizes and placement. I think
copper pipe is cheap, tho...nae

........... I made a flute (and removed the armature) by wrapping scrap clay
around a dowel rod (with both ends open) then covered it with the decorative
clay and put a decorative top on one end. Seems like the two layers and two
bakings made it quite sturdy and it has very good pitch. I used to play the
flute in school...and it sounds pretty good. Sam
....many earth clay ocarinas, flutes, etc. ..
http://www.artawakening.com/soundworks/flutes.html

Hershberger Art Kazoos
http://www.digiserve.com/kazoo/KAZOOS.HTM

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(For more info on making pinch pots and hollow forms in various ways, take a
look at these pages at my website:

Vessels Hollow Forms
Beads Hollow pillow & lentil )

HTH,



Diane B.
http://glassattic.com --polymer clay "encyclopedia"

E-mail: (don't use AOL address)