Making a cast glass candlestick using a condom! Part 2

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This video is part 2 (of 4 parts) of a series of videos which I made which show me testing out a PROCESS. I developed this process further to produce my end of 2nd year collection for my degree in Glass and Ceramics at Sunderland University - graduated July 2024.

It started off as a 'bit of a laugh' and just a heads-up, this was only a TEST, and the final shape wasn't exactly what I wanted, AT ALL but the result was pretty good, so I decided to keep going with this 'test piece' and see it through to the end ie to make it into an actual THING. I also wanted to test the whole process right through before I committed to making my final collection.

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You can see a video of our show here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ceY7LUepyx8

I eventually used the process to make a collection in glass and ceramics which I call my 'Three Condom Sculptures' (see below for an explanation) and you can see other videos of the various pieces that I made on my channel.

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This video is part of a set of 4 videos and show the process of making a cast glass piece from start to finish -

Part 1 - Create a blank or model from plaster using a condom
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VDarR7xhhW0

Part 2 - Create a Gel Flex mould from the plaster blank
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/okW46-boBsY

Part 3 - Using Gel Flex mould make the wax model for the lost wax process
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u2lQjKibWek

Part 4 - Making the Plaster Mould for the Glass Casting from the wax model. Using the Hot Wax Method and Then Casting the Glass into the Mould to Produce the Final Piece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtyaHBjofWg

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If you are wondering what I mean by 'My Three Condom Sculptures'....Here is an explanation if you have time to read it!....

For my end of 2nd year collection (I was studying a glass and ceramics degree – I graduated in July 2024) I wanted to produce a set of three interlocking but also stand alone shapes in glass and ceramic representing my three children, hugging as a family.

In order to produce the three interlocking shapes I needed to sculpt the shapes and then create a mould of each shape so that I could replicate each in glass and ceramic.

I tried handbuilding the shapes out of clay but this didn’t work very well and then one day I tried a new idea - filling a condom with plaster and manipulating the plaster to create each shape.
I used a condom because once filled, I could manipulate the shape of the plaster inside until it set resulting in my desired shape.

I also used a condom because in order to achieve a smooth surface on the cast glass or ceramic it is imperative that the insides of the mould are smooth and therefore the surface of the shape from which the cast is being made must be smooth! The inside of a condom is silky smooth so it seemed an ideal choice.

Because I was intending on producing a set of three interlocking shapes I could create the left hand and then the right hand shape independently of each other and then let the third condom filled with plaster fall and shape itself between the two so that it moulded around each of the other two to create a perfect fit.
Hilariously enough the ‘part 1’ video actually went viral – 8.6million views to date (August 2024) and almost 10,000 likes! I think perhaps the best comment was ‘does she have an only grans account?’ Obviously it was a bit of a cheeky video although I never intended it to be that way!

Once I was confident I could work with the process I went on to employ this method to produce my collection of cast glass and cast ceramic pieces entitled at first 'Pack of 3' but then finally 'Something for the Weekend Sir?'.
I have documented a lot of the process here on my channel and provided links where I can.

I have also included a video on my channel of my second year degree show at the Shipley Art Gallery where I presented my condom collection originally entitled 'Pack of Three' but ended up being named 'Something for the Weekend Sir?'

Видео Making a cast glass candlestick using a condom! Part 2 канала Helen Sundin Ceramics