CUSTOM WORK
Mudshark Studios has the capability to transform your design concepts and ideas into a reality. Whether it‘s for public art or your home or office, large or small, Mudshark Studios can take your project start to finish. Not only can we create your custom design from clay, but we can also incorporate a variety of other materials such as, glass, wood, metal, rubber, plastic and resin. By not limiting ourselves to only one material, we can offer a wider range of design possibilities. Here are a few examples of Mudshark Studios recent custom projects.
HORATIO LAW:
PUBLIC SCULPTURE FOR ASIAN COUNSELING AND REFERRAL SERVICE (ACRS)
3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. Seattle, Wa
Horatio Law approached Mudshark studios to design and produce a series of ceramic bowls for a permanent installation. Law’s concept was to have a three story tall hanging column made up of 200 ceramic bowls.
In order to create the look Law was going for, the inside surface needed to be glazed bright gold, and each bowl would need to be exactly the same height and diameter. The pictures below document the step by step process involved in the creation of the 200 ceramic bowls.
Each bowl needed to be 13” in diameter and weigh under 5 pounds. This plaster model was turned on the lathe, its size was adjusted to allow for shrinkage.
Once the bowls have been cast, and taken out of the mold, the rim of each bowl is trimmed and sponged to give a uniform look.
After the bisque firing, Law brought the bowls to members of the community and local artists to decorate the outside of each bowl using a blue under glaze. After the bowls returned to Mudshark studios, the exterior decoration was sprayed with a clear gloss glaze, and the insides were sprayed with a satin glaze.
After the bowls were fired a second time, a liquid gold luster over glaze was applied to the interior surface of each bowl and then fired a third time.
Once all 200 bowls were completed they were brought to the site and mounted to the aluminum hanging armature, completing the installation.
THE JIM RISWOLD CHRONICLES:
Contemporary artist, Jim Riswold commissions Mudsharks Studios to turn his digital images into 3-D objects. Such creations have ranged from a life size ceramic statue of Chairman Mao standing inside a 30 inch Chinese food take-out box, to food-safe rubber molds for delectable desserts of various pop imagery.
KIM JUNG IL: "BAD PEOPLE HAVE TO EAT TOO" SERIES
After the food safe rubber is cured it is turned over to Anja Spence of Miss Zumstien, a local desert professional. In this mold Anja poured a heated lollipop mixture into the mold from which Jim Riswold could make his series of photographs.
THE "MAO HOME AND GARDEN SHOW"
Jim was putting together a show for Chairman Mao and wanted a ceramic life size chairman Mao standing in a Chinese take out box along with a chairman Mao cookie bust. We paired Jim up with a local sculpter to create the models. From there molds were made, a cookie was baked, and the show ensued.
The take out box was slip cast and carefully dried before the pagoda image and text were underglazed. The box was fragile so the kiln was assembled around it.
For another show Jim wanted to make cupcakes with an image of Russia’s “hammer and sickle” in the icing. We sculpted the 2” plaster model and made a food-safe rubber mold from it. Anja Spence pressed in a cold sugar solution and the first communist cupcake was made.
