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Dorodango as accents

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Smithy
Rob Kempinski
fiona
Kev Bailey
Jim Doiron
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Post  Jim Doiron Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:11 am

Hello, I just wanted to pass this on. I used the flicker photo link Kev suggested to search for something I have been playing with here recently called dorodango (shiny mud balls). I have a few in the works that I will photograph but have given away the first successful few that I made. In the flicker search I found this one that I thought was pretty amazing and would be a great accent. Hope you like it, I plan to leave one out in a bag soon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39405629@N00/3578589257

Here is the whole search to see what they are supposed to look like (for the most part with a few common problems in their creation)
http://fiveprime.org/flickr_hvmnd.cgi?method=GET&page=1&photo_number=50&tag_mode=all&search_type=Tags&sorting=Interestingness&photo_type=250&noform=t&search_domain=Tags&quicksearch=1&sort=Interestingness&textinput=dorodango


and here are some sites if anyone wants more info on them.
http://www.kyokyo-u.ac.jp/youkyou/4/english4.htm
http://www.dorodango.com/create.html
http://web-japan.org/trends01/article/011005sci_r.html
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Post  Kev Bailey Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:34 am

Good grief, you've just opened up a whole new interest. And they aren't just for mossing either! Thanks for the links.
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Post  fiona Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:05 am

Sad to say I've been out trying this already. Mad Ah well. At least I washed my hands before posting this response. And yes I know, Kev, that you're going to throw back in my face the statement/advice I gave you yesterday in another post! Go on then, get your own back - I am that proverbial sedentary anatine creature! (I'll wait 'til you look it up Wink )

btw - it's far from easy but as the articles say, totally addictive.
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Post  Jim Doiron Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:55 pm

Glad you both were as excited about them as I have been. I have tried about 15 now and and I'll share my observations. The initial coats are the hardest because the core is still so soft and mushy that the first few coats crack easily. I have gotten passed this by doing a few dustings, rubbing with the thumb and very carefully (cradling through the whole roll into the other hand) turn/repeat until cracks appear. Then letting it rest a few minutes in the bag to allow the moisture to catch up. Once the initial shell is formed a few cracks will be filled as you dust/rub. Also, anything bigger than a cue/snooker ball is really hard to keep stable so keep them that size or smaller at first. Also the soil should be a good even mix, I found a very clay based soil never held together very well to form things but could be used on the outer layers to color things. At the end the instinct is to keep polishing with a rag but you want to let it set, rub it with the finest dust a few times, let it rest/put out more moisture, repeat. As this finest layer forms the emerging moisture does the polishing for you just keep adding the fine dustings until you get a shiny surface. Have fun, it is truly addictive.

And they aren't just for mossing either! Thanks for the links.

I too thought they would make great temporary pots for accents also like little Arnaldo Pomodoro's.
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Post  fiona Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:20 pm

Jim, do you use/have you used peat in your mix? It's naturally shiny anyway so I was going to experiment with that.

Why, oh why did you tell me about these? I've got a mountain of ironing building up now because of this "distraction" Mad
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Post  Jim Doiron Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:36 pm

I haven't mixed anything specifically for them I just used the soil out of our backyard which has a good mix of clay/sand and various organic material. I had another topsoil mix that was way too much clay and it just didn't seem to have enough "substance" to it to hold together although I'm sure with care it could be done. I have thought about trying a commercial potting soil mix to make a black one but I haven't done it yet.

Sorry bout the ironing Razz
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Post  fiona Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:00 pm

Jim Doiron wrote:Sorry bout the ironing
Come to think of it, with a name like yours, I'm almost expecting you to appear at my door to do it for me Laughing

I've got some left over peat which I'm going to try mixed in with the back garden soil. I've evicted several worms already from my wannabes. They do look somewhat American football rather than soccer ball shaped though.
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Post  Rob Kempinski Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:15 pm

There's a sect of this fine art that has been using cow paddies. They call them shiny stinky balls. cherry Evil or Very Mad Twisted Evil
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Post  Smithy Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:18 pm

Great topic, my wife has got very excited about it. We home educate our boy,so when the home ed kids get together it can be a great new activity.
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Post  fiona Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:42 pm

Rob Kempinski wrote: They call them shiny stinky balls:
There was a kid at my school all those years ago that got called that. Don't think it was anything to do with dorodango though!

Although, thinking back, cow pats might have featured at some point in the poor sod's existence.
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Post  Jim Doiron Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:46 am

Here are the ones I am working on now. Left to right; finished, halfway, just started. I am using some of my wife's dried ceramic clay to give some color variation in the final layers, that's what the white is in the left one.
Dorodango as accents Dsc_0022

The one on the right is going into the bag to see about getting the moss ball.
I am on my way to my home town in MA tomorrow and I plan on collecting some dirt from the backyard where I grew up to try and make one out of that. I already collect the rocks and trees everywhere I go why not bring the dirt too! Laughing
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Post  Smithy Wed Aug 19, 2009 7:07 am

Great job. You have the hang of that.
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Post  NeilDellinger Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:58 am

Guys,
The shiny stinky balls are the fresh ones.... Smile
The ones that are not shiny anymore don't smell as bad

This is pretty fascinating.

I like the moss covered ball. It looks like alot less work too, maybe a new way to keep my 7 yo and his buddies busy but could get out of hand fast, the group of them doesnt stay focused long especially if there's mud involved.

Jim,
Yours look great. Thanks for sharing.

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Post  fiona Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:15 pm

After many attempts I finally have one which is getting there though not even touching the quality of yours, Jim. Still having trouble with the outer layer and the one I got close has started to crumble a bit as a result of the polishing. Here's how it looks, first on an Andy "Stone Monkey" Pearson accent slab and then on one of Dan Butler's.

I have a couple more coming through as a result of a period of enforced rest owing to injury, so I'll see if I can master that outer coating.

On the upside, the skin on my hands has never been so smooth after all that mud! I shall try it on my face next I think!

Dorodango as accents Dscf2918

Dorodango as accents Dscf2917

Actually, the more I look at these the more I am thinking Christmas Pudding. Or meteorites. Though if you'd ever tasted one of my Christmas puddings, you'd probably welcome a meteorite to eat. Mad
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Post  Carolee Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:41 pm

Fiona, I like the texture of yours, although the shiny, smooth surfaces are amazing. I think ironing is not an art, and you should embrace wrinkles. Laughing

I read the instructions, and I'd like to know what all of you use for 'something soft' on which to lay the ball so that you don't get a flat side on the ball. Thanks!
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Post  fiona Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:01 pm

Hi Carolee. I used a tray full of soft sand initially but got fed up with it straying into the mix. What I then did was rig up a tie string system from the picture rail in the living room and suspended the balls from it inside their poly bags.

If truth be told I really only did this so I could utter the line "I dessicated my dorodangoes by dangling them down from the dado", but since it actually worked I kept with it.

And on that note, I have another three drying at the moment which I should go and attend to.

I really need to get back to gainful employment soon!
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Post  Jim Doiron Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:15 pm

Carolee: I just lay mine in a plastic bag on a bunched up rag in a cup or bowl. If the outer shell is built up enough that should be enough to keep it from flattening.

Hey Fiona those look great. I would say if you are looking to get them smoother then the "polishing" might be your problem. Remember, it's not a process of truly polishing you are building layers and, as they build, the surface it picking up ever-smaller particles until it cannot stick anymore. Then the "dust" you rub on last polishes the surface down and the last bit of water solidifies that polished final layer. You also may be rubbing too much after each dusting. Only two or three rubs with the thumb, you want to leave the majority of the material and let the moisture glue it all together as it emerges.

I really need to get back to gainful employment soon!

Nah, this is Zen we're talking about, gainful employment doesn't have that benefit (at least mine doesn't). Laughing
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Post  Harleyrider Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:47 pm

"I dessicated my dorodangoes by dangling them down from the dado"
lol!

This needs to be spoken with a heavy Glaswegian accent to garner the full impact!

Oh, if you could see the images this conjures up in my sick, twisted mind.
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Post  fiona Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:14 am

Harleyrider wrote: This needs to be spoken with a heavy Glaswegian accent to garner the full impact!
Oi. Some of us are quite posh actually, yah!

Actually I can think of a suitable Glasgow-accented translation of the statement, but it's definitely not for public consumption among the good ladies and gents of the forum. We'll keep it for Burrs. In the meantime I have a further three dorodoodahs drying on the draining board. Dang fine fun this down here in the dingly dell.
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Post  Carolee Fri Sep 04, 2009 3:20 am

LOL, cheers Thank you for the information, and the best laugh I've had all week.
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Post  fiona Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:36 pm

OK so now the entire forum knows I can't let things rest until I have mastered them. But in the case of the dorodoodahs it's amazing just how much difference a little practice can make. Here are the next three off the production line and I am nearly there with the smooth outer coat. They look less like meteorites now and the "shine" is pretty much the natural hue the outer coating has taken on. I also did what you did Jim and mixed in a little clay at the end.

God, this is addictive. Anyone else doing this? You should try it.

The original Chirstmas Pudding plus the new babies.

Dorodango as accents Dscf2919

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So no longer meteorites but the downside is I do have Damien Rice's "Canonball" going through my head now. Ah well at least I've got a supply of ammunition to throw at the pigeons on the roof now.


Last edited by fiona on Wed Sep 09, 2009 1:44 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : So Kev Bailey doesn't get all SMUG again!!!!!!)
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Post  Jim Doiron Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:45 am

I know this has been topic has been down a while but I wanted to post a new one I finished recently. A friend had collected a bag of red clay from Georgia because he was so amazed at just how red it was. When I showed him some others of these I had been working on he gave it to me. Thanks

Dorodango as accents Dsc_0023
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Post  Kev Bailey Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:07 pm

Fiona, yours are certainly improving with practice. Well done!

Jim, that red one has an amazing finish. You've obviously got it mastered.
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Post  fiona Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:14 pm

Looks like a photo of Mars, Jim. I love it.

Must remember to pick up some red soil from Ayrshire this weekend.
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Post  Jay Gaydosh Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:58 pm

May I say, you all have such lovely balls! Basketball lol!

Jay
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