Feedback please for a challenge idea

[newbie]

I am trying to plan my next challenge. I was considering doing a challenge for soaping with thin batter, just past emulsion, which would include both a technique and design, as participants would have to figure out how they want to swirl. Not certain if there is good interest in that or if people would prefer a more straightforward design challenge. We've had a couple technique challenges so I was leaning toward a design one either way.

Feedback? I always appreciate honest feedback!

 

[Nao]

I think soaping with thin batter is a good idea, though I don't know what technique would complement it best :neutral:

 

[dibbles]

I would try it. Whatever you want to do

 

[ibct1969]

Has there been one for a mantra swirl yet (forgive me if there has)? Don't you need a really thin batter for that one?

 

[Kittish]

Teardrop? YouTube vid of the technique: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GBnIKRmIdg"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GBnIKRmIdg[/ame]

It looks really interesting to try.

 

[newbie]

The woman who made the teardrop soap poured just after emulsion and her batter is very thin. If I were to do a thin batter challenge, you could certainly make a teardrop, and to answer Nao, thin batter works extremely well for swirling, especially if you like very very fine lines in your swirls and a lot of movement. It can also help your colors meld just a touch.

I would certainly be happy to do a teardrop challenge, however.

Taiwan swirls, Mantra Swirls, Peacock swirls, random swirls in a slab mold can be made with very thin batter to get a lot of action and fine lines.

 

[Kittish]

Not sure what it's called, but that second soap looks awesome. Parrot feathers is what it puts me in mind of.

 

[newbie]

I'm not sure if that has a name. It's the first pull across poured lines, and is the first step of a Taiwan swirl and probably the first step for a bunch of patterns. I liked it as it was so left it there.

 

[BattleGnome]

A design challenge at emulsion sounds fun. We haven't really had a reason to experiment with trace recently.
A color challenge sounds fun. Monochrome designs or loud contrasts colors.
Obscure techniques sound fun.
An ingredient challenge sounds fun (but very difficult to pull off based on everyone's resources)

All challenges sound fun and I'll definitely attempt them all if I can

 

[CaraBou]

I like the freedom we'd get with such an open-ended challenge. There's no saying I could do it justice, but it would be fun to try!

ETA: have you mods ever discussed allowing two months for some (or all) of the challenges? I'm not sure if it would encourage more participation, help us be more thoughtful, or just result in us having more soap in the end! But sometimes I think it would be helpful, especially at busy times of year like summer months and the winter holiday season. Just a thought, in case it's not been considered.

 

[Soapprentice]

I love the idea of letting our creativity take the wheel.. I mean there are so many possibilities , that said, we might spend all the time thinking about what to do rather than actually doing it..

 

[earlene]

Newbie, I think I remember participating in 3 challenges where design was a component in the challenge: The mosaic challenge; the Pokemon challenge where we used the color wheel, and the one where we chose a picture of a bird for our color inspiration. There may have been others, but those are the only ones that come to mind at this point.

Do you mean something like that, where we have to create a design and then incorporate whatever technique we choose to achieve our design while using a very liquid batter? Or would it be to use a particular technique to create our design if it were only a color choice?

I like the idea of a design element combined with a liquid pour as long as the directions for the design element are not overly restrictive.
Or something open-ended like 'design a soap reminiscent of fill-in-the-blank using a fluid batter technique to create your design.'

A technique that requires a fluid pour is the spin swirl and that is one I would like to work on soon. How to combine that with a design element, I guess would have to be color related. I am not sure if other design elements would fit with the spin swirl.

But I like the idea of having an open-ended kind of challenge where we get to actually choose our own technique (using fluid batter) to interpret our own design.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I am trying to plan my next challenge. I was considering doing a challenge for soaping with thin batter, just past emulsion, which would include both a technique and design, as participants would have to figure out how they want to swirl. Not certain if there is good interest in that or if people would prefer a more straightforward design challenge. We've had a couple technique challenges so I was leaning toward a design one either way.

Feedback? I always appreciate honest feedback!

I always struggle with this, so I would love that type of challenge!

 

[Omneya]

I ma down for what ever you choose. I only bring it to emulsion all the time. My soap recipe and and the temps usually thicken it up a bit, the the FO or EO combo can bring it thicker sometimes. So what ever you choose. I tried that tear drop swirl 3 times and it came out ugly each time LOL

 

[toxikon]

I enjoy working with thin batter so I'd be happy with whatever.

What I'd REALLY like to see is a soap clay challenge! I'm having a lot of fun with it and would be interested to see what others can come up with.

 

[newbie]

Yes, if I did a thin batter challenge, the design would be totally open to people to choose how to use it. Most people seem to use it for slabs but the teardrop is a good example of using it in a loaf. Hanger designs seems to work better with thicker trace, but who knows what someone might come up with. Good to know that a design challenge is attractive to people after having done a few technique ones. We did have a few others, like design a soap using a discoloring FO, but techniques seem to be more common.

Thank you for the prompt for soap clay. I know soap sculpture is on the list we have of ideas, but no one has tapped it yet. If people have other ideas, toss them out there- even if we use it later, it's good for us to expand our list.

 

[earlene]

Others:

Dancing Funnel Pour (I know, it's a technique)

Piped topping designs (well, I guess we're actually doing that this month)

Soap Flowers (I see these sell for big bucks in resort areas all over - it might be fun to learn to make them) This can be done with MP as well as CP or perhaps even HP soap that is still soft enough to shave into thin pliable petals.

Soap Carving - This would be design based.

Paper Soap (using dissolving paper - This could be design as well as technique) - may be an expense some folks wouldn't want to bother with, though.

Felted soap

Wood soap (I keep wanting to create a soap that looks like wood.) Definitely a design one.

Just a few ideas.