Welcome to the March 2021 SMF Soap Challenge. This month’s challenge is the Air Blow Technique aka Dutch Pour Technique aka Wind Blow Technique.
PLEASE READ ALL RULES for the challenge.
SMF Challenge General Rules
1. To enter you must have a minimum of 50 posts and have been a SMF member for at least one month (sorry but no exceptions on this).
2. The only members eligible to vote are those with their names on the sign-up list - regardless of whether or not you have submitted an entry. The sign-up list will be posted in this thread.
3. This month’s voting will be password locked. Passwords will be sent by private message (via SMF conversations) to registered participants ONLY, so please check your messages when the voting begins.
4. A separate entry thread will be created and this is where you will post photos of your entry soap. Please do not post photos of your entry until the entry thread is opened. Post pictures of your entry soap only in the challenge entry thread.
Non-entry photos are always welcome and may be posted in the general challenge thread. The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts (other than your entry) where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way.
5. Your soap must be made after the monthly challenge has been announced.
6. You are allowed to change your entry photo until the entry thread closes. If you decide you want another try after you post your entry, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.
7. In the spirit of advancing our soap making skills, all members who sign-up for a SMF Challenge do so with the expectation that they will make every attempt to make a soap for the challenge. Writing about your experience in the challenge is encouraged. By doing so, each participant has a better knowledge of your process when voting. We do understand that sometimes things come up in our lives and throw our plans out of whack, however signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote is not in the spirit of the challenges and is not allowed.
8. Please add your name to the sign-up list if you wish to participate (you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced), but please do post your experiences in the main Challenge thread and be prepared to be encouraged to continue trying.
9. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please keep your comments polite.
* * * *
SPECIFIC RULES FOR THE MARCH 2021 CHALLENGE
1. You will make your soap using the Air Blow Technique aka Dutch Pour Technique aka Wind Blow Technique. This technique requires air to be blown over the surface of wet soap to create a design on the surface of the soap. It is based on the Acyrlic Painting technique known as the Dutch Pour.
2. A slab mold is required for this challenge, the size however, can be based on the tools you plan to use to blow the air for your design. If you use a larger tool, such as a hair blow dryer, a larger mold works best. If you use a straw, a small size slab mold will work. Air-blowing tools that may be used include but are not necessarily limited to: Hair dryer (on low or cool); Straw; Small Air Brush (not industrial size); Your mouth; Ear Syringe Bulb; Mouth Atomizer. I will provide a links to some such tools as reference. If you have another tool on-hand that would serve the same purpose, AND be gentle enough to be used safely for this design, please give it a try and share your experience with given tools.
3. You must use at least 3 colors, PLUS a background color of either white or uncolored soap batter, OR black.
4. As shown in the sample videos, a base soap is made and allowed to set up, which becomes your canvas upon which you will pour and create your design. You are allowed to use a previously made soap as your base upon which you pour the pallette to create the Air Blow design. Or you may create a new soap as your base, using any design of your choice, including plain soap. The base soap may or may not be coordinated with the surface design, as you choose.
5. Three entry photos will be required: 1 pre-cut entry, which shows the slab prior to the cut, and at least 1 after the cut photo, with at least one or more bars. And finally, one photo showing the tools you used to create the surface design (air blowing tool(s), etc. if others were used.
HELPFUL TIPS:
1. Choose your air-blowing tool(s) and work surface with safety in mind. Remember you will be blowing on the surface of raw soap. Wear appropriate PPE for this project.
2. Protect surfaces behind the area toward which you will be blowing the soap. Keep others away while doing this technique (people & animals.)
3. Try a practice run with your chosen tool and water or other safe liquid (thin or thicker liquid) to see how much power the wind blow technique creates.
4. Make sure your base soap (the canvas) is firmly set up prior to starting to create your design palette.
5. Pour your base color (white or black) as shown in the videos. (See videos for technique; the painting videos in particular show this technique.)
6. Pour your colors in a pattern of your choosing to create the design of your choosing. (See videos for possible methods for pouring the color patterns.)
7. Carefully blow air on the surface of the soap at an angle close to the surface, to create your design. Short gentle bursts of low air flow are best, both for safety and for design. Sweeping the air-blowing tool in the direction you want your design to flow.
8. If you choose, you may use a palette knife to help with the direction of your design, then blow on the surface. You may also use more than one blowing tool.
9. Have fun, and good luck!
* * * *
Dutch Pour painting technique from which this technique is inspired
Here are some Dutch Pour Painting technique videos to use as reference to where this air-blow technique came from. You can speed up the replay to double time by going to setting and choosing playback speed.
Dutch Pour painting technique Artist: Amanda's Designs:
Dutch Pour painting technique using heat gun (I do not suggest this for soap), blow dryer, artist's mouth, tongue depresser (in place of palette knife) Artist: Tammy Anderson:
Dutch Pour painting technique using blow dryer, palette knife and blowing directly on the paint with the artist's own mouth (be careful of the hair if you do this.) Artist: Olga Soby:
Soap Videos using the Air Blow Technique aka Dutch Pour Technique aka Wind Blow Technique
Carnaby Street by Vicki Frost (start at 8:00)
Impressionist Fish by Grace E Holloway (start at 5:50) use of small blower
PLEASE READ ALL RULES for the challenge.
SMF Challenge General Rules
1. To enter you must have a minimum of 50 posts and have been a SMF member for at least one month (sorry but no exceptions on this).
2. The only members eligible to vote are those with their names on the sign-up list - regardless of whether or not you have submitted an entry. The sign-up list will be posted in this thread.
3. This month’s voting will be password locked. Passwords will be sent by private message (via SMF conversations) to registered participants ONLY, so please check your messages when the voting begins.
4. A separate entry thread will be created and this is where you will post photos of your entry soap. Please do not post photos of your entry until the entry thread is opened. Post pictures of your entry soap only in the challenge entry thread.
Non-entry photos are always welcome and may be posted in the general challenge thread. The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts (other than your entry) where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way.
5. Your soap must be made after the monthly challenge has been announced.
6. You are allowed to change your entry photo until the entry thread closes. If you decide you want another try after you post your entry, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.
7. In the spirit of advancing our soap making skills, all members who sign-up for a SMF Challenge do so with the expectation that they will make every attempt to make a soap for the challenge. Writing about your experience in the challenge is encouraged. By doing so, each participant has a better knowledge of your process when voting. We do understand that sometimes things come up in our lives and throw our plans out of whack, however signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote is not in the spirit of the challenges and is not allowed.
8. Please add your name to the sign-up list if you wish to participate (you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced), but please do post your experiences in the main Challenge thread and be prepared to be encouraged to continue trying.
9. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please keep your comments polite.
* * * *
- Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date.
- The entry thread will open on March 22, 2021 at 4:00 pm GMT (Please follow the challenge specific rules as to what you need to enter).
- After the closing date on March 28, 2021 at 4:00 pm GMT the winning entry will be chosen using Survey Monkey. Voting will be open from March 28-30, 2021 and the winner will be announced soon thereafter and no later than on March 31, 2021. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
- If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload pictures of your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We always love to see anything you have created.
- Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfill the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible, your entry will not be included in the voting.
- All the challenge mods reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting.
SPECIFIC RULES FOR THE MARCH 2021 CHALLENGE
1. You will make your soap using the Air Blow Technique aka Dutch Pour Technique aka Wind Blow Technique. This technique requires air to be blown over the surface of wet soap to create a design on the surface of the soap. It is based on the Acyrlic Painting technique known as the Dutch Pour.
2. A slab mold is required for this challenge, the size however, can be based on the tools you plan to use to blow the air for your design. If you use a larger tool, such as a hair blow dryer, a larger mold works best. If you use a straw, a small size slab mold will work. Air-blowing tools that may be used include but are not necessarily limited to: Hair dryer (on low or cool); Straw; Small Air Brush (not industrial size); Your mouth; Ear Syringe Bulb; Mouth Atomizer. I will provide a links to some such tools as reference. If you have another tool on-hand that would serve the same purpose, AND be gentle enough to be used safely for this design, please give it a try and share your experience with given tools.
3. You must use at least 3 colors, PLUS a background color of either white or uncolored soap batter, OR black.
4. As shown in the sample videos, a base soap is made and allowed to set up, which becomes your canvas upon which you will pour and create your design. You are allowed to use a previously made soap as your base upon which you pour the pallette to create the Air Blow design. Or you may create a new soap as your base, using any design of your choice, including plain soap. The base soap may or may not be coordinated with the surface design, as you choose.
5. Three entry photos will be required: 1 pre-cut entry, which shows the slab prior to the cut, and at least 1 after the cut photo, with at least one or more bars. And finally, one photo showing the tools you used to create the surface design (air blowing tool(s), etc. if others were used.
HELPFUL TIPS:
1. Choose your air-blowing tool(s) and work surface with safety in mind. Remember you will be blowing on the surface of raw soap. Wear appropriate PPE for this project.
2. Protect surfaces behind the area toward which you will be blowing the soap. Keep others away while doing this technique (people & animals.)
3. Try a practice run with your chosen tool and water or other safe liquid (thin or thicker liquid) to see how much power the wind blow technique creates.
4. Make sure your base soap (the canvas) is firmly set up prior to starting to create your design palette.
5. Pour your base color (white or black) as shown in the videos. (See videos for technique; the painting videos in particular show this technique.)
6. Pour your colors in a pattern of your choosing to create the design of your choosing. (See videos for possible methods for pouring the color patterns.)
7. Carefully blow air on the surface of the soap at an angle close to the surface, to create your design. Short gentle bursts of low air flow are best, both for safety and for design. Sweeping the air-blowing tool in the direction you want your design to flow.
8. If you choose, you may use a palette knife to help with the direction of your design, then blow on the surface. You may also use more than one blowing tool.
9. Have fun, and good luck!
* * * *
Dutch Pour painting technique from which this technique is inspired
Here are some Dutch Pour Painting technique videos to use as reference to where this air-blow technique came from. You can speed up the replay to double time by going to setting and choosing playback speed.
Dutch Pour painting technique Artist: Amanda's Designs:
Dutch Pour painting technique using heat gun (I do not suggest this for soap), blow dryer, artist's mouth, tongue depresser (in place of palette knife) Artist: Tammy Anderson:
Dutch Pour painting technique using blow dryer, palette knife and blowing directly on the paint with the artist's own mouth (be careful of the hair if you do this.) Artist: Olga Soby:
Soap Videos using the Air Blow Technique aka Dutch Pour Technique aka Wind Blow Technique
Carnaby Street by Vicki Frost (start at 8:00)
Impressionist Fish by Grace E Holloway (start at 5:50) use of small blower
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