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Notes
on the Soaps in the Gallery - V What to do with a Hexagon
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| General: You may wish to refer to the pages on the Basic Method, Colours, Fragrances and Moulds for more details and information on suppliers. Clicking on the picture will take you to the larger picture of the soap in the Gallery. | |
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These soaps do not appear in the gallery but I have included them here as they are what led me to make the stained glass soaps below. I used the same technique as for the Black and White striped soap but this time using a hexagonal mould and cutting triangles out of plain green soap with a sharp knife and overpouring with white. To make up the set I made one plain green, one plain white and the one in the centre which is a layer of green on top of white. I thought the end result a bit silly but decided to see whether I could use the idea to make a stained glass soap. |
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Using the same mould as for the green soaps I made up six soaps,
each using a very tiny amount of a different mica: gold, white, crimson,
copper, sapphire and wisteria. As with the citrus slices I cut each
soap into six and took a tiny curved piece off the tip of each before
putting them back in the mould and overpouring with transparent base
that was coloured with a little black oxide. When the soap had set
up overnight I cut off the excess black with a very sharp knife.
The picture at the top of the Colours page shows a close-up of the centre of this soap. Although it doesn't do it justice you can see the sparkle of the mica. |
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Having made up only two of the individual hexagonal soaps I had
lots of little triangles left over which I had no idea what to do
with. Finally I hit upon the idea of lining them up in two blocks
in the bottom of a rectangular plastic drawer organiser, cutting some
of them to fit the corners. It is a fiddly job to get them positioned
correctly but very satisfying when you are in the right mood. I had
felt that the black in the hexagon soap was a bit pale so I added
a very small amount of white titamium dioxide to give it body and
depth and enough black oxide to turn it black again. You can see the
difference in the pictures.
I poured the black very carefully in between the triangles and round the outside and brought it up over the top. I cut off the excess when the soap had set up overnight so the soaps are very slightly thinner than they started out. I could have embedded them in transparent base but I prefer them as they are. |
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| Tip: Never throw offcuts or failed soaps away. I keep mine in ziplock plastic bags to conserve the moisture, with the colours kept separate. | |