Say “Hello!” to Yetta (on the left, that’s Damian to the right) from New Jersey!  After seeing a friend struggle with making a hollow cabochon (light bulb, sanding, the traditional method) she set off to simplify the process - and boy, did she ever.  You make and bake the domed top and the bottom at the same time!  Her solution is elegant, efficient, simple and pretty much foolproof.  All you need is clay and a cutter -  any shaped cutter.  I’m demonstrating with a donut cutter, just to show you how it works.  Thank you, Yetta for giving us “Yetta Cabochons”!

Here is the finished donut cab I made.  I’d forgotten about silkscreening until another wonderful and brilliant New Jersey lady, Arlene! reminded me of how wonderful the technique is.  Dear Arlene, thank you for a great day and excellent play time in your studio!

Step One

Here is my donut cutter, a piece of black clay, rolled through #3 on my Atlas, and a sheet of scrap clay rolled through #2.  I make this sheet a bit thicker as it will be stretched and don’t want it too thin.  Note: if you want the cutter, go to www.prairiecraft.com!

Step Two

Cutting edge side up, place the scrap clay sheet on the cutter.  Push and stroke the clay into the cutter.  The more and deeper you stroke and stretch the clay, the higher the dome on the cabochon will be.

Step Three

After doming the clay in the cutter, flip it over and place it on the black clay on the tile.  Press down and cut through both sheets.  Cut a slit and remove excess clay from around the cutter.  The donut cutter yields two cabs, the donut and the donut hole.  As the cutter is round, you could twist the cutter and remove it from the clay.  Other shapes work best when you bake the cutter and the clay, then pop it out after curing and the clay is cool.  In this case, I baked the cutter with the clay.  Bake following manufacturer’s instructions.

Step Four

Here are the donut and the hole.  The edges are a bit square so I sanded the top with a coarse grit sanding block to round the cab top.

Here’s a shot of the donut from a 3/4 viewpoint.

Step Five

Here is the back of the cab - since I’ll be covering and baking again, I have drilled a small hole for venting in the back.  This will prevent the top from collapsing or the bottom from indenting as the heated air inside the donut cools.

Step Six

Apply a generous coat of Clear Medium to the cab top.  Cover with a sheet of clay - I covered mine with a silk screened sheet.  Trim the excess clay away and bake again.

Thank you to Tonja Lenderman for sending me the screens I used!  At one time, Tonja was selling them but abandoned the project due to supplier issues.  It’s really too bad, I don’t like making them.  Good for me though, I’m buying her remaining stash.  More screens - Yippee!  Thank you, Tonja.