Now that I’m kilted and playing with my band, I decided I wanted a more personal kiltpin than the generic stuff I could get at the games or online (plus, the wearing a clan badge I have no connection with seems so…bucketshop).
So I decided to make my own. Here’s my first attempt, made in about 90 minutes, with polymer clay and acrylic paint made into a wash. I think I hit the wash a bit too hard. I’ve never worked with clay before, so I may take another stab at it sometime in the future, but overall I think it turned out ok.
I’d wear it! (well, if it was my crest ;o)
werewolves;93207 wrote:
I’d wear it! (well, if it was my crest ;o)
And I will, in a Fallen Firefighter’s Parade this Saturday. :cool: But first, my girlfriend (the artist in the house) is going to go over some of the spots with black paint and a very fine brush (primarily the lettering).
Nice handiwork for a first attempt! Far better than I could produce, I’m sure.
I know that Roddy Young does some very nice private commissions:
http://www.clancrestsilver.com/armiger-badge-commission.html
Nōn Dormiō = I Sleep Not
How very appropriate for a pup who’s apparently lit the candle at both ends!
Dale, as an armiger, your "crest badge" should be on a plain circle, not the "strap and buckle" of the clansman using his Chief’s badge.
Doug Welsh;93214 wrote:
Dale, as an armiger, your "crest badge" should be on a plain circle, not the "strap and buckle" of the clansman using his Chief’s badge.
While this is undoubtedly true in the Scottish tradition, it may be worth noting that our Canadian friends have been known to grant crest-within-a-strap badges to armigers:
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=114
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=394
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=2028
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=828
That being said, in the context of a decidedly Scottish kilt pin, I would agree with Doug that the Scottish paradigm should be followed – that is: the crest on its torse within a plain circlet inscribed with the slogan.
http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/242.html
It has been argued ad īnfīnītum about the optional inclusion of one small eagle’s feather in silver behind the circlet. Lord Lyon allows this for armigers whose arms are duly recorded in the Lyon Register. While on one hand Lyon’s jurisdiction cannot extend outside of the Kingdom of Scotland; on the other hand there are those self-appointed wardens whose mission it is to call into question every use of every feather at every highland games which they attend. Be warned…
I noticed that two of the four Canadian links referred to the strap & buckle as a "Canadian belt" & the other two simply as a "belt." Apparently they put a maple leaf doodad on the hanging end of the belt.
IIRC I’ve also seen at least one Irish grant with a strap & buckle badge, on the CHI webpage—don’t recall the name.
Thanks for the links, guys. Knowing that what I did wasn’t correct gives me a good excuse to try again.
So here’s my second attempt. Taking into account your helpful suggestions as well as what I learned from my first attempt.
Looks great Dale!
very impressive
Nice job Dale. Your first attempt wasn’t bad, and you can see the improvement for the second attempt. Keep it up and before long you’ll be a master :D
After my fledgling attempts at my own kilt pin, Kyle asked if I’d like to take a stab at one for him.
I was having significant trouble getting a uniform sheet, so earlier today I went and picked up a "pasta machine" at the art store and gave it another shot.
Here are a couple of in-progress images. Once I get the detail work on the bird and ring done I’m going to work on cleaning up the edges and making them more a more uniform thickness.
Looks really great, Dale!
I know you probably have lots of things you’d change, but I just want to tell you that it looks really good as is and I’m so glad you had a stab at it with my crest as well.
THANK YOU—a beauty!
Kyle=
Nice to see somebody experiment with polymer clay. I’ve been fascinated with the possibilities of this medium for some time but haven’t had time to tackle it.
david;94358 wrote:
Nice to see somebody experiment with polymer clay. I’ve been fascinated with the possibilities of this medium for some time but haven’t had time to tackle it.
One of the big advantages of it is that it’s cheap to get started. You can get by with a couple of plastic knives and the clay is $3 per package. Even if choose to buy clay sculpting tools a basic set is only $10.
The pins you see above were done by rolling out clay with a rolling pin, cutting out the basic shapes with an Xacto knife, and then using the various parts of a spork or the Xacto to sculpt.
