Our wonderful personalized coasters!

 We are excited to introduce you to another very talented artist who has been very active in our program here at We Care Arts, Todd Smith.  Todd had been riding the bus from downtown Dayton to We Care Arts since 2008, but he recently moved very close by!  Todd grew up in Springfield, Ohio and attended college in Florida.  For Todd, helpful teachers and happy clients add to the joy of learning painting techniques.  He insists WCA is a positive, stress-free place.  Todd, positive and patient, certainly adds to that atmosphere.  In 2010 he began participating in the Tuesday afternoon art production class.  This class is very focused on supplying our Gift Shops with beautiful handmade art.  Todd has found this class improves his art skills in many areas, such as fused glass, puff painting on fabric, and underglazing flower pots.  He appreciates the class since it has also taught him to work on a deadline.  

Look at one of Todd’s very amazing projects, his coasters.  Interested in how this process works? He is happy to explain how he did it. 

He uses a water slide process to make these wonderful coasters. 

Here’s how it works: We find an image we like, such as our beautiful butterflies or maps of our local area, which have been very popular with customers!  We then print the image on special decal paper and cut out each individual one. We then soak the image in water (hence the name water slide!). We also lightly wet the ceramic coaster that we are going to put the image on, which makes positioning the image easier.  Then we gently side some of the backing off the image on the decal paper and begin to position the image on the coaster. And we, ever so gently, remove the rest of the backing off the decal paper and position our image just where we want it! At this point, the image is floating on a thin layer of water, so we take a brayer roller and squeeze the water from under the image.  Then we dab the coaster with a paper towel, removing the remaining water. After letting the coaster dry thoroughly overnight, we apply numerous coats of a clear varnish to seal the coaster and protect the image.

These coasters make wonderful gifts! Todd made a special set with a map of Springfield Ohio for his sister, who lives there. And she loved them! We can take any image you like, perhaps the map of a special place or a treasured vacation photo. And poof! We can give you a set of four coasters that make a delightfully personalized gift!