Salt Dough or Ceramic?

Amy Stone is a professional artist in the Memphis, TN area who creates heirloom-quality ceramic hand, foot & paw impression designs both locally and mail order. Her business name is "Mitts, Piggys & Paws" and her one-of-a-kind designs can be found both on her Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/MittsPiggysPaws or her website

Website: www.MittsPiggysPaws.com

SALT DOUGH VS. CERAMIC KEEPSAKES

If you've seen this picture before I'm not surprised. It has been making it's way across the internet for a number of years now, especially before Mother's Day. In the weeks leading up to Mother's Day literally hundreds (if not thousands) of moms are trying to bake this design in their ovens. On sites like Pinterest and Facebook this picture has gone viral. It has been posted and reposted with a "recipe" which states the false information that this is a salt-dough design.

You may be wondering why I would care to write about this…

Well, because I am the original artist of this ceramic design and I wish to set the record straight not only for myself, but also for all those moms who have searched to find me…which is quite a few. I am a professional ceramicist and I make these ceramic plaques for a living. Yes, it is very flattering for people to try and replicate a design I created, but it is also very frustrating when zero credit is being given to the artist or the artist's business. It is also illegal since my designs are copyrighted. For myself, I'm a dope because I should've watermarked my photos; but, I never dreamed my work would be so popular, and at that time I wasn't very keen on photoshop. God has blessed my business tremendously and I am very thankful to Him for all the talents and blessings he has bestowed upon me.

Now, I really don't mind at all if folks try to make-n-bake my designs. By all means….Have at it and the best of luck to you. HOWEVER, what I would like for people to know is the truth. A salt dough design will never look like a ceramic plaque, and it certainly will NOT last like a ceramic piece. Humidity, bugs, time and other factors will deteriorate a salt dough piece no matter what you seal it with. This is definitely not so with ceramic designs. Ceramic pieces will out-live you, your children, your children's children, and so on. What do archeologists dig up the most? Thousands of year old pottery shards….in other words, baked clay, or ceramic ware. The ceramic handprint plaques I create are truly heirloom-quality pieces that will be handed down for generations.

The ceramic process involves clay and intense heat. To create my heirloom-quality baby hand & feet impressions I first press the child's hand & foot into a wet clay slab. I then sculpt it into the design of the mom's choosing. I let the clay designs dry, and then I clean them up and engrave the child's full name (first/middle/last name) onto the back of every design I do. I also engrave the child's birthdate, current age and the month & year the impression was taken….and any other little message mom would like me to engrave.

I then place the dried clay pieces into a ceramic kiln for firing. I fire my pieces at cone 04 which reaches a temperature of approximately 2000 degrees. Much hotter than a kitchen oven, and I fire them for about 10-12 hours. After the kiln shuts off it takes it anywhere from 1-2 days before the pieces are cool enough to handle, depending upon how fully I loaded the kiln.

I then glaze the ceramic "bisque" pieces and put them back into the kiln for a glaze firing which reaches around 1800 degrees. The glaze firing lasts anywhere from 8-10 hours depending upon how fully my kiln is loaded. Ceramic glazes melt over the plaques with a glassy permanence that cannot be achieved with salt dough. The pictures below are examples of pieces going through a glaze firing. As you can see in the "Before" pictures, ceramic glazes are not always the same color going on as they are when they are done being fired--as you can see in the "After" pictures.

Here are some more pictures of plaques in the freshly sculpted out clay state and the finished plaques after the glaze firing. The plaques immediately below are Mommy & Me plaques of twin girls named Grace & Addison. I pressed mom's hands first, then the twin girl's hands into the clay. I took the clay slabs back to my studio and added the leaf impressions with azalea leaves gleaned from bushes out of my own yard, then I sculpted the plaques into a square shape and added the holes for hanging. I then allowed them to slowly dry for a few days before cleaning up rough edges, engraving the back with the aforementioned information and then placing in the kiln for the first firing, or "bisque" firing.

Clay plaques above prior to bisque firing…..glazed plaques

below after glaze firing.

Here are some other examples of plaques in the clay state and the finished plaques after glazing.

Six grandchildren. What an heirloom!

These sibling plaques hang on a curtain rod. Great idea…the children will keep their own plaques one day.

Adorable Pumpkin Frame hand impression. All frames are finished off with glass and photo pockets on the rear.

Family plaque including the 4-legged loved ones. This plaque was a mail order design.

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Which brings me back to why I am writing this post. The Mommy & Me plaque pictured at the top of this page has been shared thousands upon thousands of times as a "salt-dough" design. Facebook and Pinterest have been very fair in removing these at my request via copyright infringement. I have only asked the pictures to be removed when the individual posting my picture refuses to credit me or my business in the photo description. I have been shocked and amazed at the number of people who actually get angry at me even after I provide proof that I am the original artist and what is being shared is untrue.

One page had my photo shared 126,000 times and there were over 1,000 comments! Most of the comments were moms frustrated with their "salt dough" creations and wondering why they weren't turning out like the picture. Around Mother's Day I have people notifying me daily about my picture being circulated. Last year I was finding several a day, each offender having well over 30,000 shares and hundreds of comments.

Consider this…. My Facebook business page (www.Facebook.com/MittsPiggysPaws) only has around 2,000 fans! Of all those thousands of shares I would think that more than a few of those moms might appreciate the truth behind the photo and some of them just *might* want to utilize my mail order service and get the real deal in ceramic. Click here: for MAIL ORDER INFORMATION.

So, there it is…the truth. If you happen across my photo as I have…on Facebook, Pinterest, a cookbook, a magazine, numerous blogs and other websites both in the United States and overseas…all touting my design as a dreaded salt dough creation-----would you please help set the record straight?

THANK YOU!!!

-Amy Stone

Check out my newest, cutest designs on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MittsPiggysPaws

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More about the artist: Amy Stone.

Amy is also a professional face painter in the Memphis, TN area. To view her designs, visit her Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/FairysandFrogs

Amy also has designed her own line of children's smocked clothing called "Pixies-N-Pollywogs".

You can take a look at those designs on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PixiesandPollywogs

Amy is also a LIVE EVENT PAINTER in the Memphis, TN area. If you are getting married or want something extra special at your fund raising gala, check out Live Event Painting by Amy Stone. Or, "LIKE" her "Caught on Canvas" Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/CaughtonCanvasbyAmyStone