June’s kiln carving pattern is one of my favorites. When we were SCUBA diving in Roatan, there were sea turtles and they are fascinating! I could have watched them all day. This is also the most complex kiln carving pattern that I’ve made for download with 13 individual pieces. Not to worry, you can do it!
**This kiln carving pattern has expired. Monthly kiln carving patterns expire 90 days after posting. Not to worry though, they will be back at the end of the year in the free compilation book. To see the currently available kiln carving patterns, you can click here**
1. Download the pattern with the link at the bottom of this page. (no credit card necessary) Then, print out page one and find a piece of fiber paper large enough to accommodate the entire pattern. This is a relief pattern, meaning that we are cutting out and stacking the fiber paper to create a three dimensional turtle. This would be a good project for the small scraps of fiber paper that you have hanging around that you can’t bear to throw away. No? Maybe it’s just me then that can’t throw things away.
2. Carefully cut out the gray parts of layer 1 with a new X-acto knife blade and set aside. This is the base layer of our turtle. Once you have layer 1 cut out, use a tiny hole punch to make the eye. If you don’t have a tiny hole punch, carefully cut it out with your razor.
3. Carefully cut out layer 2 and stack it on top of layer 1 as per the stacking guide.
4. Cut out all 11 of the tiny shell parts. It’s probably easier to leave the numbered paper with the fiber until you are ready to stack the shell pieces on the turtle.
5. Using the stacking guide as reference, place all of the shell pieces on the turtle. Placement doesn’t have to be exact, of course, wiggle them around until they look good to you.
6. Once you have all the pieces together, carefully put the stacked turtle on a prepared kiln shelf, clean a piece of glass to fit and fire to a full fuse.
This would be a great pattern to include in a wall vase or a soap dish.