Ceramic Hello Kitty: Classic

And here is the first of my three Hello Kitty ceramic figures I created at the Symposium-Workshop in Hungary a few weeks ago! After having purchased quite a few Hello Kitty figures from ceramic artist and now friend Neil Wolstenholme, I have been wanting to create my bespoke creation so was very keen to participate in his workshop. The Classic red ribbon and blue overalls was what I had in mind. Couldn’t wait to try!

Creating Hello Kitty

And what a great opportunity as well as honor to be able to finally meet Neil in person, along with his other students. On the first day, he demonstrated how his Hello Kitty figures are formed using liquid ceramic and pre-made molds as per Hello Kitty Molded. And once dry, they look like these!

First Firing

Then they are fired in the kiln at 900°C, that’s right, 900°C! As it takes time for the kiln to heat up to that temperature and then to cool down slowly, they are left in there overnight. It is important that the ceramic items do in fact have the chance to cool down slowly and not be removed too soon as a sudden change in temperature could cause them to snap. And here goes…

Ready to Paint!

The resulting figure is rather delicate as it’s hollow so I had to be very cautious with handling it whilst painting. And of course being as precise as possible! The edges were quite a challenge as were making sure the eyes were even and perfectly oval and the whiskers straight. Any small mistakes though can be rectified by carefully scraping the area out with a sharp knife. For instance, that blue spot on Kitty’s face. But no panic, all the retouching Neil took over and rectified for me. Starting with a light color helps, although in this case I left out the areas for the buttons then added the white on top. Several layers of paint were applied, whilst letting each layer dry before painting on top. And now, all ready for the second firing!

Second Firing

Our painted items, including my Classic Hello Kitty them gets dunked in a bucket of white liquid which is the glaze. Then they are fired at a much higher temperature than before, 1,250°C. Now that’s very very hot! And for the same reason as the first firing, they are left in the kiln overnight for the temperature to gradually rise and cool down slowly. So the next morning upon our departure on our last day, we came to collect our stuff, and wow, just as I had wanted it!

And now we’re talking! My own bespoke Hello Kitty Classic ceramic figure I’ve been dreaming of. And to be able to create my own for that matter! As I am a rather fanatic collector of Hello Kitty, in particular the Classic version, this is a perfect addition to my extensive collection. Very very happy with it. And I enjoyed the session so much that I decided to create more ceramic Hello Kitty’s in different variations. More about that soon, so watch this space!

Please click here to find out more about Neil Wolstenholme and his amazing work!