I have done several mica oil swirls in the past with a very satisfaying result, but I had never tried a glycerin swirl, and Amy Warden's soap challenges are all about trying new and challenging techniques, right? Well, this one really became a challenge for me.
When I signed up and saw the videos, I instantly fell in love with the look of one of the example pictures Amy posted. It looked like a stone carving and that made me think of ancient celtic symbols, the first of which that came to mind was the triple spiral. Three was a magic number for celts, it is related to the solar cycle, the beginning and the end and the perpetual learning (and we are constantly learning with these challenges, right? -wink eye- )
Now, I don't claim to know for real, but some say the triskele or triskelion was a symbol related to pregnancy: each spiral represented a solar cycle of three months, and three times three made the aproximately nine months that a pregnancy lasts. And this is why this spiral is also called the spiral of life. Being a trained doula myself I chose this interpretation because it comes closer to the heart. And with this in mind I started planning. For this project I really wanted to take advantage of the "indentations" that the glycerin creates in the soap, but, oh, boy! Mica glycerin swirl.... NOT like mica oil swirl.
I completely ruined a 3lb batch because glycerin just does not behave the same. I wished I had known that before, but glycerin doesn't "stay put" like oil does, instead, glycerin has a tendency to gather together. So I made the basic design with the droper and, before I could come back to it with the skewer, all I had was a few scattered pools of mica and glycerin all over my slab mold. The soap was hardening and I had no choice but to swirl them in whatever pattern and give up on that one. I don't completely dislike the soap that came out of it, specially because of the lovely essential oil combination I used, but it is really not worth posting, I think.
Being the stubborned person I am, I had to try again. Only one day left, and running out of fixed oils, so I decided on a much smaller batch, just in case.
With this second batch I experienced the same "uncontrolable nature" of the mica and glycerin mix if you want to make a precise pattern with it, but I stayed close to the mold, running the skewer intermittently in order to make the mix run the path I wanted it to. I did so several times until I thought the soap batter could not be disturbed any more.
I thought long and hard before submiting my entry this month but, like the saying goes... the important thing is to participate.
Oils used: olive, coconut (bio), palm (bio), shea butter (bio), palm kernel, castor and corn.
Scent: essential oils of geranium, juniper, lavender and clary sage.
Colorants: violet and forest green from Gracefruit, as well as gold and silver micas from a local provider that is no longer in business.
To Amy and all my fellow participants: love your soaps, love your talent, thank you for so much inspiration!