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Ceramic Salt or Pepper Shaker: Have your own Bust Made

You can have a small personalized portrait bust made by me as a salt shaker or pepper shaker. However, the bust does not have to be of yourself, i.e. your own head. You can also have a bust made of a family member, a friend, a business partner or a person from history. I make the busts from photos or other images such as paintings.

 

The shaker busts are made of ceramic. They can have a colored surface (painted with engobe), or they can be fired only with transparent glaze, especially if a colored clay is used. The clay can be speckled llight, gray, black, brown or even pink.

The bust can be designed as a salt or pepper shaker or simply as a small bust. It is also an interesting way to portray a couple. It can be a great gift for a wedding or anniversary. Or for when the person “already has everything”. The shakers are a hearty object for the table.

 

Portrait Bust after a Photo

 

If you have the opportunity to photograph the person you would like to have the portrait bust made of, please take the photos from all sides:

 

  • from the front

  • from the three-quarter profile (three-quarter view), i.e. diagonally from the front

  • from the sides, i.e. from the left profile and from the right profile

  • and from behind

 

This gives me a more accurate representation of the person to be portrayed. If you are unable to photograph this person but have photos of them, please select photos taken from different angles. And if possible, the photos should be from around the same time.

 

If you wish to have a portrait made of a person who has died or is a personality from history and you only have photos (or painted pictures) of this person from the front or the three-quarter profile, I can still make a bust. However, I have to use my imagination to recreate areas that have not been photographed or painted, for example.

 

Format of the Portrait Bust

 

The normal size of a salt shaker bust is approximately 9-10 cm in height, 6-9 cm in width and 4-5 cm in depth. The size depends on whether the full width of the shoulders is shown or whether the shoulders are cut off.


You are welcome to discuss the details of the depiction.

If you would like to have a portrait made of your pet, please read my information on the subject of pet portraits.

​Other information

If you would like to have a bust made as a gift, you should order the bust from me in good time. This is because the production can take between 2 and 4 weeks, especially if the pieces require multiple firings in the kiln.

Last questions before making a bust and contact me

 

If you want to have a portrait bust made, the following questions need to be clarified:

 

  • In what period of life, i.e. at what age, should the replica of the person of whom you want to have a bust made be made?

  • Should special attributes like glasses, a hat, one hand, two hands or clothing be added to the portrait?

  • Should the surface of the bust be colored or natural?

  • Should the bust be elongated (with shoulders) or square (without shoulders)?

 

If you would like to know how much it costs to have a shaker bust made, simply contact me via my e-mail: papier@milavazquezotero.com

You can see my work directly in the store wenn fische träumen at Froschaugasse 8 in 8001 Zurich, and at the pottery studio cerámica mi mundo in the Gladbachstrasse 108 8044 Zürich

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