That one time I used several talents for a tiny magnet

So today, I'm incredibly proud of myself. I have a wide range of skills, and they often don't overlap — I've been passionate about one thing or another my whole life, and it often feels like I've wasted my time investing in a skill because nothing came out of it. I was planning to attend a craft-fair in Netanya in support of Ukraine. I was making blue-and-yellow glass hearts. Then, a week and a half ago, before bed, an idea struck me. What if I made ceramic magnets with traditional Ukrainian cross-stitch?

I converted the traditional vyshivanka (Ukrainian traditional clothing, with black and red cross-stitch pattern, the colors symbolizing sorrow and love) cross-stitch pattern into a pixelated image and colored it "topographically." I imported the image into Blender and created a 3D model of the image. I 3D-printed the model. I colored it with markers to see if it was any good. I used the plastic as a stamp and made several magnets out of clay. They dried for several days. I fired them for the first time. I painted them with engobes (paints for clay that are used under transparent glazes, also called underglaze). I fired them again. I glued magnets to the backs.

Now I'm sitting here really proud of myself. My knowledge of cross-stitch, Photoshop, pixel art, 3D modeling, 3D printing, and ceramics all came in handy, and these cute magnets turned out just like I imagined a week and a half ago.

Modeling the stamp in Blender (3D-modeling sofrware)

A 3D-printed white plastic stamp

I colored it with markers

I used the stamp on raw clay to create magnets

Letting watery black underglaze sip into the crevices

With a fine brush and a thick red underglaze - adding the red accents

Finished magnets, glazed and fired. Yay!