In Pursuit of an Oasis Swirl

This month Amy Warden's Soap Challenge introduced me to the Oasis Swirl, a technique originally created and guest taught by Edgar Kameraki - inspired by the image of a desert oasis.  The general idea for this technique is having the mold divided into three vertical sections - two separate ombres on the sides and a mixture of various colors poured in the center, all swirled together to bring the colors from the middle toward the sides.

Here are some images of soaps created by Edgar and Amy.

Edgar's Soap

Amy's Soap

I decided to make a Sangria soap with this technique, using a purple (alkanet infused) to orange (annatto infused) ombre on one side and pink (rose clay) to white (kaolin clay) on the other.  The center had purple/blue (alkanet/indigo), red (rose clay), orange (annatto/moroccan clay), yellow (annatto infused) and natural. 

I gave this technique two tries, neither of which came out well enough to enter.  But, I still wanted to share my experience here.

The first attempt, the purple to orange ombre was a three color ombre, moving through red before getting to the orange.  Scented with lime, orange, lemon and just a bit of cherry - very fruit punchy!

Batch #1

Mold with Dividers

Infused Oils

More Infused Oils

Pink to White Gradient

One pot wonder pour in center

Purple to Red to Orange Gradient

A small amount of batter in each section to prevent spillover

Dividers Removed - brought batter level down quite a bit

What a Mess!

No sideways movement for the oasis swirl, although definitely a Sangria feel.  These ended up being a little shorter than I wanted, so for the next batch I'll start with more.  I also felt that the mixtures may have gotten a little cool before getting them all into the mold.  So, I placed them in water baths to help keep the temperature up where it should be on the second try.

Batch #2

Still a beautiful bar of soap...I should have entered it...I rarely win anything anyway :) 
Thanks for taking an interest and reading to the end!

Taralyn