Ripple Blade Mokume Gane

The Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild (SCPCG) held their bi-annual conference in late July.  This wonderful event spanned 4 days in which participants played with clay, explored new ideas, participated in various contests and activities, and enjoyed the camaraderie of like-minded friends, both old and new.
There were excellent demonstrations scattered throughout the conference, which were open to all though not mandatory, so one could pick and choose or go to everything. It could be a hard decision - continue what you were doing, or go learn about something new. What a great choice to "have" to make.

 This year, many of the demos were focused on Mokume Gane techniques, of which there are many.  Though I'd tried several approaches on my own in the past, I had not experimented with the ripple blade technique.



Libby Mills presented a clean and clear demonstration of her own refined version of this technique.  Those of us who saw the demonstration couldn't wait to get back to try it out!

Basically, there are two major patterns which emerge - zigzag stripes or a more dotted, mottled look. I played primarily with the stripes and have finally finished up a couple of pieces to share here.  When I get some "spots", I'll share those, too.

These two pendants have the zig-zag mokume gane base with the tiny dried flowers on top, all encased in resin.  I love the way the resin makes the background seem to almost move.