Polymer Mosaics

Mosaics are interesting.  They can be very simple or incredibly complex. I thought it would be fun to try making mosaics with polymer, and decided to give myself a little push.  The impetus for these pieces centers around an upcoming workshop I'm teaching.  These pieces will help provide participants with samples of the various steps involved in the process.
The photos to the left show some finished pieces.  The small pair are for earrings.  The other two pieces are pendants.  The darker inverted drop pendant is finished with Magic Gloss resin.  The other three pieces have been lightly sanded and buffed to maintain a more rustic appearance.

When you leave the surface mostly "as is" you can really feel the ups and downs of the mosaic - the grout and the shapes.  The surface could also be sanded to create a smoother, more uniform finish.



The two pendants to the right are in one of the initial stages of mosaic work.  The individual "puzzle" pieces have been been made, cut, and mounted on a base, and are awaiting grout.

These three pieces have had grout added, and need to be baked before a backing and outlining border are added.   Note that the grout color can really change the look of a piece.  I expect the turquoise grout to darken some during baking, which should make it appear closer to the teal color in the mosaic pieces themselves. If not, then I'll have more contrast.
The yellow set of "steps" on the piece with white grout is actually one long strip of yellow clay with indentations pressed in before grouting - a nice little technique.

This last piece is actually the first mosaic piece I ever made.  It has some flaws, and taught me a few things.

Twirls & Swirls

About a week ago, I mentioned that I was going to work on swirl beads and learn how to use some bead shapers I'd gotten.  Instead, I ended up making ropey cuff bracelets.  Those clay side paths....;)
I still wanted to work on swirly-twirly beads, and practice with the bead shapers, so I headed back to the worktable.  Today you get to see the results.

Swirl or twirl beads are usually made from sheets of colored stripes, then rolled by hand. There are various examples on the Internet, including a very nice tutorial from Cindy Leitz, who calls these "torpedo" beads.  I started with a striped stack I had, cut and rolled a slice, and used the bead shaper to make a bead.  The photo to the right shows the striped stack and the bead. This look is fairly typical of this type of bead design.

 I wondered what would happen with other types of striped stacks, so I decided to use some of the wedge canes and Ikat stacks I have to make more beads.  The picture below shows an Ikat cane and two swirled beads.  These beads were made by rolling the clay on a flat surface using the palm of my hand.  As you can see, this method makes pointed beads.  I think this shape may be the origin of the name "torpedo" bead.

Here are more swirled torpedo-shaped beads.  Some were made from Ikat canes and others were made from some of my wedge canes.

Finally, I have some earring sets made from various canes and stacks, and rolled in the bead shaper.  These bead shapers are a great way to ensure your beads are the same size and shape.

Butterfly Migration

As the days of September passed, the monarch caterpillars here spun cocoons in preparation for their metamorphosis into butterflies.  While watching caterpillars on milkweed, I was inspired to do something with a butterfly cane I had made recently. Making butterfly canes is a time consuming process, and it's really amazing to watch a butterfly appear in the clay.  The piece here represents the migration of butterflies, which usually occurs in October, as they head south and west for warmer climes.  One of the things I like to do is to make the wing sections of the butterfly separately.  This allows me to make different sizes of butterflies more easily than in a transparent clay-encased cane. I also can manipulate the wings for a nice, three-dimensional effect.

Ropey Cuffs

Sometimes I start out headed in one direction, and end up somewhere else entirely.  I planned to work with striped torpedo beads.  Torpedo beads are often shaped by hand, and usually have pointed ends.  I had just gotten one of the new bead formers, and wanted to give it a try with the striped torpedo effect.  However, as I was playing with the clay to make a striped stack, the "bead" got too thin and morphed into a very pretty striped snake - with a pointed end.  A brass cuff was sitting on my work table...Well, one thing led to another, and I found myself engrossed in making the ropey cuffs you see above.  I especially  like the one on the top left which was made from a rainbow stack.  It reminds me of an old fashioned quilt.  I'm sure I'll get around to making some torpedo beads in the near future - or I could end up playing with more 3-D, ropey effects. Either way, I get to play with clay!

New Ear Wires

Today I'd like to share a few photos demonstrating some new ear wire findings I just discovered.  I'm sure others have used something similar, but it was the first time I'd seen them.  These came from Fire Mountain Gems and are made of Argentium silver.  I really like Argentium silver because of both its strength and the fact that it remains tarnish-resistant for a long time.  Several new findings are coming on the market made from Argentium silver.

Findings play an important role in jewelry.  Sometimes, they work in the background, holding pieces together or serving as devices that allow wearability.  Other times, they are part and parcel of the design.  For the most part, I tend to use ear wires that allow my polymer pieces to dangle, and occasionally I'll use posts for the backs of earrings. These new Argentium wires seem to add to the design of the earrings.  They also change the way the earrings move, and I'm really pleased with the way these look when worn.




I think of these earrings as a sort of "button" design - simple rounds and ovals that showcase the polymer canes and designs I used.

An Ikat Avalanche

My workspace looks like a snow storm made of ikat pieces!  Perhaps "ikat obsession" would have been a more appropriate heading for this post.  As I look back through this blog, I see at least 5 other posts on the ikat cane.  It is such fun to create, and there are several different versions "out there" to choose from - or to help you develop your own.

My first exposure was through Donna Kato's book,The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques.  Donna demonstrates a couple different approaches for making ikat canes.  Lindly Haunani has developed her own approach incorporating her wonderful rainbow approach to color, and I have had a lot of fun experimenting with her method. Iris Mishly has a lovely tutorial demonstrating 3 different versions of ikat canes.  In addition, there are several free tutorials online.  Obviously, I'm not the only person who finds this look and its variations fascinating!

However, the credit (or blame) for my current ikat spree goes to Lindly.  At the polymer master class workshop in July, Lindly spent part of the last afternoon demonstrating and discussing some of the ways in which ikat can be manipulated.  While the bracelets in the photo on the right do show their ikat origin, some of the manipulated sheets don't look anything like ikat!

I decided I had to share here some of the results of my experimenting.  Hope you enjoy the show!

This little set on the left showcases my favorite ikat sheet (so far).  The ikat cane is not manipulated here except to be cut and placed in strips next to itself.  I did experiment with the spacing of colors, their order, and strip width, and particularly cut down on the amount of base or background color that I used to set the other colors apart.  I love the almost-but-not-quite Skinner blend look.  It definitely looks like fabric to me.


The leaf shape on the left is another ikat cane cut diagonally with the opposite sides flipped and butted up against a center strip of color.  I had to add some wave to the edges and it has a "leafy" feel.  If you find a tree this fall with leaves like this, I want to know!
The next two sets are examples of feathering with ikat canes.  I have always loved the look of feathering in lampwork beads, and have experimented a bit with feathering striped polymer clay sheets.  It took a nudge from Lindly, however, to make me realize I could try this with ikat.  Oh, the results!  I found that stretching the sheets out on the pasta machine after doing the initial feathering created a simply wonderful look.  Both the lavender and the yellow sets show the results of stretched feathering.
 Now for another twist:   herringbone!  This particular manipulation makes the clay look three-dimensional.  I textured this surface for a couple of reasons.  The herringbone treatment just seemed to be somewhat "rustic" and therefore more muted to me, and texturing helped ease and set the joins between the strips.  Don't you love it when form and function work together!

Here is one last example of ikat with large neutral separating strips between the colors and feathering tossed in for good measure.
Now run out and play with some ikat canes!

Rainy Day Clay Play

We had one of those seasonal monsoons that periodically pass through New England, and everyone was stuck inside. Even our poor dogs kept checking every door to see if the rain had stopped in at least part of the yard.  So, in between keeping them somewhat happy with games and trainings indoors, I spent some time twisting and twirling clay scraps from cane ends.  Once I had several slender striped snakes, I rolled them up in circular "rugs."  The pieces seemed to need just a bit more, so I added bits and pieces of shapes for interest.  I don't know what I'll do with them, but it was fun watching them take shape in my hands.

That's one more great thing about clay - you can sit down to just look at the clay, then you start touching it, and before long, you're drawn into messing around.  I find this sort of clay play especially fun. Since there is no pre-conceived plan or idea, you don't know what you'll have at the end.

Color & Ikat with Lindly Haunani

If you've read earlier entries on this blog, you have seen my postings regarding Lindly Haunani.  I love working with her. No matter how many times I take one of her workshops, I always learn something new.  My first class with Lindly was at a Cabin Fever Clay Festival, shortly after Color Inspirations, the wonderful book she co-authored with Maggie Maggio, was published.   Her approach to color captured my imagination, and I've been enthralled with the "Lindly rainbow" approach ever since.

The 2-day class with Lindly at the Master Class Camp was, in-a-word,  wonderful.  On the first day we did something I have wanted/ meant/ needed to do for a long time - we made our own swatch decks.  I now have 4 complete stacks and the information I need to make additional stacks based on other colors.  It is so exciting to watch colors morph and change, and to be able to draw from these sets to make compatible, vibrant, color combinations.  What an amazing tool!

Next, Lindly had us create a Skinner rainbow blend using our base colors.  We also created 2 or 3 solid color sheets in pastel shades based on our base colors and swatch decks. She then walked us through the process of creating an Ikat stack or cane combing the pastel sheets and the rainbow blend.  Yum!  Here are the Ikat stacks I made in class.

Finally, she demonstrated various ways to manipulate slices from the stacks to use in finished pieces.  The final photo shows a feathered sheet and a sheet that has been formed by cutting up an Ikat stack, shifting the slices, and "building" a whole new structure.  The ways in which this type of cane can be modified and changed seem endless!

More Master Class Camp Workshops: Dan Cormier & Ponsawan Sila

In this post, I'll talk briefly about a 2-day master class, and a 2-hour mini-workshop I took in July at the Master Class Camp.  One special aspect of the Master Class Camp, well-organized by Kathryn Ottman, is that the basic workshops each run for 2 consecutive days.  This provides the participant with the opportunity to study with one instructor in depth, and to come away with a more solid understanding than is possible in half-day classes.  Kathryn started the Master Camp last year, and I was really happy to be able to participate this year.
The 2-day master class was with Dan Cormier.  Dan is known for his precise processes with mica shift and his ability to create some incredible images in clay.  Dan has developed not only a special process, but a wide variety of tools to compliment his procedures.  His website includes clay peelers, digital class books, die sets, and the Sh.A.R.K, a very successful width adjuster.  Throughout the 2-days, Dan demonstrated each step of his process.  He has a very precise method of conditioning clay, creating stacks of clay, and creating slices of those stacks.  He also demonstrated the use of his die sets and some methods of manipulating and impressing designs in the stacks of clay.

These two pendants are examples of slices from stacks I made based on Dan's processes.   The gold to rust piece in particular demonstrates the halo or "bruising" around the holes that is a direct result of Dan's process of clay preparation, impression, and slicing.  Very distinctive.


In addition to the 2-day master classes, Kathryn also arranged a few special 2-hour sessions in the evenings.  I participated in the evening session with Ponsawan Sila.  Ponsawan shared some of her tips and tricks about making narrow Skinner blends to create petal canes. She demonstrated how she makes small round and disk shaped beads using petal slices. One surprise was the fact that she sometimes rolls the raw beads in table salt before baking. After baking, the beads have a fine texture with some tiny holes left by the salt.  The holes show up particularly in the purple round bead on the left.

Ponsawan also demonstrated how to create small flower buds using slices of the petal canes.  Most of us then spent the rest of the time creating our own flowers, buds, and beads from the tiny canes we had made. The photo to the left shows my collection of buds and flowers.

Mokume Gane with Melanie Muir

A couple of weeks ago, at the Polymer Master Class Camp in Laurel, Maryland, I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a 2-day workshop with Melanie Muir.  Melanie shared many of her techniques and tips with us as we created one of her classic Rocks Cuffs and a pendant.  She is meticulous in each step of her work, and her mokume gane technique was eye opening.  Melanie has a full video explaining and demonstrating each step on www.CraftCast.com.



The photos here are my work based on her mokume gane technique as well as the process she has developed for the rocks cuffs.  Melanie has created some great shape templates which she sells on her web site.  The site is full of examples of Melanie's work - wonderful eye candy!


I thoroughly enjoyed her workshop, and am looking forward to applying some of the ideas she shared in my own work. The purple and rust pieces will be used to make a pendant.




The bangles below show three different mokume gane patterns using Melanie's technique.

On a (Jelly) Roll....

Sometimes, revisiting a technique learned a long time ago can spark new ideas.  I was looking at some old jelly roll canes, and started playing around with them. Pretty soon, I was making new rolls, and cutting slices and making sheets from the canes.  That, of course, led to some jewelry pieces.

The jelly roll is actually the second simple cane I learned about when I first was introduced to polymer, the bull's eye being the first.  The jelly rolls I first made were just simple stacks of clay, piled and rolled.  As you'll see in the examples I'm posting here, the jelly rolls I've been making have two outer layers (white and dark) and a Skinner blend laid on top and rolled in as the colored layer.  This is certainly more elaborate than the simple jelly roll I was introduced to, but it's also more colorful and more interesting.

The cuff bracelet and tube earrings on the left give you a good image of the cane.  You can see the layers of white and navy, and the Skinner blend on the wider sheet that swirls around the core going from navy to yellow blending into green along the way.

These two pendant and earring sets have texture in the dark areas, and are sooth and buffed on the cane sections.  The strip of light green down the middle of the pendant on the left is made from some sweet glass beads called "super duos"- I wanted something to define the line between the clay sections, and these beads just seemed to fit.

Time for a color-way change!  I moved, naturally, into some of my favorite colors: purples and teal with pale yellow for accent.

The first photo shows a couple of pendants and some small earrings.  Perhaps you've already noticed the curving strip of translucent super duos in the pendant on the top left?  No color or texture separation here, it just seemed like the piece needed a stream of beads running through it.


And, finally, a really purple pendant with colorful sun-drops!

Perhaps some of you will be inspired to re-vist the jelly roll. If you've never made one, summer's the perfect time to experiment and play with clay!

Mokume Gane Swirls & Shapes

A few posts ago, I shared a technique that combines extrusions and mokume gane processes. I finally got a chance to make some jewelry sets from the sheets I created, and thought I'd share them here.  The swirls, circles and lines from the mokume gane slices give a whimsical look to the pieces.