Yipes - Stripes!

I'm not sure why, but I don't usually do a lot of things in stripes. I was inspired to give stripes a try when I sat across from Anita, of Anita K Designs, at the Mammoth Cave Retreat.  She was using long bolts to make texture on striped slices, and I really liked the way they looked.

On the first pieces I made, I passed the striped clay through the pasta machine multiple times, with the result that the lines between the stripes were softened.  I think these softer stripes are pretty.  However, I tried using the bolts to make the waffle design on these soft stripes, and realized I was not getting the crisp look I wanted.




The next striped pieces I made were passed through the pasta machine just once to seal the joints between the colored stripes.    Since the bolt ridges only run in one direction, each piece is rolled twice, once each in perpendicular directions.  The clay does move a bit while being rolled, which I think adds to the interest of the sheets.

These photos show how the impressed lines from the long bolts made a nice waffle texture and emphasized the stripes.

Retreat Preparation

I'm in the process of getting ready to go to the Kentucky/Tennessee Polymer Clay Guild's annual retreat at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.  This will be the first time I've attended this event, and I'm really looking forward to it. Right now, I'm in the midst of preparing for some of the activities they plan, and thought I'd share my little projects here.  
Of course, there is the traditional "inchies" exchange where everyone makes enough 1inch square tiles to trade with the other participants.  Inchies are usually based on a theme. This year, the focus of the retreat is extrusions, so my inch tiles are extrusion-based.  As you can see by the tiles to the left, I made flat patterns using extruded snakes, then shaved off the edges to reveal the colors below.  I used the shaved pieces and placed them on solid color backing to create the more random looking pieces.  It's sort of a combination of extrusions and mokume gane techniques.  The process is great fun and the results look pretty good, too. 

At the retreat, there are daytime activities as well as some after-dinner games.  One of the games requires us to have "poker chips" to use.  I've made up one set of "chips" using extrusions carefully placed and cut in a striped checkerboard pattern.    These chips are about 1.5 inches across.

 I liked the way these pieces looked so much that I decided to try some jewelry.  I made up a new color set, used a smaller hole for the extruder disk, and made up more checkerboard pieces.  The results below show some earrings and a pendant, all awaiting wires or other findings. 



Now I have one more set of poker chips to make.  I'm not sure what technique I'll use.  Maybe it won't be extruded......