A Reversible Leaf & More Dichroic

Here are a few more pieces I've created for the Holiday Show in Westerly.   This seems to be the time of year for a bit of glitz and shine.   These pendants all have some sparkle on their own, and the addition of Magic Gloss resin as a finish really makes them glow.
These first photos are of a reversible leaf pendant I made.  One side has a lot of sparkle in the clay and is finished with Magic Gloss while the other side I just buffed and polished without a finish layer.

The two sides look quite different, which increases the wearability.  I really like the whole reversible concept.

The rest of these pendants use metal leaf and alcohol inks, finished with a Magic Gloss coating to protect the leaf.  This process really makes the colors vibrant.  I particularly like the pieces in reds and blues.  I used strips from a sheet I'd cut up for other pieces, and the collage effect brings attention to the various colors.

Dichroic Holiday Sets

I love the special shine and sparkle that comes from using metal leaf and alcohol inks on polymer. When the holidays start rolling around, these are the pieces that people seem drawn to, and they make great presents.  I worked up a sheet with reds, pinks, blues and purples, and have made several pieces from the base. I need to switch it up and bring in greens, yellows and oranges, so don't be surprised if you see some of those in the near future.  In the meantime, here are some of the sets from the first color combination.

The set on the left is in just two colors, and I like the calm feel.  The set on the right was made from strips of the colored sheet that were sliced and randomly placed against each other.

Crackle! A New Product

As you may be aware, there are many approaches to creating a cracked or crackled surface in polymer.  My most recent posts featured composite metal leaf that had been slightly crackled and dyed with alcohol inks. I've tried other methods of crackling, but a lot of them have made very thick layers of crackle that don't cut well or fall off if not well-sealed. For the most part, I was not happy with the results, and set the concept of crackling on the back burner.

Recently, I heard about a product from DecoArt called Perfect Crackle and decided to give it a try. The product comes in two parts, that have a consistency similar to some polymer liquid clays.  You apply a coating of the first liquid over the sheet you have conditioned, and let it dry.  Once it is dry, you apply a coating of the second liquid on top of the first liquid, and let it dry.

Ah, let it dry.  That part requires patience.  To get really dry takes at least 12 hours and overnight is even better.  It needs to be completely dry in order for the crackle effect to appear.  Once it was dry, I applied alcohol inks to color it.  The 2 different solutions in this set make different designs.  It is also possible to enhance the crackle effect by running the sheet of polymer through the pasta machine.  I experimented a little, but will have to go back and try more variations.  Once the alcohol inks were dry, I cut out my shapes.  I found that using a regular shape cutter, even those with sharp metal edges, was the trickiest part. The crackle was hard to cut in places, and lifted off the surface.  I found my best bet was to use shape templates and cut the treated polymer with an Exacto knife.  Perhaps you'll notice that a few of these shapes come from some new templates I picked up.  It's always fun to experiment with new shapes!

After baking, I sanded edges and backs, and finished the surfaces with Magic Gloss. The color of the alcohol inks really deepened and popped when I added the gloss.  Huge difference.

Here are some of the first sets I made.  I also am working in a color combo of yellow, orange and a touch of green and will share those once they're done.

Alcohol Inks & Micro-fine Glitter Dust

When I set out to make the sheets for these pieces, I had something else in mind. Though the result was not what I had expected, it turned out to be a lovely surprise.  If you could hold these pieces up close, you'd see that the colors seem to float above the polymer base.  The colors don't have defined edges, rather they blur and blend together.
The sheet stack consisted of a base of pearl clay, a layer of gold composite leaf, a thin layer of translucent polymer, and a "sprinkling" of white pearl micro-glitter.  I then colored the short stack with alcohol inks.   I didn't realize that I'd used a bit too much micro-glitter on the surface, so the colors melded some during baking.  Then, when I used Magic Gloss to seal the surface, some of the alcohol ink-imbedded glitter rose from the background and mixed with the gloss.  The look is really sparkly and the colors seem to glow.    I like the way these turned out.  Now my question is whether I can actually reproduce the effect...

Polymer "Pottery": Faux Ceramic - Technique 2

The second polymer ceramic technique I used was based on a tutorial from Polymerclayweb.  This approach uses pre-baked pieces to which translucent liquid polymer and alcohol inks are applied for color.  The liquid polymer also adds a shine to parts of the surface that looks a lot like ceramic glaze, and they seem more "polished" than the pieces I made with the first technique.  The alcohol inks made for some interesting effects which you'll see in some of the pieces in this post.
The yellow/orange/gold pendant above was the first piece I made using this technique.  The liquid polymer gave the deeply textured areas with the darker color a lot of shine.  I used Preserve Your Memories 2 to add a sealing coat over the whole surface. The shine is nice and looks like ceramic work with a high gloss glaze.

This next green/gold/yellow set shows an interesting phenomenon that happened using the alcohol inks.  When adding alcohol inks to liquid polymer, it's usually a good idea to let the inks dry before mixing them into the liquid.  You can see what the color will actually look like when the alcohol evaporates.  For some reason, particularly with the colors I was using for this next set of pieces, the color from the inks dried in little dots which remained even after stirring and subsequent baking.  The overall effect is of speckles, like some special pottery glazes and finishes.  What a happy "accident."  The same thing happened a bit with the purple set below.  I'm not sure if this is a result of the age of the inks, the viscosity of the liquid polymer or some other factor.  I'll have to see if I can replicate it in the future.

This "sun-set" on the left was finished in the same manner with the PYM2 sprayed over the liquid polymer glaze.  These pieces are particularly shiny, in contrast with the green set above that has a more subtle finish.

Speaking of finishes...of course I had to give resin  a try.  The rest of the photos show resin added to the surface after baking.  No PYM2 was used, just the liquid polymer and resin.  As usual, the resin gives the finished product some depth and extra shine.

Coral Reefs with Jana Roberts Benzon

Jana Roberts Benzon is an amazing and creative polymer artist.  Her concepts, techniques, and ideas are always intriguing, and the projects we worked on at CFCF 2014 were no exception.  Much of what Jana does is organic, and always makes me wonder "how did she do that?"  She is a patient teacher, and makes everyone feel good about their efforts.

The all-day pre-conference workshop focused on a bracelet designed to look like a coral reef.  She taught us how to make a wide variety of sea shapes which we combined on a base.  Most participants used a bracelet cuff, though there were a few who used different base forms.  Each of the different sea shapes involved several steps, and we got to play with alcohol inks in a variety of applications.  It was great fun, and I really enjoyed seeing how the various shapes formed and evolved.
Included in this posting are shots of different sides of my bracelet cuff.  This should give you an idea of the variety of sea shapes we made.  My piece is rather jam-packed.  When I play with these shapes in the future, I'll probably make a pendant or pin of some sort, and spread things out a bit.

Getting the Colors "Right"

As you may have guessed, I like to play with dichroic and opalescent looks in polymer. I have found the iridescent flakes are very useful when creating an opal look, but I have not been completely satisfied.  One thing missing has been color control.  I tried manipulating the background using metal leaf, alcohol inks, and glitters.  While I was able to get some lovely colors, I couldn't seem to control which colors I got, and where they appeared.  Obviously, it was time to experiment some more.

The pendant to the left demonstrates the use of the iridescent flakes on a colored background.  I like the effect of the smooth sparkle and color magnified by the textured black surrounds.  However, there is no real control of the color of the opals other than through the use of a colored background.  As you can see, the opals appear multi-colored.

Today, I'd like to share with you my latest iterations of faux opal.   I wanted to be able to create specific colors when and where I wanted them.  The trick, at least for me, turned out to be using alcohol inks, iridescent flakes and translucent liquid polymer to create a slurry. When baked on a metal leaf background, the slurry effect has depth, sparkle, fire and the colors I wanted.

Below on the right, are three pendants.  In the one on the left, I concentrated on a purple coloration.  I also included a small section of blue and yellow for contrast and interest.  In the middle piece, I focused on an overall blue, while in the piece on the right I used green and yellow coloration.

The last photo shows 2 pendants with my version of a "fire opal."   On these, the use of reds and oranges in the background as well as in the flakes seems to have added additional depth and inner glow.






I'm really quite pleased with the direction these experiments are taking, and plan to play some more.

 I'm also going to have to work on more natural looking settings, but that's a future project.

Pendanitas!

Most of my pendants are of a medium size, and, as I experiment with some processes, they sometimes get a bit larger.  However, there are those who prefer smaller items, and with the holidays in sight, I have been making some smaller pendants.  I call these pieces "pendanitas" or little pendants.

Here are a few samples, in different styles and using different techniques.  The black pieces are pretty self-explanatory.  I like the juxtaposition of the simple geometric black shapes contrasting with the 3-D flowers and butterfly cane.









The pieces below on the left are made with gold leaf composite, alcohol inks for color, and other bits and pieces such as gold flakes.



The two rectangular pieces are part of my "faux opal" collection. This is a process that keeps evolving, and I'm having fun with it.

Summer Dichroic

Hello! I realize it's been a while since I've posted here.  I've been away on a bike and barge vacation in Holland.  What a simply lovely country, clean and beautiful.  The people were so pleasant, and I was amazed at their ingenuity.  Their management of water using their windmills is truly amazing.

So, now I'm back, and my hands were itching to play with some clay.  It's been a while since I've worked with the dichroic-look in polymer.  The pieces I made last were in fall and winter shades. They looked rich and deep, but I'm in a "yea, summer!" mood, so decided to try making lighter color shades.  I had to experiment a little bit to get the colors light.  Not only did I want the original sheets to have light colors, I also needed to consider what might happen in the baking process, since so many colors shift with heat, often to deeper hues.

To get the light colors, I put little pools of 70% rubbing alcohol in the shallow cups of a plastic paint mixing tray.  I then added just one drop of various alcohol ink colors in each section.  After mixing, I used a paint brush to pick up the color and spread it on the dichroic sheet base.  I had to add a little more ink to some colors, and dilute a couple of others, and finally got the shades I was hoping to get.
I'm pleased with these initial results. Hope your screen shows the new, lighter shades.

More Play with Alcohol Inks - & New Stamps!

Back in November, I shared with you several examples of various experiments using metal leaf and alcohol inks. I put the metal leaf away, but have been drawn to play some more with the inks.  In addition, I decided to try my hand at some stamping. I've never done scrapbooking, and have never really used stamps as a part of polymer  - so this is new for me.  All of these pieces started with a base of white clay on black that I cut and baked first, before doing anything else - which is also a departure from my norm....

This first photo is a set of shapes with just alcohol inks. I'm going to have to give them a gentle protective coat of some sort, probably matte, since that's the way they seem to "want" to be.  I did not let the colors pool or sit against each other very much.  Instead, I dropped just a bit of color and dabbed it up quickly with a tissue.  I kept playing, adding and subtracting color, until I liked the result.  Each piece has been given a textured, wrap-around back and edging.  I don't know if I'll add anything else to these, or not.  Right now, I'm enjoying looking at the colors.

Then I took some alcohol-colored backgrounds, and gave them a simple inked stamp.  These have been sealed with a matte varnish to protect the alcohol background and stamped ink from smearing. I love the subtle feel these pieces have.  I think that a couple of them look almost antique in some ways.  You'll notice I moved into new color-ways, too. There is something very peaceful about working with the inks in this manner.

Lastly, I went "all out" - these pieces have an alcohol base, a layer of translucent cane slices, stamped images and a final coating of resin. They have a layered look with depth the other pieces do not have.  Also, they are quite shiny.  I suppose it's a matter of preference.  I've enjoyed making them all!

A Rafter of "Dichroic" Polymer Pendants

I learned recently that a group of turkeys is called a rafter.  Since it's close to Thanksgiving, and I have a big group of pendants to share with you, I decided to call them a "rafter" of pendants.  ;)

About a week ago, I shared here a bit about the processes I've been trying with metal leaf, alcohol inks,  and polymer.  In the last few days, I've been trying more experiments. The first thing I tried was to add a very thin layer of translucent clay mixed with pearl glitter, and then to impress the layer with a texture design.  Alcohol inks were added last. Above are two of my first pendants pieces.  You can see the a bit of the gold metal leaf through the translucent layer. The translucent-glitter layer adds a special sparkle that has an effect somewhat like dichroic glass.  It doesn't show well on the screen, though it really sparkles in person.

I made some striped sheets from the larger sheet, and then created a variety of pendant shapes.  These pieces and the ones above were all made using Pinata Alcohol Inks.  I find these colors to be very bright and colorful and almost intense.

I decided to see what Adirondack Alcohol inks might do in using the same techniques.  Here is my favorite piece from the Adirondack set:

The next set is also from the Adirondack sheet. The colors look more colorful on my computer screen than they do in person.  I was surprised to notice that, when compared to the Pinata ink pieces, the Adirondack colors are more subtle and darker.  The Pinata colors look like spring and summer colors, while the Adirondack colors come across more as autumn and winter.

I made several other pieces in Adirondack colors that were focused on a "fall theme."   The last photo shows some pieces from this last set. I tried inclusions in a couple of the pieces - pearls and a black rectangular crystal.

Rainbows & Stripes

Continuing on with my metal leaf and alcohol ink experiments....After the blue shades, I decided to try adding more colors on the silver leaf.  I added pinks and reds to the blues first, and came up with the pendant on the left.  I really like the way the colors pool where they meet, making areas that look black and add excellent contrast. The sterling silver piece just seemed to want to be there.
Then I went wild with colors.  This was such fun, and I loved the rainbows that developed.  It is important to avoid putting opposing colors next to each other in order to avoid "mud."   Here are some pieces of the rainbow.

I had a few bits and pieces from the two silver metal leaf sheets I had made. They weren't large enough to do anything on their own, but I loved the colors and didn't want to just toss them.  So, I tried my hand at my first clay collage.  I think this is my favorite piece from all these first experiments.

I made one more rainbow sheet and cut the sheet in strips to make the striped pieces at the bottom. They're bright and vibrant.  Once again,  I think the piece I like best in this last collection is the triangular piece with the irregular slices.  I'm going to have to do more.  Playing with color is just too much fun!

Blues & Silver

For my next metal leaf and alcohol sheet, I used silver leaf and the metal layer, and stuck with blues and purples.  I love the way the colors pooled, and I kept adding small drops on top of each other to see what would happen.  I love the effect!  This is really the first time I've played with alcohol inks on metal leaf, and it really is fun.  Once the sheet dried overnight, I decided not to crackle it so did not cover it with a layer of translucent clay. The colors stayed more vibrant this way, but it meant I needed to find another way to protect the metal leaf from wear.

I mounted the dried sheet on a sheet of black clay, cut out various shapes, and baked them.  I sanded the edges of the baked pieces, then added a thin strip of black clay around the edges to create an outline and bezel.  This was baked.  Then I added epoxy to the surface.  This protects the metal leaf, enhances the colors, and adds great depth and shine.  I used Magic Gloss and had to add a few layers to get the results I wanted.  I'm pleased with the end result.

Unfortunately, I did discover I'd made a major error.  I'm used to multiple bakings, so just planned on adding bails, pin backings, and other clay or metal findings in subsequent trips to the oven.  What I didn't think about was the fact that the epoxy layer could not be baked at oven temperatures.  If you try, you end up with lots of ugly dark boils and bubbles.....very, very sad :(  I ended up having to drill or use epoxy glue to attach findings to many of the pieces.  Some of them aren't finished the way I would have liked, so this was definitely a lesson in pre-planning!

Experiments with Metal Leaf & Alcohol Inks

In my last post, I included a couple of photos showing new pieces with metal leaf and alcohol inks.  These are new surface techniques for me, and I thought you might be interested in seeing the progression of my experiments which have covered several days.

So, let's go back to where I began.  I wanted to try making a couple of polymer cabochons, and I wanted an antiqued and crackled look.  I started with a black clay base, layered on gold composite metal leaf (not foil) and then used alcohol inks to color the metal leaf.  I used Pinata brand colors, and loved the way they blended as they ran into each other.  Since the metal leaf was still exposed, and I wanted to be able to bend the sheets to create crackling, I covered the sheet with a very thin layer of translucent clay.  I ran the resulting sheet through the pasta machine a couple of times in different directions until I liked the look of the crackle.

 I formed a few cabochon bases, and covered the tops with pieces from the prepared sheet.  I baked these, then added a sheet of black clay to the back of the cabochon, and a narrow strip of black clay around the edges to create an outline or bezel look.  After these were baked, I sanded a great deal, but found that the color was still  clouded by the translucent clay.  I decided to try using an acrylic varnish designed for polymer.  A few layers made things shine and brought out the colors and the detail.  As a last step,  buna cording and clasps were added to create necklaces.