Bamboo & Polymer ~ An Intriguing Combination

I've just recently returned from Laurel, Maryland, where I had the pleasure of attending the Cabin Fever Clay Festival for 2016.  I really like this conference.  Nothing to do all day but play with clay, learn from outstanding teachers, and enjoy the company of other like-minded folks.  I can't complain. This year, I took a couple of workshops from people I had not worked with before, doing things I've never tried.  It's always fun to learn something new, even when it is outside your comfort zone a bit.

The first two days of the conference I spent with Robert Liu from California.  Robert creates heat-bent bamboo jewelry from bamboo he grows in his own yard.  His website has his bio and examples of his work which you may find of interest:  http://www.freehand.com/robertliu.html.  I'd never worked with bamboo before, and was surprised when I discovered I would be using an open flame torch to bend the bamboo and shape it into the desired forms.  Through a variety of circumstances, I ended up being the only student for the first day, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had Robert's instruction and guidance all to myself.  He is a patient, thorough, and encouraging teacher, and I'm delighted to have worked with him.

Once I had the opportunity to heat-bend some of the bamboo he supplied, and learned to do some wire-wrapping at appropriate junctures on the bamboo, I decided to see if I could incorporate some polymer into a piece or two.  My particular approach was an experiment for Robert, too, so we both waited to see what the outcome would be.

My first piece kept its shape when I baked the clay on it because I wired the bamboo in place for the baking time.   I had to bake the clay a second time and did not wire the bamboo.  There was no change in the shape, so I decided (wrongly as it turned out later) that I didn't need to wire the shape in place when baking the clay portion.  Ah, lessons learned....

This piece is flexible enough to just slip around my neck and it's shape keeps it in place.  The whole piece is very lightweight and easy. I wish I had put some of the decoration more in the middle of the front since that section is very visible.  I also realized after wearing it that the polymer "snakes" I used for vines around the bamboo should have been thicker.  Although they have not broken, I would want them to be more sturdy if someone else were going to wear a piece I'd made.

For my second piece, I used a thicker piece of bamboo and made the polymer "vines" more substantial.  I really liked this piece, but made the mistake of not wiring the ends of the bamboo together before putting the piece in the oven to bake the polymer.  Since it hadn't seemed necessary for the first piece, I figured this piece would be okay.  Not so.  Perhaps the oven was hotter or the thicker bamboo held the heat more.  Whatever the reason, the bamboo lost much of its bend.  I need to either re-torch it sometime, or attach a chain to the 2 ends to create a complete necklace circle.  As it is, I have a really pretty piece of black bamboo with cream flowers in a half-circle shape.  Perhaps a conversation piece?

 

Extruded Mokume Gane ~ Plus!

Back in April, Cynthia Tinapple posted the winners of the Spring Push extrusion contest on Polymer Clay Daily.  The entry by Karen Brueggemann, who won first place, really captured my interest.  I decided to experiment and see what I could come up with.  I had a lot of fun playing around.

 In the process, I discovered, as so often seems the case with mokume gane, that the pieces I was shaving off were as interesting - or more so - than the base I was creating.  Of course, this meant I had to use everything.  The two pendants to the left show both processes.  The left-most pendant is the resultant base after the top layer has been shaved off.  On the right is a piece made from some of  the shavings.  Very different effects, even though the colors are the same.
I thought I'd share the process and some of the end products here in case you'd like to give it a try, too.

The first step is to make a stack of circles of conditioned clay and extrude them into a long, round snake.  I tried using 2 different sizes of circles in the extruder, and preferred the smaller snake.  I really think this aspect is just personal preference.  Then take the snake and, using a hard, flat tile or similar surface, bend, cut, twirl and twist the snake around to make an interesting design.
Make sure there are no gaps in your design. I occasionally used cut pieces of the snake and stood them on end.  These created dots when shaved.  Above right is an example of a snake design.  
The sample below shows the shaved snake design made from the same colors as the example to the right.  When the tops are shaved off, all the various colors from the extrusion process come to light.

The next two sheets - one with yellow background and one with green - show random placement of the shavings from the snake design.  I love how changing the background changes the whole tone.

Here are samples of 2 pendants made from the green and yellow sheets of shavings.  Great effects.

Finally, below are a couple more photos showing shavings on a purple background, the snake design sheet from which the shavings came, and a piece cut from a snake design using a wider circle hole in the extruder.

Some New Shapes

Sometimes, I just like to play around and see what transpires.  I'd made a mica shift Skinner blend for a demonstration, then needed to make something with the sheet.  This necklace and earrings were the result.  A new shape, and I like the simplicity of the pearls.




Next I was in the mood for some black and white, so made a mokemu gane stack with black, white, silver and silver leaf.  Of course I needed to do something with it - thought I'd share some of the shapes I've come up with.   This first set is composed of 3 layers of triangles, each layer with a different treatment.  There is silver mica shift, the multi-color mokemu gane and black textured.

These earrings are open at the sides and the shape clasps an object at the bottom. The black pair has pearls while the mokemu gane pair holds jet crystals.

This last pendant is a curved triangle with a smooth, solid backing.  I like the neck cording, but haven't quite decided if that's going to be "it" or not.

I've a few more in the oven - I'll be sharing  more later.

  

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!

Outside my Usual "Comfort Zone"

Well! I've just finished a pendant that is really a stretch from my usual jewelry. I calling this piece fabric" polymer. Let me know what you think.
I've always loved fabric: it's colors, the way it feels, the way it folds and drapes, the way it moves in clothing and curtains. Polymer, when raw and well conditioned, also has a great feel and movement. I've played around a bit with trying to make polymer look like fabric, and finally decided to make a "fabric pendant." Here is my first attempt, and I think I like it - it's certainly a change for me.

I also made a small matching band that slips on the silk ribbons.