I have always been intrigued by those polymer clay pieces that use thin
slices of a intricately crafted polymer clay canes. The technique was
originally used in making glass making and is called millefiori, which ,
in Italian, means thousand flowers. Pieces of this detailed glass work
have been dated to ancient Roman, Phoenician, and Alexanderian times.
The technique was lost by the 18th century but rediscovered sometime in
the 19th century.
I don't know who first tried to reproduce those beautiful glass beads
using polymer clay, but they were a genius. The process is long and
involved, using rods of conditioned polymer clay in a myriad of shapes,
round, square, triangular, and so on. These rods are then wrapped with
thin sheets of polymer clay and stacked together to form one unit.
Once the image is completed, the entire piece is rolled, squeezed and
manipulated until it is the desired size. The messy ends are cut off
to reveal a miniature masterpiece inside! Then, thin slices are cut and
applied to the base piece of polymer clay.
I've tried my hand at making some polymer clay canes. I have never been
too successful. Most of the time my slices get distorted, smeared or
are of varying thickness and are useless for the project I envisioned.
I keep trying, though, because I am fascinated by the process.
Some of the polymer clay artists from the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Art Fire have mastered this difficult technique. Below are some pieces from those talented artists.
Polymer Clay Smoosher member Kelly, of Black Dog Jewelry lives in a beautiful seaside community in Vero Beach Florida which offers her the perfect backdrop to make her wonderful jewelry. Her unique handcrafted jewelry has a fun, whimsical flair. She says "I take great pride in creating each piece and will not send it to you
until I know it's perfect. Once you have it in your hands you will
agree that Black Dog Jewelry is truly one of a kind." And Rosa, the namesake of this company has a delightful story as well. "Rosa, the black dog of Black Dog Jewelry, is also one of a kind. She is
a rescue who loves adventure. She enjoys going for walks, doing yoga
with me, playing with her Daddy, attending doggy daycare, taking naps
and she just discovered she enjoys going for a ride on the paddle boat!"
Kelly's interests include metal fabrication, precious metal clay, art jewelry, fine silver,
unique, animal lover, wire wrapping, seaglass, beach glass, polymer
clay, and critter. These different influences can be seen in the wide variety of jewelry she creates.
You can find Black Dog Jewelry online at http://www.blackdogjewelry.blogspot.com/, http://www.blackdogjewelry.net/, http://www.facebook.com/BlackDogJewelry, http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackdogjewelry, and http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/BlackDogJewelry.
Below is a sample of some of the delightful jewelry you can find in her ArtFire shop.
Baby Gargoyle necklace
Zebra necklace
Skunk necklace
Halloween Wine Charms
And there are plenty more cute creations where these came from! Be sure to stop by Black Dog Jewelry to see all the wonderful things available!
No matter how soft polymer clay is when you unwrap it, it still needs to be conditioned. Conditioning polymer clay redistributes the ingredients in the clay that may have settled during storage. If you don't properly condition your clay your finished piece may be weaker and more prone to breakage. You know your clay is properly conditioned when you can fold it without having it crack.
To condition your clay start by cutting the block of clay into thin slices using a straight blade. Roll over each slice with a clay roller, fold it in half and repeat several times until it starts to become softer. Continue conditioning with your hands, smooshing, rolling, and folding the clay until it becomes warm and pliable. You can condition the clay completely by hand or finish conditioning it with a pasta machine. Be sure to always insert the clay through the pasta machine fold first to prevent air bubbles from becoming trapped between the layers.
Here's a short video showing how to condition polymer clay.
Softer clays such as Sculpey III and Pardo can usually be conditioned by hand by simply kneading them for a few minutes. Using a pasta machine makes quick work of conditioning clay and you can usually find pasta machines for a reasonable price in most craft stores and online sites that sell polymer clay.
Firmer clays can be crumbly and difficult to condition. With these clays you need to start warming the clay and conditioning by hand before trying to run them through the pasta machine to complete the conditioning process. One way to soften the clay is to mix in small amounts of
translucent clay. However, if you add too much you may change the color
of the clay. You can also add a few drops of liquid clay and knead it
in thoroughly. Only add a few drops at a time or you will end up with a
goopy mess! Yet another way to warm your clay in preparation for
conditioning is to place wrapped blocks of clay on a Ziploc bag filled
with 1/2 cup of rice that's been microwaved for 30-45 seconds. The rice
will stay warm for up to an hour. You may want to put a cloth between
the bag of rice and your clay to prevent overheating. You don't want
the clay to begin curing. One method I use to warm stiff clay is to sit
on the clay or put it in my pocket (wrapped in it's original package or
in a bag). Just never put polymer clay in the microwave for any
reason.
The heat of your hands can make some clays softer and softer while you're working with them. If your clay becomes too soft and difficult to work with you may need to set it aside for a while and let it cool off. Some people even put it in the refrigerator for a short time.
You can make soft clay firmer by a process called leaching, which
removes some of the plasticizers from the clay. While leaching will
make the clay firmer to work with, it can also lessen the strength of
the finished piece. To leach your clay sandwich thin pieces of polymer
clay between several layers of printer paper. Place your "clay
sandwich" on your work tile and set a heavy book on top. Check your
clay every so often until the desired firmness is achieved. This
process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Replace the
paper when it appears saturated. It will look like a grease stain on
the paper. And remember not to leave unbaked clay on painted,
varnished, or lacquered surfaces, as the clay will damage them.
When working with different colors of clay start with the lightest colors first whenever possible. Light colored clays can be difficult to keep clean since they will pick up anything on your hands, tools, or work surface. This post has more tips on working with light colored clay: Tips For Sculpting With White and Light Colored Polymer Clay. Baby wipes work well for cleaning your hands not only in between colors, but every so often while you're working with your light color. I also wipe down my tools to be sure there are no bits of darker clay on them. Just be sure your wipes are lint free and don't leave fine particles on your hands, as these will quickly transfer to the clay.
My preferred work surface is a ceramic tile. Tiles come in a variety of sizes and are fairly inexpensive at home improvement stores like Home Depot or Lowes. They're smooth and easy to clean and don't affect the clay. The tiles are nearly impervious to scratching and can go right from your work table to the oven. I have tiles in several sizes for different sized projects.
If you don't want your clay to stick to your tile parchment type deli paper works quite nicely. Placing your project on this allows you to move it around without distorting it. I find this very useful when cutting out leaves and flowers. I can cut them out on the paper and easily remove them to place them on my sculpture. you can find this deli paper, also known as patty paper, in bulk at grocery warehouses and restaurant supply stores. Baking on this paper also helps prevent shiny spots from forming on the bottom of your piece.
I hope these tips have helped you learn some of the basics of working with polymer clay!
As summer winds down and the days begin to cool off my thoughts begin to wander towards the crisp days of Autumn. I do love Autumn- the smell of the air changes, there's a bit of nip to the breeze in the evenings, and of course the colors of the leaves begin to change. This will be my first Autumn in Prescott Arizona and I'm looking forward to seeing how it will be different from the Autumns in Ohio, which I've known all my life. In the spirit of the change of seasons I wanted to showcase some of the beautiful Autumn creations from the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild.
This three leaf pendant from Amazing Designs is appropriately called Shades of Autumn.
This Autumn Teardrop pendant necklace from Flower Childs Artsy Jewelry shows off some of the lovely colors of Autumn.
This Fall Mums candle holder from kkspolymerclyart showcases one of Autumn's most popular flowers.
This Autumn Colors pendant necklace from Sharp Art by Dawna was created using the Mokume Gane technique.
I hope you enjoyed this sample of Autumn colors from the Smooshers! Be sure to check out these shops and see all they have to offer!
This is a first, but we have a tie for the winning theme for our next
Challenge! So you can choose between Halloween or Autumn Colors (or do
an entry for each them, or mix the themes together). The options are
endless!
For those of you who aren't familiar with the Smooshers
Challenges let me tell you the rules. In order to participate you need to have an active shop on ArtFire and be a member of the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild. Participation is not mandatory, but it is a great way to bring in views and potential sales for your shop. You're allowed
to enter 2 items, and they must incorporate polymer clay and be relevant
to the theme. You need to have them listed in your ArtFire shop by the deadline and
then post the link to your entries in this thread: http://www.artfire.com/guild_forums/view_thread/2061
There is no "winner" for these challenges, just the benefit of being
promoted, the opportunity to show off your work, and the chance to try
new things with polymer clay. These Challenges are meant to be fun for everyone involved ;-) I'll promote the Challenge and all the
entries on the Smooshers blog, Facebook, the ArtFire forums, and YouYube.
It would be very beneficial if everyone else promoted the challenge as
well, on whatever sites you use. Even if you don't enter a piece or belong to the Smooshers guild, you
can still support the guild by promoting the Challenge ;-)
The deadline for entries for the Halloween/ Autumn Colors Challenge is October 3rd, so that will give us a month to complete and list our entries. If anyone has any questions, just let me know. You can contact me through CreativeCritters by using the Contact Artisan link under my avatar. Let's have fun with this! :-)
Some may think it's a little early to be talking about Halloween, but it's really not that far off! And since Halloween is the topic of the Blog Roll this week I thought this would be a great time to showcase some of the fun Halloween items the members of the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild have listed in their shops. Personally, I love Halloween and all things related to the holiday: black cats, witches, magic, skeletons (preferably glow in the dark), bats, and all those other spooky things ;-) When I was a kid I loved dressing up and going out trick or treating with my brothers. And I've had several black cats who all seemed to have a little extra magic, especially on Halloween. As an artist I love sculpting all sorts of Halloween themed pieces. This time of year seems to really fire up my creative energies (I think it's all the magic in the air)! And looking through the shops of my fellow Smooshers, I can see I'm not the only one inspired by Halloween!
Here's a Winged Skull Cuff Bracelet from Mortimer Inc- wicked cool!
And this Witchy Mouse with BOO Banner from Quernus Crafts is absolutely adorable!
And of course pumpkins are always a part of Halloween. Which is where these Pumpkin Stack earrings from Wyvern Designs come in!
The two most important rules concerning polymer clay are 1) Don't eat it, and 2) Don't burn it. Beyond these basic rules there are several more specific safety and usage issues.
1) Don't leave unbaked polymer clay on painted, varnished, or lacquered surfaces as it can damage the finish. (I learned this the hard way after I ruined a dresser). Once the clay is baked it becomes inert and this is no longer an issue.
2)Although polymer clay is rated as nontoxic it's not recommended for use with food. If you use kitchen tools for working with polymer clay those tools need to remain dedicated to use with polymer clay only. Never use anything made of polymer clay for utensils or dishware that will come into contact with food. You can, however, use polymer clay to embellish handles or other parts of dishes or utensils that won't come into contact with food.
These polymer clay covered wine glasses from TTE Designs are an example of how to safely embellish glasses with polymer clay. Please note that polymer clay covered items need to be hand washed and dried.
3)Be sure to wash your hands after working with polymer clay, especially if you'll be handling food. Pumice based waterless hand cleaner or hand sanitizer works well to dissolve polymer clay residue. Use soap and water to wash away the hand cleaner.
pumice based waterless hand cleaner
4)Never leave baking clay unattended as it can burn or scorch if you're not paying attention. Ovens, especially toaster ovens, don't always hold their temperature reliably. You should also always use an oven thermometer to be sure your oven is set at the proper temperature. I know my own oven is about 50 degrees off, so I have to set the temperature accordingly. If your clay looks like it is burning or smoking, turn off the oven and take the clay outside to cool off. Be sure to ventilate the room so the fumes can thoroughly dissipate.
burnt clay
5)When carving, dry sanding, drilling, or machine buffing polymer clay be sure to wear a dust mask and protective eye wear. The clay can be very dusty and you don't want to breathe that dust or get it in your eyes.
Extra Tips
Heat Guns :Heat Guns reach temperatures much higher than those recommended for baking clay, making it possible to burn the clay. To start, clean your work area of any uncured clay and any flammable materials before starting to work with your heat gun. If you have long hair tie it back and make sure any loose clothing won't get in the way. You do NOT want to set yourself on fire! Hold the heat gun 3 to 5 inches away from the clay and keep moving it in circles until the clay is cured. Be aware that the tip of the gun will be extremely hot after use. Give the gun at least 10 to 15 minutes to cool off before storing it. And be absolutely sure to keep pets away from the heat gun while you're using it and while it's cooling off. The last thing you want is for your cat or dog to get burned!
Shiny Clay: Your cured clay can develop shiny spots when you use a smooth baking surface such as a ceramic tile. In some cases this won't have any effect on your piece, but it's easy to remove the shine if you prefer. Simply use a 1,000 grit or higher sandpaper and lightly sand the spot until the shine is gone.
Baking Thin Pieces of Clay: Since paper can curl when baking it can work better to bake very thin pieces of clay directly on your tile. You can also use a book to weight down the clay and flatten it after baking.
I hope these tips were helpful and will make your polymer clay adventures a bit safer!
