Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners 27 videos, step by step, beginner cane workshop
What people are saying about this tutorial.
jennifer rose
Just finished this first workshop on how to make canes, and I must say I learned so much. This is exactly what I have been looking for, someone who could explain cane making in a step by step that process that I could replicate. I watched the videos, went into my studio and began to create all of the canes Alice showed. I finally have results I can be proud of, and I say thank you so much for doing this workshop. My only question now is when do we get more workshops. If you are only going to take one online class let it be this workshop. Thank you Alice for your hard work, and your dedication to helping others learn the joys of polymer clay.
Online Workshops with Alice Stroppel
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Yesterday a friend of mine who is fish crazy, in a good way, asked me a couple of questions about my fish and if I had any for sale. Not for her, but for something else. The truth is I really don’t. the ones I have I use as demos in my cane mapping class, I have hanging on my walls or have given away.
I started this fish with just part of the tail when my friend Chrissie Baker was here in my studio. I wanted to show her how I did my big wall pieces.
So when I came to the studio this morning and was beginning to clean up my work table after my Stroppel Cane #2 video. I actually started cleaning the day before but got side tracked making hearts plant stakes out of the Stroppel #2’s that may for the film. Can’t throw them away of course…see.
Sorry, back to the fish. before I put all my canes away, I decided to use some of them to finish the fish. What fun it was, really lost myself in it. But what I wanted to show you was how thin these designs are and how easy they are to frame. So now I can say I have one for sale at least.
Oh and you can see how I used some more of my Stroppel cane #2 across the back of the fish. (first photo)
I call this technique cane mapping and it’s how I’ve done my large wall piece and this table.
If you are near Palmetto, I’m teaching a one day cane mapping workshop on June 7th. You must have lots of pre-made canes to bring with you. We won’t have time in class to make many if any. Skinner blends work best for me. Message me on Facebook, or leave a comment here.
Here’s a short video showing you how I make a Stroppel Cane #2. Have Fun!!! Rescue those scraps!!!
I’m excited once again to share something I just discovered. Another way to use your polymer clay scraps. So Cool! I’m calling it Stroppel cane #2. Or Stroppel #2.
It’s fun and easy just like the first one, which you can watch by clicking on the video to your right.
You can make this cane tiny like the one in the picture above or large enough for a bracelet.
I shared my discovery with the Florida Gulf Coast Polymer Clay Guild and these slices are from Sydney Carter’s first Stroppel #2. Love it.
Note: I’m having a bit of trouble keeping up with technology so I can’t get the video to embed here. so just click on the picture of my girls below and they will take you to my new Youtube channel. And that’s another story. Have fun!
When I found out that my friend Julie Eakes was coming to Florida I invited her to stay a bit longer with me.
We stayed a couple of days with my son in Tampa and ate some great Cuban food in Ybor City, Julie had never had a cuban sandwich, but she has now!
We went on an adventure to the wonderful world of Museums in St. Pete. We started with the Chihuly glass exhibit at the Morean Arts Center first and I don’t have to do anything but post pictures to explain how much we enjoyed it. Breathtaking!
We watched a blown vase demo at the Morean Arts Center. Interesting and oh how I love glass, but I think I’ll stick to polymer clay and leave the glass to these guys.
We went to the Dali Museum but weren’t allowed to take pictures inside. But it’s a beautiful build, so Julie took this one from inside the building looking out. Such an interesting artist and seeing his progression from the beginning of his career to the end is fascinating.
We also spent time at the Museum of Fine Arts. Everything is right in one area and easy to get to. Lots of sidewalk cafes to choose from, it truly was a beautiful day, bright and sunny and mild. We had a sterling time.
Then Julie and I came home to my studio and my small town. We were inspired by all the beautiful pieces we saw museum hopping so we wanted to experimented with polymer clay construction and shapes. We had a blast bouncing ideas off of each other.
That’s my strange shape in front of the picture. More to come on it’s progress. Thinking about my Pen and Ink technique or possibly my Cane Mapping process where I construct my design on glass then transfer to my piece. Maybe a combination of both.
It was truly fun having Julie here, we dug into my supplies, some that I’ve had for years and just haven’t gotten around to trying. Well let me tell you, we tried it all. Not only that, but we laughed a bit, just a tiny bit…..
The time went by too fast, but I made her promise to come back. Maybe teach here in my studio. Who coming?
Thanks so much Julie, I had the best time. Hurry back. (but leave the cold weather there)
 This is a silly little table that my husband and I used as a telephone table when we were first married. Most of you can relate to a telephone table, but some of you may not remember a time when you had an actual phone connected to the wall.
We had a cord that could reach all the way into the living room. That was the only way you could talk for more than 5 minutes, I could cook, fold clothes, and watch the kids playing.
When we moved to our new house we didn’t need the table anymore. My Mother, Father, sister and brother-in-law bought a three story victorian house together and they had tons of room. The table went to stay with them and now it’s come back to live with me.
I’ve painted it lots of fun colors and have covered the bottom shelf in polymer clay with one of my faces and some of my colorful canes. I’m starting to work on the top when I have time and I’ll also be adding bits of PC on the legs.
It’s a piece that has been touched by every member of my family at one time or the other. No hurry on this piece it’s just something that will capture a lovely memory in time and link it to the present.
Look at these great flamingo bracelets made by my friends Sydney Carter, Emma Simpson, Charline Ahlgreen, Tyra Ahlgreen, Sara Pietruk and Linda Eastman. We had so much fun they all wanted to do it again the next day only this time it was Peacocks. I just love how each one turned out.
A giant thank you to Polyform and Iris Weiss for donating the clay for this workshop. Everyone was delighted and they used every bit making canes and Skinner blends for these funky, fun bracelets
Charline decided to made something different with her peacock. So cool…
Thanks everyone and I’ll see you again soon.
Cynthia Tinapple’s new book, Polymer Clay Global Perspectives arrived at my home yesterday, exciting news, the problem was, I wasn’t home. But thanks to Linda Mosley’s post I saw that I could download it to my ipad. So while I was visiting my mother, I was able to take a look at the book and my place in it right away.
It’s a beautiful book, but what makes it special for me is that so many of the artists I know personally, many of them are my friends, I consider myself so lucky to have had the opportunity to become apart of this fascinating polymer clay world and to share a small part of the stage with such talented people. And it is such a world wide stage thanks to the internet.
I am amazed to be including at the beginning of this book along with Meisha Barbee, Donna Kato, Maureen Carlson, Gwen Gibson and Bettina Welker. To have my name listed in on the same pages as these ladies, as well as other well known names, is a dream. My Stroppel Cane has truly become a part of the history of polymer clay and it’s incredibly exciting.
Cynthia takes a closer look at 13 artists and each of them share a project with you. You’ll be tempted to put the book down and get started right away creating your own version of each project. I enjoy ed getting to know the artists I haven’t met and felt even closer to the ones I consider friends.
One of my Stroppel Sweater Girls is pictured as well, right on a page with some of my favorite people. I can’t ask for more. in all over 125 artists are included in this global look at polymer clay today.
So this is another special publication for me, but I’ll be willing to bet you’d love it too. You can take a quick peak at some of the pages on Amazon and of course place your order there as well.
This is my newest adventure, I pushed myself to create something large and more complicated than in the past. I used my Cane Mapping technique with an added twist.
It’s a large piece, 19″ x 27″, framed it’s 20 1/2″ x 28 1/2″. I bake my polymer clay in a regular kitchen oven, but even so I had to construct it in pieces like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
After baking a pieces, I constructed the next piece on a piece of glass and by fitting it to the last piece. I placed a roughly drawn pattern behind the glass, but as you can see by this picture, I didn’t follow it exactly.
I continued this way until all were pieces were baked and then glued them to a back board. Actually this board came with a frame I bought. Here’s a look at each step as it was completed.
After completing and taking a picture of this step, I realized how disjointed some of the yellow flower petals looked. So before I baked it, I made some corrections.
Not completely satisfied, but knowing this was as good as it was going to get, I baked it and moved to the next section. Once again I used my and for size reference.
And once again the finished piece. I certainly learned a lot and look forward to making many more.
The Polymer Arts
 My Circles and Squares necklace was featured yesterday by Sage Bray on The Polymer Arts blog. I do enjoy this piece very much and always have one or two people tell me how fun it is! When I’m told that my work makes people smile of makes them happy, I consider my job accomplish!
I’m always so excited to see my work featured in The Polymer Art magazine or blog, I appreciate the fine work that Sage is doing for our polymer clay community and feel privileged to included with the vast array of talented artists working in polymer clay. Thank you Sage.
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West Coast Polymer Clay Guild
No picture here! I can not believe that I spent the whole day with this lovely, funny group and didn’t take one picture. I blame the guild member actually, I asked them to remind me and to not leave without a group picture. But every single one of them forgot to remind me. 
I really apologize ladies, it was my fault after all. Next time I won’t forget.
All of us at this workshop want to send a giant thank you to Polyform’s Education Manager Iris Weiss and Polyform Products for supplying all the clay and then some.
We had a really great time though, what a talented group of women. I hope to get back to New Port Richey again soon.
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Art Deco
I’ve been drawn to Art Deco all my life. Maybe it was visiting Miami when I was a kid and seeing all those fabulous art deco buildings, or just the clean lines of the jewelry or the advertisements and art work created in that style. I think it might be the romanic vision of the ’20s that draws me in. Such large changes taking place in clothing, hair styles, woman’s rights…the world was changing dramatically.
Right now I’m working on this bracelet using my pen and ink technique. I wanted something new with pen and ink to take to the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild when I teach there next week. Working on slides in this style as well.
Having a ball actually, one more panel on this one and I’m finished.
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I had a fantastic time at this year’s Orlando Clay Fandango! Here are all the instructors, the morning we are leaving after having such a wonder time teaching and demonstrating. Be sure to start saving for next year… save the date…May 1-5, 2014
I wanted to mention that I will be teaching my Pen and Ink one day workshop at the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild on Saturday June 29th. They meet in Winter Garden, FL . If you are interested in this workshop contact the guild for more information.
We were lucky to have Iris Weiss from Polyform attending and supplying clay for our classes. Thank you Polyform and Iris.
Then there was Penny Jo Couch, Syndee Holt, LInda Hess, Suzanne Ivester, and me, Alice Stroppel.
Here are some of of the wonderful suns made this weekend.
Photo by Judy Mitchell
Photo by Judy Mitchell
     
and some other fun stuff
A colony of flamingos won, bought, and gifted….
My Stroppel Cane bracelet demo
Suzanne Ivester, me and Sydnee Holt
I just wanted to take a minute to celebrate with Cynthia Tinapple. Today marks her 2,000 post on Polymer Clay Daily. Cynthia has created a window into the studios of polymer artists from around the world, introducing us to work we might not have ever found on our own.
We’ve been inspired and entertained by, in awe of, and delighted to be introduced to the artists Cynthia has shined a light on. PCD is an important stop in most polymer artists’ day.
I am most impressed by Cynthia’s continuing support of the women of Nepal and their quest for individual freedom and expression. She shared her polymer clay Shisha technique with the women of Samunnat on a visit to Nepal.
You can see her Shisha necklace in the picture below and you can order your own Shisha bracelets made by the ladies here in their Sumunnat Shop on Etsy.
Recently, Cynthia, Wendy Moore and Ron Lehecky have succeeded in helping to fund a building project for the women of Sumunnat. And there is still time to donate and I hope you do. Here’s a link to learn more about this worthwhile project.
I also want to congratulate Cynthia on her new Book Polymer Clay Global Perspectives: Emerging Ideas and Techniques from 125 International Artists. It is sure to be an exciting book to own. I’m thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful group of artists.
Thanks you Cynthia for the enjoyment you bring to so many!
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